Canadians Join Global Call for Beijing to Release Human Rights Lawyer Gao Zhisheng

Human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng in a file photo. Verna Yu/AFP/Getty Images

Canadians called on Beijing to release prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Shisheng at a rally outside the Chinese consulate in Toronto on Aug. 20.

Mr. Gao, a three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, has been subjected to persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for representing members of the spiritual practice Falun Gong as well as farmers in land expropriation cases.

He has been targeted by the Chinese regime since 2005, when his licence to practice law was suspended, according to a list of political prisoners issued by the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) in 2019.

“Mr. Gao has defended religious minorities that are persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party. And because of this, he himself has been persecuted and tortured for almost 20 years,” Joel Chipkar, spokesperson for the Falun Dafa Association of Canada, said at the rally held on Aug. 20.

In 2006, Mr. Gao was arbitrarily convicted of “subversion” and was sentenced to three years in prison where he was reported tortured. He was repeatedly abducted and jailed over the next two decades.

In December 2011, he was again sentenced to three years in prison and continued to be held under house arrest after his release in 2014. His current situation remains unknown to the public after he disappeared in August 2017 from his residence in Yulin City, Shaanxi Province.

Mr. Gao was targeted by the regime after representing adherents of Falun Gong, who have been subject to 24 years of brutal oppression under the CCP, with methods of persecution including various forms of torture, live organ harvesting, and psychological and sexual abuses.

Joel Chipkar, spokesperson for the Falun Gong Association in Toronto, speaks at a rally outside the Chinese consulate in Toronto on Aug. 20, 2023. Protesters called on Beijing to immediately release human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who has been missing since 2017. Roger Li/The Epoch Times

The rally, marking the sixth year of Mr. Gao’s disappearance, was launched by the Federation for a Democratic China (FDC), a non-profit that advocates for democracy in China.

Jiang Jiaji, a spokesperson for FDC, underscored the importance and resilience of those challenging Beijing’s authoritarian rule.

“In [China], there is a saying that ’those who carry the firewood for all should not freeze to death in the wind and snow; those who blaze the trail for freedom should not be trapped in economic hardship,'” he said in Chinese.

“As we gather here today, making appeals and staging protests, this is the greatest spiritual comfort we can offer to Mr. Gao Zhisheng and all prisoners of conscience currently detained in China.”

Protesters at the rally were heard chanting in both Chinese and English “Free Gao Zhisheng,” “Free the political prisoners,” and “Free China.”

Global Efforts

At least 70 human rights advocacy groups around the world have united to call for the release of Mr. Gao.

Speaking at a rally in Los Angeles on Aug. 13, Mr. Gao’s wife, Geng He, demanded that the Chinese authorities grant him the opportunity to communicate with the public and to secure his immediate release.

“Let’s continue our efforts, continue resisting authoritarianism. We hope to witness the historical moment when the Chinese Communist regime is held accountable for its heinous crimes as soon as possible,” Ms. He said in Chinese.

Participating in this worldwide initiative are advocacy groups from countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Japan, the Netherlands, and various others.

Roger Li with NTD Television contributed to this report.