Li Wen-Tzu: I’m proud of having a husband like Wang Quanzhang

After being imprisoned by the Chinese government for more than four years, Chinese human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang is scheduled to be released on April 5. His wife Li Wen-Tzu told DW that she feels very excited about Wang’s release but she also worries that the coronavirus outbreak could complicate the process of his release.

DW: How did you learn about your husband’s date of release?

Li Wen-Tzu: Quanzhang told me that he would be released on April 5 during my last visit to the Lin-Yi prison on January 15. However, I didn’t receive any official paperwork about his date of release. In fact, over the last few years, I haven’t received many official documents about Quanzhang’s case, including his official verdict.

DW: Did you try to verify the authenticity of this information?

Li Wen-Tzu: In fact, there are no ways for me to get any relevant information from the Chinese officials, because over the last five years, they have never offered me any accurate information about Quanzhang’s case. So since Quanzhang personally shared the information with me, I choose to believe that it is accurate.

After my last visit to the prison, I started the countdown in my mind. It was the first time in so long that Quanzhang expressed some kind of emotion towards me, and that really made me feel both excited and anxious.

During my first visit to the prison, Quanzhang behaved like a robot that was incapable of expressing emotions. He didn’t smile or say much when he saw me and our son for the first time in more than four years. After that, he remained largely emotionless until my last visit in January.

When we saw each other on January 15, he told me that “soon I will be able to leave the prison.” When he talked, I could feel his excitement through his expressions. I believe he had also started the countdown in his mind.

Afterwards, I shared my excitement with the family members of other oppressed human rights lawyers. “I could feel that Quanzhang was also excited about leaving the prison,” I told them. “I think he was finally going to emerge from this four-year-long torment.”

DW: Did you make any special preparation for Quanzhang’s release?

Li Wen-Tzu: I started discussing with family and friends about how we should pick up Quanzhang from the prison on April 5. However, not long after that, the coronavirus pandemic broke out in China, and I started to wonder whether the outbreak would last until April 5 or not. In case the outbreak remains serious, I worried our plan to pick up Quanzhang would be impacted. From then on, I started feeling anxious.

Over the last two months, while I tried to stay home with my son as much as I can, I was also hoping that the outbreak would gradually subside. I also began to record videos about 2 weeks ago, because I hope to remind the world that Quanzhang will soon be released from jail. As it gets closer to the day, I also started to feel more anxious.

However on March 21, Beijing city rolled out a new regulation that bans anyone from Hubei province to enter Beijing. This news complicated my plan to meet Quanzhang in Shangdong on April 5. Since my household registration is still in Hubei province, if I leave Beijing to meet Quanzhang on April 5, I will not be allowed to return to Beijing, which could also mean that Quanzhang and I couldn’t return to our home.

I was forced to come up with an alternative plan, but as it gets closer to April 5, I just feel like each day becomes longer than ever.

DW: Did you come up with a new plan?

Li Wen-Tzu: Since I won’t be able to leave Beijing, our family have decided to let Quanzhang’s sister to pick him up from the prison and drive him to Beijing on April 5. If everything goes well, Quanzhang should be back in Beijing by Sunday evening. However, I worry that he won’t be released on the same day.

There have been other human rights lawyers who were arbitrarily taken away by the Chinese police on the day of their release. Last year, Chinese human rights lawyer Jiang Tian-Yong, who was also arrested by the Chinese police in 2015, was taken away by the police on the day of his release at midnight.

Jiang’s sister and friends were not able to meet him outside the prison. I’m worried that Quanzhang could also face similar treatment on April 5, and if that happens, it just shows that the Chinese government continues to oppress our family in an illegal way. I will continue to sue the government and keep protesting until Quanzhang can enjoy real freedom.

DW: Your life has undergone lots of changes over the last five years. What are some of the biggest changes that have happened to you?

Li Wen-Tzu: I was a housewife that was forced to become an activist because of what happened to my husband. I think all I’ve done over the last five years are things that I should do, and there is nothing too extraordinary about them. However, I still feel like I’ve learned a lot through the process.

I used to be a housewife that merely cared about my own family, and I never really cared about what happened in the outside world until Quanzhang was arrested. Now, I have turned into someone who has a broader view of the world and also knows more truth about what the Chinese government is trying to tell its citizens.

Another important change is that I have learned more about Quanzhang, especially what he does. In the past, I didn’t really know what his job entailed, but after spending the last few years around human rights lawyers and their family members, I learned more about the community as well as what Quanzhang’s life was like.

I used to complain that he spared too little time for our family, but now with a better understanding about the risks that he had to take while working, I felt guilty about complaining so much in the past. He really had to deal with a lot of pressure.

Quanzhang is a man that deserves so much respect for what he does. I’m very proud of having a husband like Quanzhang, and I think once he is released from jail, I will be able to face many difficulties and challenges with him.

DW: Would you continue to play the role of an activist once Quanzhang is released from jail?

Li Wen-Tzu: Honestly, I never thought of myself as someone with huge ambitions or a lot of energy, because in my mind, I am still a housewife who was forced to become an activist. But one thing for sure is that even if Quanzhang were released from jail, it doesn’t mean the end of our family’s activism. It is only a momentary end, and there are many challenges waiting for us.

I think the Chinese government sees us as their enemies, so they won’t let us have an easy life. Many human rights lawyers and their families still face persecution even after they have been released from jail, so I’m sure the same will happen to us. If the government continues to oppress us, I will definitely keep protesting.

With that being said, I hope Quanzhang can properly rest and enjoy freedom once he is home. Based on what I’ve seen from other human rights lawyers who were released from jail, they all needed a long period of time to recover from all the torments that they went through.

And since our family has been separated for more than four years, I hope we can find a relatively free and comfortable environment to enjoy life as a normal family.

This piece was originally published on DW’s Chinese website.