Prominent Chinese dissident Xu Zhiyong, jailed after penning an open letter calling on President Xi Jinping to step down, has ended his hunger strike in prison, according to social media reports from people close to his family.
Xu ended his hunger strike on Oct. 29 after his family was threatened by authorities at Lunan Prison in the eastern province of Shandong, where he is serving a 14-year jail term for “subversion of state power.”
“We can confirm that he stopped his hunger strike on Oct. 29,” U.S.-based lawyer Wu Shaoping told RFA Mandarin in a recent interview, saying the information was based on communications with his second sister.
Xu, 51, who was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in February, has already served jail time for his spearheading of the New Citizens' Movement anti-corruption campaign. He was jailed this time around after penning an open letter to Xi, calling on him to resign.
His detention came after police used facial recognition to track down dissidents who attended a gathering in the southeastern port of Xiamen on Dec. 13, 2019, to discuss current affairs and possible futures for China.
Wu and U.S.-based Wei Shuiping, who is in close contact with the family, said Xu recently had a meeting with his lawyer.
“Today, Xu Zhiyong’s sister visited with him for 20 minutes, and his lawyer met with him for more than two hours,” Wei said via his X account on Tuesday.
A friend of Xu’s who gave only the surname Wang for fear of reprisals confirmed that report.
“He met with his lawyer for more than two hours, and they had a good long talk,” Wang said.
“His sister was threatened by the prison authorities, who said she would suffer the consequences if he made trouble,” he said.
Tore up letter in front of him
A person familiar with the situation who gave only the surname Liu for fear of reprisals said prison authorities appear to be allowing Xu, access to books and writing materials again, after earlier denying them.
“Xu Zhiyong’s health is OK on the face of it,” Liu said. “He’s allowed to read books and practice calligraphy.”
“The books are provided by the prison, while the calligraphy brushes, rice paper and ink are provided by Xu’s family,” she said.
Chinese rights lawyer Li Fangping, who now lives in the United States, said Xu had begun his hunger strike in protest after prison guards tore up a letter from his jailed fiancée and fellow activist Li Qiaochu in front of him.
“He was deprived of his right to communicate,” Li said. “That incident trampled on that right of any citizen.”
“He may be a so-called prisoner, but he still has that right.”
Xu has also reported being forced into labor at the prison.
His trial alongside rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi was widely criticized by rights activists as resulting from a trumped-up charge. Activists and rights lawyers say Xu has never advocated violence, and has paid a very heavy price for advocating for his personal ideals.
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U.S.-based legal scholar Teng Biao reported in July that Xu was being held in a separate cell away from other inmates, and watched around the clock by designated inmates, even during bathroom visits.
Teng, a visiting professor at New York’s City University of New York who worked with Xu Zhiyong for many years, said the “special” treatment being meted out to Xu in prison wasn’t part of the normal running of the facility, but had likely been ordered from higher up.
Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.