120度酷暑与黑夜车灯：《深渊中的守望者》的旋律在大漠中回荡

摄影记者：关永杰

【导语】

这组照片记录了加州自由雕塑公园（Liberty Sculpture Park）在烈日暴晒之下最感人的画面。8月8日星期六，一场名为“为真理，捍卫信仰”的抗议高智晟被失踪九周年的集会在“仰望星空·高智晟”雕像前举行，几十位参与者在烈日下苦等了四个小时，直至活动结束。

【画面背后的故事】

照片中的骄阳几乎能融化一切。当天沙漠气温飙升至107华氏度，在烈日下暴晒的车辆，仪表上显示的温度更是高达120华氏度。原定于下午3点30分开始的活动，因高温导致现场所有相机、手机和电子设备都无法正常工作。但照片也拍下了这样一幕：中午最炎热的时段，自由雕塑公园的义工们在烈日暴晒下默默铺设电缆、布置舞台，每个人的皮肤都被晒得通红。

更令人动容的是，从旧金山湾区和洛杉矶驱车数小时赶来的数十名参与者，在一再收到活动时间延后的通知后，依然坚持等候，直到活动结束。当傍晚7点多集会终于开始时，镜头里的人们依然精神饱满、热情未减。太阳下山后，现场照明的灯光昏暗，大家自发将一辆辆汽车对准舞台、打开远光灯。这组“车灯照亮舞台”的照片，记录了大家在微光中合唱《深渊中的守望者》的震撼瞬间。

人群中，自由雕塑公园前义工胡景拄着拐杖前行的画面格外醒目。他刚刚遭受了工伤，但依然执意从洛杉矶赶过来参加活动。 “高智晟律师是中国良心，我们可以发声的人，必须要来声援这一有意义的活动。” 他的回答听似轻描淡写，但表达的信念却是掷地有声。

8月8日，手机显示自由雕塑公园区域的温度107华氏度，在烈日下暴晒的车辆，仪表上显示的温度更是高达120华氏度。

自由雕塑公园（Liberty Sculpture Park）创办人、艺术家陈维明先生，背景是正在创作中的新作品

在烈日下检修线路的义工们

正在调试大屏幕的义工张继顺

义工朱荣越与义工组长贺瑞忠（右）在烈日下布置场地

在看守设备的义工蔡丹

义工Joseph Wang

公园的义工厨师赵永奎是幕后功臣，从早上五点就开始张罗当天的餐食

带伤前来参加活动的前义工胡景

因高温天气，活动时间一再延后。

下午7时15分活动正式开始时，高智晟律师的夫人耿和向全体参与者致谢，感谢大家的坚守，并且说：“在推广《深渊中的守望者》这首歌的过程中，我们尽了自己的一份力量。我始终觉得，能参与这样一首承载高智晟信念与良知的作品传播，非常有意义。对于词曲创作者而言，一首作品最大的回报，不只是完成创作，更是被理解、被传唱、被更多人听见并引发共鸣。当越来越多的人唱起这首歌，当更多人因为这首歌而关注背后的故事,这就是对创作者最好的肯定，也是对这份创作初心最珍贵的回报。我相信，真正有生命力的作品，是经得起时间的考验的。也许未来回望今天，人们记住的不仅是一首歌，更是它所承载的信念、勇气与守望，这也是我们坚持推广它的意义。”

第一个环节，是合唱团的演唱

沙漠的黑夜降临得很快，太阳下山后，现场随即一片昏暗，这时有人建议用汽车大灯。多位参与者将汽车开到舞台前，打开远光灯，此番场景竟然有意想不到的效果。观众席的座位全部撤离，几乎所有人都站上了舞台，来了一场几十人的大合唱。（此照片由张继顺提供）

高智晟律师的夫人耿和领唱

汽车的远光灯汇聚成刺破黑暗的微光照向舞台。定格的大合照里，所有人握拳挥手，《深渊中的守望者》那激昂的歌声在沉寂的荒漠上空久久回荡。这歌声是对失踪良心犯的深情呼唤，愿这众志成城的热情能汇聚成一支不灭的火把，就像这沙漠中的微光，虽然有限，却照亮了坚守的脊梁，让那些为自由而发声、被高墙剥夺了自由的灵魂，在黑暗中能看到光明与希望。

编辑：钟然 校对：熊辩 翻译：戈冰

Glimmer in the Desert: Series Report II on the Ninth Anniversary of Gao Zhisheng’s Enforced Disappearance

120-Degree Sweltering Heat and Midnight Headlights: The Melody of Watchman in the Abyss Echoes Across the Great Desert

Photojournalist: Guan Yongjie Abstract: Amid 107-degree Fahrenheit sweltering heat at Liberty Sculpture Park in California, tens of people stood steadfast for hours. As night fell, they illuminated the stage with automobile headlights and sang Watchman in the Abyss in unison, voicing support for Gao Zhisheng, who has been forcibly disappeared for nine years.

[Lead] This series of photographs records the most touching scenes under the scorching sun at Liberty Sculpture Park. On Saturday, August 8, a rally titled “Defending Faith for the Sake of Truth” protesting the ninth anniversary of Gao Zhisheng’s enforced disappearance was held in front of the statue “Looking Up at the Starry Sky: Gao Zhisheng.” Dozens of participants endured the agonizing wait under the blazing sun for four hours until the event concluded.

[The Story Behind the Pictures] The scorching sun in the photos could almost melt everything. That day, the desert temperature skyrocketed to 107 degrees Fahrenheit, while the dashboards of vehicles exposed to the sun displayed temperatures as high as 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The event, originally scheduled to begin at 3:30 PM, was delayed as the extreme heat rendered all cameras, mobile phones, and electronic devices on-site unable to function properly. Yet, the camera also captured this scene: during the hottest time around noon, volunteers of Liberty Sculpture Park silently laid cables and set up the stage under the relentless sun, everyone’s skin burnt red.

Even more moving were the dozens of participants who drove hours from the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. Despite repeatedly receiving notices that the start time was postponed, they persistently waited until the event ended. When the rally finally commenced after 7:00 PM in the evening, the people captured in the lens were still full of spirit and unflagging enthusiasm. After the sun set, the lighting at the site was dim, so everyone spontaneously aligned their cars toward the stage and turned on their high beams. This series of photos showing “headlights illuminating the stage” recorded the powerful moment when everyone sang Watchman in the Abyss in unison amid the glimmering light.

In the crowd, the image of Hu Jing, a former volunteer of Liberty Sculpture Park, walking forward on crutches was particularly striking. He had just suffered a workplace injury, yet he still insisted on coming all the way from Los Angeles to participate in the event.

“Attorney Gao Zhisheng is the conscience of China. Those of us who can speak out must come to support this meaningful event,” his answer sounded understated, but the conviction expressed was resolute and forceful.

On August 8, mobile phones displayed a temperature of 107 degrees Fahrenheit in the Liberty Sculpture Park area, while vehicles exposed to the scorching sun showed temperatures as high as 120 degrees Fahrenheit on their dashboards.

Mr. Chen Weiming, artist and founder of Liberty Sculpture Park, with his new work in progress in the background

Volunteers inspecting and repairing electrical lines under the scorching sun

Volunteer Zhang Jishun debugging the large screen

Volunteer Zhu Rongyue and volunteer team leader He Ruizhong (right) setting up the venue under the scorching sun

Volunteer Cai Dan guarding the equipment

Volunteer Joseph Wang

The park’s volunteer chef, Zhao Yongkui, is an unsung hero behind the scenes, who began preparing the day’s meals as early as five o’clock in the morning.

Former volunteer Hu Jing, who came to attend the event despite his injury

Due to the high-temperature weather, the start of the event was repeatedly delayed.

When the event officially commenced at 7:15 PM, Geng He, the wife of Attorney Gao Zhisheng, expressed her gratitude to all participants for their steadfast endurance and said: “In promoting the song Watchman in the Abyss, we have done our part. I have always felt that being able to participate in the dissemination of a work that carries Gao Zhisheng’s conviction and conscience is deeply meaningful. For the songwriters and composers, the greatest reward for a creation is not merely completing it, but having it understood, sung, heard by more people, and evoking resonance. When more and more people sing this song, and when more people pay attention to the story behind it because of this song, that is the best affirmation for the creators, as well as the most precious reward for the original intent of this creation. I believe that works with true vitality can withstand the test of time. Perhaps when looking back at today in the future, what people remember will not only be a song, but also the conviction, courage, and watching over that it carries—and this is precisely the significance of our persistence in promoting it.”

The first segment was a performance by the choir.

Night fell rapidly in the desert. After the sun set, the site immediately turned pitch-dark, whereupon someone suggested using automobile headlights. Multiple participants drove their cars to the front of the stage and turned on their high beams, a scene that produced unexpectedly powerful effects. All the seats in the audience area were removed, and nearly everyone stepped onto the stage, joining in a grand chorus of dozens of people. (This photo was provided by Zhang Jishun)

Geng He, the wife of Attorney Gao Zhisheng, leading the chorus

The high beams of the automobiles converged into a glimmering light piercing through the darkness, shining onto the stage. In the frozen group photograph, everyone raised their clenched fists and waved their hands, while the passionate, uplifting singing of Watchman in the Abyss echoed for a long time over the silent, desolate desert. This singing is a affectionate call for the disappeared prisoners of conscience; may this united enthusiasm gather into an unquenchable torch, just like this glimmer of light in the desert—which, though limited, illuminates the backbone of those who stand fast, allowing those souls who spoke out for freedom and were deprived of liberty by high walls to see light and hope in the darkness.

Editor: Zhong Ran Proofreader: Xiong Bian Translator: Ge Bing