CHINA Christian witness to Tiananmen massacre awaits new trial

Zhang Qiang was sentenced to two years for “encouraging discussions and causing disturbances” and filed an appeal. He is now in Guangzhou jail. For participating in the Tiananmen Square protests, he lost his right of residence and was expelled from his university.

Beijing () – A Christian from the Reformed Biblical Church has been waiting for the appeal process since June, after being sentenced to two years in prison for “encouraging discussions and provoking disturbances”. ChinaAid recalls that Zhang Qiang witnessed the events that occurred in Tiananmen on June 4, 1989: 33 years ago the Chinese security forces massacred thousands of students and citizens who called for freedom and democracy in the country from the iconic square of the capital .

Originally from Liaoning but living in Guangzhou, Guangdong, Zhang was targeted by the Chinese Communist Party for repeatedly calling for justice for people who had made public demands and then suffered reprisals from the authorities.

In late October 2020, with a post on WeChat (a popular Chinese messaging site), Zhang questioned the Guangzhou police version of the death of the head of their political department: according to Christian worshipers, Li Shiquan had not died. “in ‘line of duty’. The Haizhu District Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation against him and indicted him in April 2021.

The District People’s Court issued the conviction only in June this year. Zhang immediately filed an appeal, but he is still in the Haizhou jail.

For having participated in the Tiananmen Square protests, Zhang suffered several reprisals. He was expelled from the university and the police took away his residence permit, leaving him, in effect, as an undocumented citizen. He filed an appeal, but was also unable to attend the two corresponding trials because he lacked an identity document.