Chen Jiangang, Lawyer of Chinese lawyer Xie Yang Defends Self

Chinese human rights lawyer Xie Yang 谢阳, in undated photo (left), and Chinese government photo (2017 Mar 02) still in jail after over 1.5 years. Though he seems to have survived his 6 months of torture, he is obviously thin. I could hardly recognize him from his photo.

Chinese human rights lawyer Xie Yang 谢阳, in undated photo (left), and Chinese government photo (2017 Mar 02) still in jail after over 1.5 years. Though he seems to have survived his 6 months of torture, he is obviously thin. I could hardly recognize him from his photo.

In January I had written about a Chinese lawyer Xie Yang 谢阳, who was tortured by Chinese police for 6 months, and has been in jail for over 1.5 years so far. Because his story has been widely published in the Western press, the Chinese government has started a a propaganda campaign against him and his lawyers, alleging Xie Yang’s story of torture was all made up by his lawyers, and is, as a Trumpism, “fake news”. His lawyer Chen Jiangang (陈建刚) has tried to refute this. I’m unsure about his other lawyer Liu Zhengqing (刘正清). New York Times

Xie yang still languishes in jail, though his 6 months of interrogation and torture ended a year ago. He has been photographed by the Chinese government as being in good health and seemingly in good spirits. Compared to his undated photo, in the propaganda photo he is very thin. That he has recovered his torture after a year does not excuse the abuse and psychological trauma that he has endured. We can all hope that he will be released as soon as possible.

Xie Yang, who is now awaiting trial, also said that he slept nine hours a day, and medical checks show that he is in good health.

Chinese human rights lawyer Xie Yang 谢阳, in undated photo (left), and Chinese government photo (2017 Mar 02) still in jail after over 1.5 years. Though  he seems to have survived his 6 months of torture, he is obviously thin. I could hardly recognize him from his photo.

Chinese human rights lawyer Xie Yang 谢阳, in undated photo (left), and Chinese government photo (2017 Mar 02) still in jail after over 1.5 years. Though he seems to have survived his 6 months of torture, he is obviously thin. I could hardly recognize him from his photo.

The Chinese government is accusing Chinese human rights lawyer Jiang Tianyong (江天勇) of fabricating and distributing the torture story. He was disbarred as a lawyer in 2009, and has been arrested and tortured numerous times. That he has confessed to fabricating a story, if under torture, should be discounted.

Jiang, whose lawyer’s license was revoked by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice in 2009, has been held under criminal detention since December on suspicion of subversion and illegally holding classified documents, the report said.

Jiang confessed that he deliberately fabricated the torture stories because he was unsatisfied with the Chinese government and wanted to change China’s current political system.

“I’m willing to confess to my crime,” he was quoted as saying.source

What is harrowing on reading about Xie Yang’s lawyer, Chen Jiangang’s (陈建刚) ordeal is the brave attitude of Chinese human rights lawyers in general. This encompasses physical violence against themselves, threats against their families, and the enormous pressure brought onto their shoulders by the Chinese judicial system. They are truly brave, much braver than I.

I’d given up all hope in the judicial system of this tyrannical regime. The legal system in a dictatorship is simply a tool of control — it has nothing to do with justice. When the judicial system becomes a “knife handle” for the Party, human rights lawyers become helpless fish on the chopping block. As for criminal defense and its techniques, what can they be but an object of ridicule for dictators?

it is so disheartening for justice when a lawyer’s wife calls another lawyer to help her husband, and warns him that he might be beaten up or worse, and that he should think about this carefully before taking his case. Very disheartening.

I received a call from Xie Yang’s wife. She told me that lawyer Lin Qilei (蔺其磊), one of Xie Yang’s lawyers up to that point, had been forced to withdraw from the case, and that Xie hoped that I would take his case. She reminded me that I might face enormous pressure and even violent reprisal, and that I should think it over carefully.

The overriding role of the law in China is to be used as a tool to suppress and control the people.

When I got this far, Xie Yang broke into tears. The fact that so many people outside were thinking of him and worrying about him moved him deeply.

Men don’t cry easy. But over those three days, Xie Yang and I both shed tears regularly, again showing the effect of an evil system in destroying human nature, as well as the sins and tragic brutality that come along with government power that acts with impunity.

When describing how the security agent Yin Zhuo and others threatened the lives of his wife and daughter, saying they were going to stage a car accident to kill them, Xie Yang cried again. I stopped typing and thumped the table hard and repeatedly with a closed fist.

I have the greatest sympathy for the plight and vulnerability of Jiang Tianyong who, in the hands of those scum, can’t control his own fate. Jiang Tianyong was tortured on numerous occasions, and he made multiple statements denigrating himself. Having experienced the barbaric torture first hand, he told friends that, if he’s tortured, he may very well submit to their demands, because the methods they use are beyond what any human can withstand. An examination of Xie Yang’s testimony makes this clear. Thus, I feel for Jiang Tianyong in the same manner that I feel for Wang Yu and others. They are brave warriors, they are victims of a tyranny, and they are the light of dawn at the end of the night.

In totalitarian China, all of the powers of the judicial, procuratorial, police, and public security organs are one, and those in power can do whatever they want. In Xie Yang’s case, he was accused of the crime of opposing the Party and opposing socialism. The investigation was conducted by the Party, the review was carried out by the Party, the trial will also be presided over by the Party. Now that Xie Yang’s torture has become an international scandal, the investigation was again done under the leadership of the Party. Everything is handled by the Party — in other words the Party is the player and the referee at the same time. This scandalous power structure is sacred in China and must be preserved and praised. It’s always for repression, never for truth, fairness, or justice.

I only hope that in the future that China does not prosecute human rights lawyers. These lawyers have a job to do, so let them do it. Torture should not be tolerated anywhere. No truth can come out of a torture situation.

Addendum 2017 Mar 05: Chen Jiangang writes something like a last testament
-He loves his fmaily and kids. He will not commit suicide
-He has commited no crime and will not willingly confess
-If he is tortured do not believe what he is forced to say
-If he implicates friends on TV these are not his words
-He really did interview his meetings with Xie Yang and takes responsibility

This is so sad when a lawyer has the foresight to publicly write that in the event of incarceration and torture, to not believe his words.

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