ABA co-publishes memoir by dissident Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng
The smuggled memoir of noted Chinese dissident lawyer Gao Zhisheng is now available in English, a joint project of the American Bar Association Section of International Law (SIL) and Carolina Academic Press.
In the memoir, “Unwavering Convictions: Gao Zhisheng’s Ten-Year Torture and Faith in China’s Future,” Gao provides an account of the years 2004 through 2014, a period of repression and a personal emotional journey. He wrote the book in secret while under house arrest in an isolated village in Shaanxi province in northwestern China. The Chinese manuscript was later smuggled out of China and published in Taiwan this past June, as reported by The New York Times. The U.S. release represents the first English translation for public distribution.
The book has three parts. In the first, the “Unnamed Hell” detailing his account of his secret imprisonments by the police and army from 2004 until 2011, Gao describes how he was savagely beaten and subjected to electric shocks while in custody. He also chronicles his “Named Hell,” the Shaya Prison in the remote western region of Xinjiang where he was jailed from 2011 to 2014. In addition to his personal narrative, Gao provides commentary on the challenges to achieving the rule of law in China and boldly concludes that the Communist regime cannot continue to sustain “its life through violence and lies” and predicts its demise in 2017. The final part of the book envisions China after the fall of communism — a democratic country initially led by a transitional government.
SIL recognized Gao in 2010 with its International Human Rights Lawyer Award, granted to distinguished foreign human rights lawyers who have suffered persecution as a result of their professional activities. The book captures the author’s courage, humility and insight concerning human rights and the rule of law that earned him the distinction as well as a nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize.
