The parents left behind by a 19 year old asylum seeker who had been trying to escape the clutches of the Chinese communist regime for two years have been taken by CCP authorities.
Wang Jingyu is a 19 year old Chinese dissenter of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), who has been seeking asylum since July 2019 after he made comments online supporting the mass demonstrations in Hong Kong on Chinese social media. Wang's long journey to seek asylum was met with arrests as he tried to escape the clutches of the communist regime.
Unfortunately, his family who he left behind are now under the custody of the Chinese police.
According to Voice Of America, Wang was arrested by police in Dubai as he was transferring for a flight to the U.S. in early April. He was held for weeks and his case was referred to as a human rights concern by the U.S. Department of State.
Wang said Chinese authorities confiscated his green card. He was let go on May 27, fleeing to Turkey then Ukraine, where he received threatening emails saying that the Chinese government had escalated the charges against him to subversion of state power, which is often a case slapped onto those who are critical of the communist regime.
"Your actions have completely changed from the simple charge of picking quarrels and stirring up trouble and demeaning our border martyrs to subversion of state power," the email to the 19 year old student read at the time. "We in the public security organs and national security organs know exactly where you are. I want to remind you that China and Ukraine have an extradition agreement."
Admitting to not being able to "sleep well at night" at the realization that "they would take action" against him, Wang and his fiancee, 26 year old Wu Huan, fled to the Netherlands, which does not have an extradition treaty with China.
However, upon arrival at Amsterdam, they were informed that their passports have been cancelled, a heavy implication of China's extraterritorial reach.
Failing to get to Wang, the Chinese authorities are targeting the people closest to him: his parents. According to Radio Free Asia, Wang was informed by Chongqing's state security police that his parents, Han Qing and Wang Bin have both been detained by the police. An email explained that his father was being held under criminal detention for allegedly "planning to travel to Hong Kong to foment chaos."
A day after receiving the email, Wang called the Chongqing police department, which confirmed that they detained both their parents. The 19 year old admitted that it was not the first time his parents were detained. In fact, they were also previously "called in for illegal questioning and placed under surveillance at their home [for months]." He added, "I haven't been able to get in contact with my parents at all.
"We remain alarmed by human rights violations and abuses in China and call on (Chinese) authorities to respect the fundamental freedoms to which their citizens are entitled consistent with China's international obligations and commitments," the U.S. State Department said in May with regards to Wang's case, the Associated Press reported. It also called upon international governments to respect freedom of speech.
"We actively discourage foreign governments from embracing the tactic of menacing journalists and dissidents overseas and will continue to make clear to partners and adversaries alike that this increasingly prevalent practice must end," the U.S. State Department said. "Freedom of expression should never be criminalized."
