被中共以颠覆国家政权罪判处14年有期徒刑的中国公民运动代表人物许志永，因为在狱中争取尊严和通信权利的基本人权而绝食的消息引起广泛的关注。此前就已传出许志永在鲁南监狱遭受酷刑，除被强迫劳动外，他还被狱方安排的3名“包夹”人员全天候进行24小时不间断的监控。
所谓“包夹”，是中共监狱的中普遍存在一种违反法律、侵犯人权的“制度化酷刑”，通过安排利用犯人去干狱警不能公开干的事，被包夹者经常受到恶意羞辱、威胁和体罚，被禁止与别人交谈和接触，目的就是在于完全剥夺被包夹者的隐私、自由和尊严，摧毁他们的意志，这是一种明显的酷刑手段。如果说中共监狱剥夺了正常的人身自由，那么“包夹”就是在没有正常的人身自由的地方彻底剥夺连普通犯人都享有的最基本的人身权利与安全，是中共监狱系统一种隐蔽狡猾的肉体与精神酷刑。
许志永遭受重判且在监狱受到酷刑、被剥夺基本人权，显示了中共对这位勇敢的抗争者的顾忌，通过酷刑和封锁孤立，试图摧毁他的精神意志，让他的声音被公众遗忘。许志永的同道战友丁家喜曾在法庭上激情洋溢地宣告：“我要做一个有态度、有声音的中国公民。我要做一只蝴蝶。蝴蝶不停扇动翅膀，一定会引发社会变革的飓风。”习近平定于一尊这十年，是许志永践行公民理想而受难的十年，从“偷税罪”到“妨害公共安全罪”，从“聚众扰乱公共场所秩序罪”到“颠覆国家政权罪”，再到在狱中被酷刑，对许志永这一系列莫须有的罪名到从精神、肉体的折磨，目的只有一个，折断蝴蝶的翅膀，避免自由的飓风摧垮中共的极权主义大厦。
许志永从2012年起倡导以“堂堂正正做公民”为主旨的新公民运动，践行自由、公义、爱，推动民主法治，呼吁中国人实现从臣民到公民的转变，追求自由公正，公民行动，宪政中国。许志永在他的文章《新公民精神——自由、公义、爱》中详细阐述了新公民精神的理念。他认为：“新公民精神是现代公民应有的信念和气质，它来自普遍人性的纯真渴望，以及对他人、社会、国家和全人类的责任，是值得每一个中国公民和中华民族永远珍惜的美好价值，是人类文明进步的象征，这就是自由、公义、爱。”
新公民运动的产生带有鲜明的维权运动特色，背景是中国加入WTO以及北京奥运的需要而迫使中共在社会控制上作了一定程度的松动，给社会带来了一些可以操作的空间，而有限市场化和有限开放必然带来新的利益格局和更多的权利诉求，促进了维权活动的勃兴，在新兴社会阶层迫切的公共生活表达、参与以维护生命、财产等安全需要的历史大势下，形成了维权运动这时代产物。
虽然新公民运动在论述上表明“是一场政治运动”，“包含公民权利运动、公民不合作运动和民主运动”（见2012年5月许志永发表的纲领性文章《中国新公民运动》），但是主张相对温和，在思路上、实践上的具体行动包括教育平权、财产公示、公民同城聚餐等仍是维权运动的内容但整体上提高了维权运动的层次，与同时期的网络社交新媒体蓬勃兴起成为民众主要的公共生活参与方式同步。新公民运动鼓励公民公共参与，践行公民理念，跳出了专制体制的逻辑和话语系统，丰富了民间生态促进了民间社会各阶层的联合，形成强烈的动员效应。
与维权运动以法律和社会行动推动中国进步的期待相反的是，通过有限市场化，权贵与资本的相互依存、相互勾结，中共获得了庞大资源强化、固化了极权主义本身，保守现状而不是使社会更具开放性才更符合专制体制的利益。中共的专制体制在“江湖时代”在社会控制上一定程度的松动只是专制统治的压力调适，其一党专政的内核与本质从没有变化。
维权运动在姿态上论述上对中共再三表述“我不是反贼”，刻意回避“房间里的大象”以争取生存、发育的空间。但是激进与温和只是民间自我的标签，专制体制从来无意分辨谁激进谁温和，社会的自我发育、组织、行动必然对专制体制固化社会意图造成冲击，所以从不能容忍到断然打击才是中共的必然逻辑，无论是哪一种维度的维权运动，只要还是去政治化的，企图在政治社会之外通过社会发育以壮大公民社会，进而推动渐进转型，建设一个并不存在的“中间社会”，都只是一厢情愿的幻想，只有一个泯然于时代的结局。
中共的极权主义体制决定了中国维权运动必然失败，然而，与维权运动被时代淘汰相不同的是，许志永在2013年被当局逮捕并以“聚众扰乱公共场所秩序罪”为名判处有期徒刑四年，2017年他获释刑满出狱后，直面房间里的大象，“2003到2013十年间，我们是改良主义者，通过个案援助、调查报告、围观参与推动社会进步。我是后知后觉者，成为革命者，是2016年了。总是怀着最大的善意，希望看到主动改变，后来实在看不到希望了”，“革命不是打江山坐江山，革命不意味着暴力，改良到革命，只是放弃对体制的幻想”（许志永：《这是我的祖国》）。“中国需要革命。中国必将爆发革命。惟革命才能灭专制，惟革命才能救中国，惟革命才有民主自由，惟革命才有公平正义，惟革命才有人的尊严，惟革命才有中华重生。没有共产党，才有新中国”（中国向何处去？——许志永上诉书）。
因此，有别于相当大一部分脱胎于维权运动却在新时代思维模式已然固化的维权人物，许志永跟上并重新走在了时代的前面，他对维权运动的隐晦、间接、扭曲的方式进行公共参与作了深刻的反思，把“新公民运动”更名为“中国公民运动”，重新阐释了理念与倡议，聚合社会力量，彻底走向了政治反对运动。他知行合一，勇于担当，以非凡的道义勇气直面房间里的大象，对中共暴政、习近平开历史倒车的黑暗现实投以最明亮的光芒，对“皇帝的新装”高声地喊出了大象的存在。
自从道义和合法性资源在习天下时代挥霍殆尽后，中共挥舞专政的铁拳全方位出击，以严厉手段全面管控社会，持续压制社会争取空间的诉求，整肃挑战政权的反对群体，孤立抗争者的连结网络。因此，作为中国公民运动的代表人物，许志永再次入狱遭受残酷打压对中共体制来说是理所当然的了。
许志永道义感召来自他始终如一的勇气。丘吉尔曾经说过，在所有人类品质中，勇气是最受尊敬的，因为它保证了所有其他品质。他是对的，如同许志永在他的上诉书《中国向何处去？》所指出的：“最可贵的是勇气。说真话的勇气，捍卫自由的勇气，不怕坐牢的勇气，走上街头的勇气”，要成为公民，最可贵的品质是勇气，当恐惧成为专制时代的常态时，勇气才是唯一的答案。
这勇气，来自为反对中共极权，冲破专制牢笼，争取自由从不曾止息的洪流，来自刘晓波，杨天水，力虹，李旺阳等众多殉道者的鲜血，来自许志永，丁家喜，王炳章，高智晟，秦永敏，郭飞雄，彭立发等脊梁骨铸就的自由灵魂。
对“房间里的大象”假装不在场、不知道、不在意，是专制制度维系的助推器；成为公民，意味着正视大象的存在，以勇气为自由、民主、公正和尊严而抗争，中共这头怪物必然被驱离房间，铸就至暗时刻人类以勇气争取自由弥足珍贵的历史丰碑。
An Open Letter Seeking the Support of the International Community, Human Rights Organisations, and Chinese Diaspora Groups Regarding the Hunger Strike of Xu Zhiyong
Dear Sir/Madam,
As of 12 November 2024, Xu Zhiyong, a leading figure in China’s civil rights movement, has been on hunger strike for 40 days. The confirmed details of his case are as follows:
1. Xu’s sole demand is to resume communication rights with his fiancée, Li Qiaochu, and this right has been repeatedly denied by the authorities at Lunan Prison, where Xu is serving a 14-year sentence.
2. Chinese officials have obstructed Xu’s access to his lawyer, effectively severing any means of conveying his physical condition or communicating his autonomous wishes regarding his hunger strike.
3. Although Xu recently managed to meet with family members, they were subjected to intimidation, coercion, and severe warnings by prison officials and relevant authorities to prevent attention being drawn to Xu’s protest.
On 23 October, it was revealed that Xu Zhiyong began his hunger strike on 4 October to protest Lunan Prison’s illegal denial of his right to correspond with Li Qiaochu. He had been permitted to communicate with her since August. Learning of Li’s struggles with depression has weighed heavily on Xu’s mind; additionally, since Xu’s detention in 2020, Li has campaigned tirelessly for his freedom and, as a result, was unjustly sentenced to three years and eight months in prison. Li’s sacrifice and dedication are deeply moving to Xu, and corresponding with her is the only channel for him to maintain contact with her. However, since September, their communication has been obstructed, with Xu’s repeated attempts to restore it being blocked by the prison’s arbitrary censorship. When a prison officer recently tore up Li Qiaochu’s letter to him before his eyes, this act of deliberate humiliation and degradation drove Xu to escalate his protest to a hunger strike — a decision not made lightly but compelled by his firm desire to reclaim his dignity and the fundamental rights denied to him.
As a matter of fact, reports emerged as early as July this year detailing Lunan Prison’s illegal restrictions on Xu’s basic human rights, including psychological abuse such as placing him under constant surveillance by assigned monitors known as “bao jia”, which severely restrict his movements and isolate him. Over the past few months, Lunan Prison has intensified these oppressive measures. Despite grueling conditions, Xu has persisted in his resistance, though the extent of his struggle has remained hidden from public knowledge.
Now, 40 days into his hunger strike, Xu’s health has undoubtedly reached a critical juncture. There are urgent questions regarding his physical condition: whether he has been subjected to forced feeding or other inhumane treatment, and if Lunan Prison has punished, coerced, or continued to abuse him. Such vital information concerning Xu Zhiyong’s safety and well-being remains hidden behind Lunan’s prison walls due to deplorable and unlawful obstructions.
In defense of his fundamental rights, Xu Zhiyong has exhausted every lawful means of protest available to him within the prison system. External support has been continuous, with statements of concern issued by various governments, human rights organisations, and civil society groups. The Chinese government has thus far remained silent in the face of these criticisms and demands for accountability. Meanwhile, Lunan Prison—effectively acting as an instrument of repression—has denied the hunger strike, misled the public, pressured Xu’s family, and is intent on forcing this situation to fade into obscurity. At the same time, they continue to disregard their own legal violations, ignoring Xu Zhiyong’s rights and any possibility of improving his conditions of detention.
For this reason, Xu’s hunger strike urgently requires the attention of democratic governments, heads of state, international human rights organisations, and all who advocate for justice and human dignity.
Based on available information, Xu’s physical and mental state is now in a life-threatening condition. Through this open letter, we urgently call upon the international community, human rights organisations, and Chinese diaspora groups to stay attentive to his case and to continue pressuring the Chinese government and Lunan Prison through vocal support and effective, timely actions. Our specific appeals are as follows:
1. Ensure that Xu Zhiyong receives appropriate medical care at Lunan Prison to prevent further deterioration of his health due to the hunger strike;
2. Ensure that Xu is not subjected to torture or inhumane treatment, and that his detention conditions meet both Chinese law and international human rights standards;
3. Respect and protect Xu Zhiyong’s right to communicate with his fiancée, Li Qiaochu, and prohibit any deliberate restrictions or acts of degradation by prison officials infringing on this right;
4. Uphold Xu Zhiyong’s right to meet with his lawyer so he may directly communicate his condition and intentions;
5. Urge democratic governments and human rights bodies to take effective measures, whether through issuing public statements or encouraging diplomatic representatives in China to visit Xu Zhiyong directly to verify his health and safety.
Finally, we express our heartfelt gratitude to the international community for its enduring support and assistance to Chinese human rights defenders. Xu Zhiyong, who holds a PhD in law from Peking University, has dedicated his professional talent, energy, and leadership to advancing human rights and democratic values in China. In 2013, he was arrested for his vigorous activism and sentenced to four years in prison. Upon release, he continued to uphold his ideals and beliefs. At the end of 2019, Xu was forced into hiding in his own country after organizing a civil gathering for political reform. During this period, Xu issued an open letter urging the Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping to step down. In February 2020, Chinese authorities detained him. Despite the torture and mistreatment, he endured in custody, Xu has never compromised his principles. In 2023, he was handed a new 14-year sentence.
Xu Zhiyong has made immense sacrifices in his fight for a better China, demonstrating tremendous courage in the face of a long prison term and relentless abuse. Humanity’s struggle for justice and freedom is unceasing, and we believe that your attention and support for Xu Zhiyong will not only stand as a defence of what is just, but also inspire change that transcends borders, religions, and political ideologies.
Xiamen Gathering Case Support Group
12 November 2024
