Grace Gao (activist)

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Grace Gao
Born1993
NationalityAmerican
Other namesGrace Geng
Known forHuman rights activism
Parent(s)Gao Zhisheng and Geng He (耿和)[1]

Grace Gao, also known as Grace Geng,[2] is a Chinese-American human rights activist. She is daughter of imprisoned Chinese human rights lawyer and dissident Gao Zhisheng.[3] She and her family have been spied on, beaten and intimidated by the Chinese authorities.[3] She lectures internationally to promote her father's book A China More Just and to bring attention to his case (currently, he has been disappeared by the Chinese authorities[4]), and speak out against human rights abuses in China.[3][5][6]

And so, I find myself in a position of picking up the mantle and becoming a human rights defender like my father.

— Grace Gao, 'Truth is power and I will keep speaking it until my father is free'

Early life[edit]

Gao was escorted to school everyday by police officers who followed her wherever she went.[3] Grace self-harmed because of her distress at her experiences[7] and, at 17 years old, she was suicidal, attempting to take her life on several occasions.[2] She found it difficult to understand her father's choices.[2]

After Gao was prohibited by the government from attending school,[3] her mother decided to smuggle her and her brother (Peter, b. 2005) out of China.[3] On 9 January 2009 they fled to Thailand via motorcycle and bus (hiding in the luggage hold),[8] then went to the United States where they received political asylum.[8][9] In New York, Grace underwent six months of hospital treatment for mental health issues, but still found it hard to trust people.[2] She learned to understand her father[8] and support him.[2]

Education[edit]

Grace learned English after she came to the United States, graduated from high school at 20,[8] and went on to study economics at a Californian university.[2]

Life after Gao Zhisheng arrest[edit]

Following Gao's father's resignation from the Chinese Communist Party in 2005[10] and his accusations that the government was running extrajudicial "brainwashing base" for dealing with Falun Gong practitioners,[11] Gao's family were put under 24-hour police surveillance.[8] Over a number of years, her father received death threats and, according to Amnesty International,[12] in 2006 escaped an assassination attempt. On 15 August 2006 Gao Zhisheng disappeared while visiting his sister's family and was officially arrested on 21 September 2006. His family were beaten.[3] This was the start of a number of extended forced disappearances and arrests Gao Zhisheng experienced over subsequent years.[2][13] He was tortured whilst in custody and is still under house arrest.[2] Grace was bullied at school because of her father's work[2] and other students were warned not to talk to her.[8] The security agents who escorted her to school would check her bag each morning for 'dangerous or forbidden items', messing up the contents of her school bag.[7] The officers would beat her.[6]

In 2016, she visited Hong Kong to launch her father's memoir[2] and met with UN officials in Geneva.[6] Grace attended the Oslo Freedom Forum in May 2017 where she lectured on "A China More Just"[3][14] and in the October met with UK officials to discuss her father's case.[15] In 2018, in an open letter to Angela Merkel, she called on the German Chancellor to speak out on behalf of her father during a state visit to China.[16]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Press Statement by Wife of Gao Zhisheng". Citizen Power Initiatives for China. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2020. Geng He (耿和), wife of Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng (高智晟)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j J. Liu, 'Grace Geng: Chinese dissident's daughter proud of her 'brave' father' (14/06/16) on BBC
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Grace Gao bio Archived 2017-08-15 at the Wayback Machine on Oslo Freedom Forum website
  4. ^ B. Rogers, 'A year on, lawyer’s disappearance highlights China’s escalating human rights disaster' (13/08/18) on Hong Kong Free Press
  5. ^ 'Taler Kina midt imot' (24/05/17) in Dagsavisen
  6. ^ a b c Grace Geng, 'Truth is power and I will keep speaking it until my father is free' Archived 2021-06-25 at the Wayback Machine (03/10/16) for International Service for Human Rights
  7. ^ a b My Father Never Spoke About The Persecution He Suffered (17/06/16) on Radio Free Asia
  8. ^ a b c d e f 'A Hero’s Daughter: The hard life of Grace Gao' (26/06/17) in the National Review
  9. ^ 'China rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng ready for consequences over new book: Daughter' (14/06/16) in The Straits Times
  10. ^ T. Branigan, 'Missing Chinese dissident Gao Zhisheng reappears' (28/03/10) on The Guardian
  11. ^ J. Kahn, 'Legal Gadfly Bites Hard, and Beijing Slaps Him' (13/12/05) on New York Times
  12. ^ Amnesty International, 'China: Fear for safety/ death threats: Gao Zhisheng (M)' (19/01/06)
  13. ^ 'Daughter of Chinese human rights lawyer promotes his book in Hong Kong (14/06/16) on The San Diego Union-Tribune
  14. ^ M. Forsythe, 'Incendiary Memoir by Chinese Rights Lawyer Reaches Bookshelves Abroad' (14/06/16) on New York Times
  15. ^ Mark Field MP (20/10/17) in answer to 'Gao Zhisheng:Written question - 108343'
  16. ^ 'Will China allow rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng to seek medical help abroad?' (28/05/18) on South China Morning Post
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