——洛杉矶《全球觉醒》第八十四期声援秦永敏

作者：冯仍

2026年8月16日下午3时30分，中国驻洛杉矶总领事馆前再次响起抗议声。中国民主党联合总部美西党部、美南党部以及自由钟民主基金会联合举行《全球觉醒》第八十四期活动。本期活动的主题是“半世纪坚守与三十三年铁窗——谴责中共对秦永敏的迫害”。数十名参与者来到现场，举起秦永敏先生的照片和写有抗议标语的牌子，要求中国政府立即无条件释放秦永敏，并停止对政治异议人士和人权捍卫者的打压。

我也站在当天的队伍中。大家身后的铁栅栏内，是中国驻洛杉矶总领事馆；铁栅栏外，一张张秦永敏的照片被高高举起。照片中的老人已经七十三岁，而他的七十三岁生日却是在湖北潜江广华监狱中度过的。当大家一遍遍喊出“释放秦永敏”时，我意识到，这已不仅是一场海外抗议，更是对一个现实而沉重的问题的追问：一个人究竟要因坚持自己的政治主张而失去多少年的自由？

秦永敏是中国长期从事民主与人权活动的代表人物之一。人权观察的资料显示，他早在1980年便开始参与民主活动。1993年，他参与起草并发起《和平宪章》，主张以和平方式推动民主与政治改革；1998年，他又参与建立中国民主党湖北地方组织。此后，他多次遭到拘押和判刑。2018年7月11日，武汉市中级人民法院以“颠覆国家政权罪”判处秦永敏有期徒刑13年，并剥夺政治权利3年。

秦永敏累计被监禁的时间尤其令人震撼。2021年，联合国人权专家在谈及多名中国人权捍卫者时指出，秦永敏一生中因从事人权工作而在相关案件中累计被判处35年监禁。据维权网2026年8月的报道，他实际被关押的时间已累计达到33年7个月，目前仍在湖北省潜江市广华监狱服刑。美国笔会的最新资料同样将秦永敏列为仍在狱中的作家和人权活动人士。

三十三年多是什么概念？对很多人来说，已经差不多是人生最重要的一段岁月。从青年到老年，一个人最有精力、最能陪伴父母妻儿、最能实现人生理想的时间，大量消耗在监狱之中。而秦永敏所坚持的，主要是公开发表政治意见、组织民间团体、推动人权以及主张中国实行和平民主转型。人权观察在其案件中明确指出，他长期从事的是和平的民主活动，并曾呼吁中国政府开启政治改革。

站在领事馆前，我也想起自己在中国的经历。我曾因为公开表达自己的意见被警方带走和关押。与秦永敏先生三十多年的牢狱经历相比，我被关押的时间当然非常短暂，但哪怕只是短暂失去自由，也足以让一个人真正体会到：当表达意见可能招来警方抓捕、审讯，甚至牢狱之灾时，“言论自由”就不再只是书本上的几个字。 也正因为如此，当我今天能够站在美国的街头，公开举起抗议标语，为仍然身陷囹圄的人发声时，更加知道这种自由并不是理所当然的。

对于秦永敏案件，中国政府则一直持不同立场。2025年中国政府在回复联合国特别程序的文件中称，秦永敏案件依法审理，其诉讼权利获得保障；中方还表示，他目前在广华监狱服刑，服刑以来曾接受家属和律师探视，并接受降压药物及定期身体检查。另一方面，联合国特别程序此前持续就秦永敏等长期服刑人权捍卫者的健康状况、探视限制以及拘押条件向中国政府提出关切。这种来自中方与国际人权机制之间明显不同的评价，也正说明秦永敏案件至今仍然受到国际社会关注。

当天的活动由廖军、刘广贤召集，孙晔、于海龙负责策划，易勇主持；胡月明、梁志成、罗旭、夏体姗、苏毅、程义亮等参与组织，另有多名志愿者和摄影人员协助。现场参与者不断高呼“立即无条件释放秦永敏”“停止迫害人权捍卫者”等口号。大家最终在领事馆前展开写有“中国民主党联合总部美西党部”字样的大型横幅，并共同合影，为《全球觉醒》第八十四期活动留下了现场记录。

对我而言，这样的活动最重要的意义并不在于我们在洛杉矶喊了多少句口号，而在于不让那些仍身处中国监狱的人被外界遗忘。一名政治犯最孤独的时刻，或许并不是铁门关闭的那一刻，而是多年以后，外面的世界逐渐不再提起他的名字。

秦永敏已经七十三岁了。一个人的一生没有几个三十三年。

我们今天站在领事馆前再次喊出他的名字，就是希望铁窗之内的秦永敏知道，外面仍然有人记得他；也希望更多人知道，在中国，还有许多人仅仅因为表达思想、写下文字和坚持政治主张，便付出了常人难以想象的代价。

铁窗可以限制一个人的身体，却不应埋葬他的思想与尊严。面对秦永敏这样一位已经失去大半生自由的人，世界至少不应该选择沉默。

编辑：周志刚 校对：熊辩 翻译：戈冰

Iron Bars Cannot Lock Up Conscience:

Los Angeles “Global Awakening” Episode 84 in Solidarity with Qin Yongmin

Author: Feng Reng

Abstract: Pro-democracy activists in Los Angeles voiced support for Qin Yongmin, who has been imprisoned for a cumulative total of more than thirty-three years, demanding that the Chinese government release him immediately and unconditionally. Drawing from personal experiences, the author calls on society to pay attention to freedom of speech and not to forget those who have dedicated themselves to the cause of Chinese democracy.

At 3:30 p.m. on August 16, 2026, protest voices resounded once again in front of the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Los Angeles. The Western US Party Headquarters and Southern US Party Headquarters of the Joint Headquarters of the China Democracy Party, together with the Freedom Bell Democracy Foundation, jointly held the 84th episode of “Global Awakening.” The theme of this episode was “Half a Century of Perseverance and Thirty-Three Years Behind Iron Bars: Condemning the CCP’s Persecution of Qin Yongmin”. Dozens of participants arrived at the scene, holding up photographs of Mr. Qin Yongmin and placards bearing protest slogans, demanding that the Chinese government release Qin Yongmin immediately and unconditionally and cease its suppression of political dissidents and human rights defenders.

I was also standing in the crowd that day. Behind the iron fence behind us stood the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Los Angeles; outside the iron fence, photographs of Qin Yongmin were held up high one after another. The old man in the photos was already seventy-three years old, yet he spent his seventy-third birthday inside Guanghua Prison in Qianjiang, Hubei. As everyone shouted “Release Qin Yongmin” over and over again, I realized that this was no longer merely an overseas protest, but a questioning of a realistic and heavy question: Just how many years of freedom must a person lose for holding fast to their political principles?

Qin Yongmin is one of the representative figures long engaged in democracy and human rights activities in China. Data from Human Rights Watch shows that he began participating in democratic activities as early as 1980. In 1993, he participated in drafting and launching the “Peace Charter,” advocating for the promotion of democracy and political reform through peaceful means; in 1998, he further participated in establishing the local organization of the China Democracy Party in Hubei. Subsequently, he was detained and sentenced on multiple occasions. On July 11, 2018, the Wuhan Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Qin Yongmin to 13 years’ imprisonment and 3 years’ deprivation of political rights on the charge of “subversion of state power.”

The cumulative length of time Qin Yongmin has been imprisoned is especially staggering. In 2021, UN human rights experts pointed out when speaking of several Chinese human rights defenders that Qin Yongmin had been sentenced to a cumulative total of 35 years’ imprisonment in relevant cases throughout his life for engaging in human rights work. According to an August 2026 report by Rights Defense Network, the actual time he has been detained has reached a cumulative total of 33 years and 7 months, and he is currently still serving his sentence at Guanghua Prison in Qianjiang City, Hubei Province. The latest records from PEN America similarly list Qin Yongmin as a writer and human rights activist who remains in prison.

What does more than thirty-three years mean? For many people, that is nearly the most crucial period of a lifetime. From youth to old age, the time when a person has the most energy, is best able to accompany their parents, wife, and children, and is most capable of achieving their life ideals, is largely consumed inside prison. Yet what Qin Yongmin has held fast to is mainly publicly expressing political opinions, organizing civil society groups, promoting human rights, and advocating for a peaceful democratic transition in China. Human Rights Watch explicitly pointed out in his case that he has long been engaged in peaceful democratic activities and had once called on the Chinese government to initiate political reform.

Standing in front of the consulate, I was also reminded of my own experiences in China. I was once taken away and detained by police for publicly expressing my opinions. Compared with Mr. Qin Yongmin’s more than thirty years of prison experience, the duration of my detention was naturally extremely short; yet even a brief loss of freedom is enough to make a person truly realize that when expressing an opinion can bring about police arrest, interrogation, or even prison time, “freedom of speech” is no longer just a few words in a book. It is precisely because of this that today, when I can stand on the streets of the United States, publicly hold up a protest placard, and speak out for those who remain behind bars, I understand all the more that this kind of freedom is by no means something to be taken for granted.

The Chinese government, however, has consistently maintained a different position regarding Qin Yongmin’s case. In a 2025 document responding to UN Special Procedures, the Chinese government stated that Qin Yongmin’s case was tried in accordance with the law and that his litigation rights were protected; the Chinese side also indicated that he is currently serving his sentence at Guanghua Prison, where he has been visited by family members and lawyers since serving his sentence, and has received antihypertensive medication as well as regular physical examinations. On the other hand, UN Special Procedures have previously continuously raised concerns with the Chinese government regarding the health condition, visitation restrictions, and detention conditions of Qin Yongmin and other long-imprisoned human rights defenders. This glaringly divergent evaluation between the Chinese side and international human rights mechanisms precisely demonstrates that Qin Yongmin’s case continues to draw international attention to this day.

The event that day was convened by Liao Jun and Liu Guangxian, planned by Sun Ye and Yu Hailong, and hosted by Yi Yong; Hu Yueming, Liang Zhicheng, Luo Xu, Xia Tishan, Su Yi, Cheng Yiliang, and others participated in the organization, with additional assistance provided by multiple volunteers and photographers. Participants at the scene repeatedly shouted slogans such as “Immediately and unconditionally release Qin Yongmin” and “Stop persecuting human rights defenders.” Ultimately, everyone unfurled a large banner bearing the words “China Democracy Party Joint Headquarters Western US Party Headquarters” in front of the consulate and took a group photo together, leaving a documented record for Episode 84 of “Global Awakening.”

For me, the most important significance of such an activity lies not in how many slogans we shouted in Los Angeles, but in preventing those who are still inside Chinese prisons from being forgotten by the outside world. Perhaps the most lonely moment for a political prisoner is not the moment when the iron door shuts, but years later, when the world outside gradually ceases to mention his name.

Qin Yongmin is already seventy-three years old. There are not many thirty-three years in a person’s life.

When we stood in front of the consulate today and shouted his name once again, it was in the hope that Qin Yongmin inside the iron bars would know that people on the outside still remember him; it was also in the hope that more people would know that in China, there are still many who have paid a price unimaginable to ordinary people simply for expressing their thoughts, writing down words, and holding fast to their political principles.

Iron bars can restrict a person’s body, but they should not bury his thoughts and dignity. Faced with someone like Qin Yongmin who has already lost the greater part of his life’s freedom, the world at the very least should not choose silence.

Editor: Zhou Zhigang Proofreader: Xiong Bian Translator: Ge Bing