Shanghai Rights Defenders Du Yangming, Tian Baocheng Released From Prison, Recount Cruel Treatment in Prison
On Monday December 1, 2008, Shanghai rights defenders Du Yangming and Tian Baocheng were released from prison after both serving 2 1/2 years for the trumped-up charge of "disturbing public order."
Boxun conducted an interview with them:
Q: After serving 2 1/2 years of "reform through labor," have the two of you changed your attitude toward your right to petition higher authorities to redress injustices?
Du/Tian: Impossible! Simply impossible!
Q: Please summarize your experience in prison.
D/T: While in prison, one day seems like a year. In addition to the physical abuse, what is even harder to accept is the spiritual persecution!
Q: Did you ever lose hope? What were the most contemptible methods?
D/T: We did lose hope. The most contemptible was the wicked police using convicts to punish us.
Q: It is our understanding that Mr. Du is now 65 years old. This was not an easy ordeal to live through.
Du: Because I could not tolerate the spiritual humiliation in prison, I attempted to commit suicide three times.
Q: Thank you for speaking with me. In future I would like to talk to you more about your prison experiences.
After the interview, renowned Shanghai rights defender Ms. Mao Hengfeng--together with a group at a Shanghai restaurant to welcome Du and Tian home from prison--invoked the memory of martyred rights defender Chen Xiaoming. She then sang a very moving song, after which the assembled petitioners called out: "Return my home!" "Return my property!" "We want democracy and freedom!" "Oppose the Communist Party's Fascist Dictatorship!" "Oppose the Communist Party's Cruel Torture!" and "Overthrow the Communist Party!"
As the group finished their meal and gathered for a group photo, it was clear that these petitioners are united in their determination to resist the Communist Party's despotism, and will continue with their collective struggle.
http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2008/12/200812020134.shtml