Hunan Walk-in: Tiananmen Era Protestor's Ideals

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 GUANGZHOU 021650

SIPDIS

C O N F I D E N T I A L

SIPDIS
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/CM AND DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/17/16
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI CH
SUBJECT: Hunan Walk-in: Tiananmen Era Protestor's Ideals
Intact Despite Harassment

REF: A) Guangzhou 14013


1. (U) Classified by Acting Consul General William Martin.
Reason 1.4 (d).

Summary
--------------


2. (C) A former imprisoned protestor from the Tiananmen
Square era recently approached the Consulate with
information of his personal history and continued
harassment from the Chinese government. The man, a middle-
school teacher from Hunan province, told Congenoffs of his
imprisonment from 1989-1991 following dissident activities
related to the Tiananmen Square incident and of later
detainments in 2004 and 2006 around the anniversary of June

4. The visitor briefly described the fate of other known
Tiananmen protestors in Hunan province and of pro-
democracy activities in Hunan and Hubei. His story is a
useful example of the continued difficulties former
Tiananmen protestors face today. End summary.


3. (C) On July 11, Hunan resident Zheng Shihe, called
Post's Consular section, asking to speak with a Consulate
officer. Later that day, RSO, Econoff, Poloff and Econ/Pol
FSN met with Zheng, whose main objective was to seek Post's
help in securing a job with a U.S. company in China.
During the meeting, Zheng gave Congenoffs copies of the
official government documents that described the details of
his arrest and imprisonment.

Biographical Background
--------------


4. (C) Zheng Shihe, 42 years old, a resident of Yunzhou
city in Hunan province, currently works as a Chinese
language teacher at the Yunzhou No. 3 middle school.
According to the documents Zheng showed Congenoffs, on
March 24, 1989, while working at the Yunzhou No. 1 School
(a prestigious provincial-level school),Zheng was
arrested, along with two other men, for "attacking the
Central Leaders and the People's Liberation Army (PLA)"
through dissident activities in connection with the
Tiananmen democracy protests. The activities in question
included "organizing young teachers for illegal
demonstrations" and "writing, printing and posting banners
and slogans that humiliate the Communist Party and State
leaders." Zheng said more specifically that his dissident
activities included writing disparaging remarks about Deng
Xiaoping in a prominent location at his school,
distributing 200 copies of a pamphlet he had written
entitled "Revolutionary Family Bible", and organizing
protests and briefings about the latest events occurring at
Tiananmen. Zheng, who is an avid listener of Voice of
America and Radio Free Asia, said he learned about the
Tiananmen Square events through these and other sources and
wanted to share his knowledge with his town. Zheng and the
other two men were put in the Lingling Labor Reform camp in
Hunan province for two years. Zheng said that during his
prison sentence, he suffered various forms of physical and
psychological ill-treatment including forced, hard labor,
beatings and ideological reporting on a regular basis.
Because of Zheng's good behavior, his sentence was
shortened by 275 days and he was released on June 9, 1991.

After Prison - Continued Harassment
--------------


5. (C) Since being released from prison, Zheng claimed he
has not been left alone. Similar to tactics used by the
Communist Party Discipline Committee, Zheng has been
required to follow "shuanggui" ("double rules": announcing
time and place). In other words, at a certain, especially
during important anniversaries such as June 4 and July 1
(the birthdate of the Chinese Communist Party),Zheng said
he is required to report his location to the local Public
Security Bureau (PSB) and is "not allowed to go outside."
Typically, if the PSB has a known dissident in the area,
they will find a designated individual from the dissident's
"danwei" (work unit) to be responsible for the dissident's
actions. In Zheng's case this was boss, the principal at
his middle school. Zheng complained of "endless
instruction" from the principal of his middle school and by
the Educational Bureau director. Zheng described how the
principal and director were told by the local PSB to keep
close control over him. He also said that if he causes

GUANGZHOU 00021650 002 OF 003


trouble, the principal and director will be punished as
well.


6. (C) In May 2004, one month before the 15th anniversary
of the Tiananmen incident, Zheng claimed that the local PSB
called him and asked him to stay at home. On June 1,
however, Zheng decided to go to Beijing for what he called
"tourism" (Comment: Given the sensitive time period around
his planned "tourism", we can assume his goal included some
sort of protest or political element to it. End comment).
The principal of Zheng's middle school, however, found out
about his plan and personally detained him in a hotel run
by the local Education Bureau. In June 2006, Zheng again
attempted some limited political activity. On June 4, 2006
Zheng sent a mobile phone text message to the director of
the Education Bureau and principal of his school, passing
on his condolences for those who suffered during the
Tiananmen incident. Consequently, the school principal
decided to personally detain Zheng for one day in the
principal's home.


7. (C) Zheng described some of the professional setbacks
he has suffered since 1989. Before his arrest, he claims
he was a highly respected teacher, working at a prestigious
school in Yanzhou. After his arrest he lost his position
at the school as well as his professional title (which are
important for advancement). Over the past 15 years he has
worked his way back up to a municipal-level school.
Despite his many years of experience, his salary has not
increased and he has been disqualified from any further
professional titles. Zheng also claims that his mobile
phone is tapped during sensitive national holidays. He
explained that he knows this because of the background
static he can hear on the phone and comments made by the
school principal that reflect an awareness of Zheng's phone
conversations.

Fate of Other Tiananmen Protestors
--------------


8. (C) Zheng said he personally knows of 12 other men from
Hunan who were active during the Tiananmen period. He said
that of them, only two are living "decent" lives without
significant problems with the Government. Six others, he
said, were in a "really bad situation", unable to
successfully integrate into society. Zheng did not explain
the details of each of the individuals, but said they had
suffered professional setbacks similar to his own. Two
others are "mentally unstable," which Zheng surmised stems
from Government pressure along the same lines as what he
himself has experienced over the years. Some of the men
recently reunited to attend a wedding. At the wedding the
former protestors made a vow that if any one of the 12 were
detained again in the future, all of them would go to
Beijing and inform foreign embassies or the "Tiananmen
Mothers" group of the situation.

Current Political Activities - Hunan Democracy Party
-------------- --------------


9. (C) Because of the police surveillance around him,
Zheng said he is currently not very politically active. He
admitted that he occasionally uses the Chinese language
courses he teaches at the middle school as a platform for
expressing his political views to China's next generation.
Zheng also briefly mentioned knowledge of a "Democratic
Party" in Hunan and Hubei, with former Tiananmen protestors
as members, although his details about the group were very
vague. According to Zheng, the group manages to avoid
being detained because they use "one-way contact", where
the leaders only contact the followers. The Democracy
Party has tried to contact Beijing lawyer Gao Zhisheng, but
was unsuccessful. Zheng was unaware of the "Rights
Protection Movement" (weiquan yundong),which is led by Gao
(reftel). The group also tried to join a one day hunger
strike for Gao, but the local PSB stopped the event after
they learned about it through the internet, according to
Zheng.

Seeking U.S. Help
--------------


10. (C) Zheng's primary reasons for approaching the
Consulate were both psychological and professional.
Because of the harassment he has received over the years,
he was looking for people with whom he could share his

GUANGZHOU 00021650 003 OF 003


experiences. Moreover, he was hoping the Consulate could
help him secure a job with a U.S. company, which might be
more sympathetic to a democratically-minded Chinese
national.

Comment
--------------


11. (C) Zheng's experiences are consistent with those of
dissidents nationwide whose activities are monitored and
whose movements are limited around sensitive anniversaries.
Nonetheless, his frustrations and disappointments are not
uncommon for a generation of Tiananmen-era idealists, some
of whom went to prison for their beliefs, who are entering
middle age. They are finding it as difficult as ever to
voice their views in a system that considers vocal dissent
a threat to social stability -- and to Party rule.

MARTIN