{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=357068", "Blind Human Rights Activist Chen, Family of Jailed Writer Focus on Plight of Guo at Congressional Hearing", "2013-10-29", "2013", "2013-10", "Republican", "House", "NJ", "Christopher Smith", "S000522", "chrissmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Blind Human Rights Activist Chen, Family of Jailed Writer Focus on Plight of Guo at Congressional Hearing\r\n  \r\n    \r\n      Human rights leader remains imprisoned by Chinese Gov't\r\n      \r\n  \r\n    \r\n      f \r\n      t \r\n      #\r\n      e\r\n      \r\n      \r\n    \r\n    \r\n      \r\n        Washington,\r\n        Oct 29, 2013 | \r\n      Jeff Sagnip\r\n      ((202) 225-3765) \r\n    \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n    \r\n    \r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n      \r\n    \r\n  \r\n  \r\n    \r\n      \r\n      \r\n      The re-arrest of writer and human rights defender Guo Feixiong in China was the focus of a press conference and hearing held today by Chairman Chris Smith (NJ-04) of the House global human rights subcommittee and co-chairman of the U.S. Congressional-Executive China Commission, along with other Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Guo's wife and daughter and other hearing witnesses tried to bring attention to Guo\u2019s plight.\u00a0\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Testifying at a hearing entitled \u201cGuo Feixiong and Freedom of Expression in China,\u201d were Chen Guangcheng, the blind human rights lawyer and ex-political prisoner of the Chinese government who escaped from house arrest in 2012 amid an international furor, reached the U.S. Embassy in Bejing, and eventually settled in the U.S.; Zhang Qing, wife of Guo Feixiong and Yang \u201cSara\u201d Tianjiao, his daughter; Pastor Bob Fu, Founder and President, ChinaAid Association, and; T. Kumar of Amnesty International (AI).\u00a0\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Guo\u2019s daughter, Tianjiao \u201cSara\u201d Yang, told reporters and the congressional panel she was grateful to have opportunity to speak about her father whom she last saw seven years ago in 2006 when she was only 10. She recounted how he bought her a video game, and how they played it almost every day during that summer. But on Sept. 14, 2006 when she came back from school, he was gone.\u00a0\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI have not seen him since that day,\u201d she said. \u201cI did not even have a chance to say \u2018bye\u2019 or \u2018I love you\u2019 to him. Over the past seven years, I have dreamed about him a lot. I dreamed that he would play that video game with me again so we could pass level five together. But they were only dreams. The next day I always found myself in tears.\u201d\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Smith said Guo\u2019s detention appears to be reprisal for his support of government transparency and calls for accountability. In recent months, Beijing has cracked down harshly on dozens of similar-minded advocates seeking political reforms.\u00a0\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThese detentions signify Chinese citizens\u2019 growing resolve and Beijing\u2019s growing fears,\u201d Smith said. \u201cGuo, and many others throughout China, want change. They want accountability, they want transparency, and they want justice. And, increasingly, they are willing to endure great risks and willing to sacrifice their own personal security to speak freely.\u201d Click here to read chairman\u2019s statement.\u00a0\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Chen, who appeared via Skype, called on the controlling Communist Central Party (CCP) to stop persecuting religious believers and respect religious freedom. He noted over 120 Tibetan monks have set themselves on fire. Some fighting against tyranny have been shot one and he recounted \u201cindescribable persecution\u201d of Falun Gong practitioners.\u00a0\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI call on lawyers and legal experts of the United States and the American Bar Association to advocate for the human rights lawyers of China and make joint efforts to provide them with some specific legal support and assistance,\u201d Chen said.\u00a0\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Chen, who served years in prison for accepting court cases of women fighting forced abortions, also called to end China\u2019s one-child policy and forcible abortion \u201cbecause forcing women to abort their babies is a violation of universal human rights. It tramples on women\u2019s rights, the right of free choice, and also the sacred right of life.\u201d The policy also results in a severe imbalance in gender ratio and a rapidly aging population.\u00a0\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Zhang Qing thanked the panel for the opportunity to describe her husband Guo Feixiong personally, as well as his legal case and activities in defending human rights.\u00a0\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIn China today, human rights conditions continue to deteriorate,\u201d she said. \u201cIn a new round of government crackdowns on civil movements this summer, my husband, Guo Feixiong, was detained again. This is his fourth time in prison within two years since he was released on September 13, 2011, after serving five years in prison on a false conviction.\u201d\u00a0\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0She said her husband was charged with \u201cgathering a mob to disrupt the order of a public site.\u201d It was speculated that his detention was caused by his support of the newspaper The Southern Weekly, and a speech he delivered in public challenging China\u2019s system of censorship on books and newspapers.\u00a0\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A former novelist and businessman, Guo (whose real name is Yang Maodong but is far better known by his pen-name Guo Feixiong) became widely known in 2005 for organizing protests of land seizures on the outskirts of Guangzhou city. In 2007, a Chinese court sentenced Guo to five years\u2019 imprisonment on trumped up charges of illegal publishing.\u00a0\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAmnesty International considers Guo Feixiong a prisoner of conscience, who should be immediately and unconditionally released,\u201d said Kumar, AI\u2019s Director of International Advocacy.\u00a0\n\u00a0\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0To watch video of the hearing or to read Chen\u2019s, Guo\u2019s family\u2019s and Amnesty International\u2019s statements, hit control and click here.\u00a0\r\n  \r\n  \r\n  \r\n    \r\n      f \r\n      t \r\n      #\r\n      e", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=357068"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8923111017793417, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}