作者：张宇
编辑：李聪玲   责任编辑：罗志飞   校对：程筱筱   翻译：吕峰

张宇，一名经历武汉疫情的医护人员，讲述了在疫情封控期间的遭遇，以及来到美国后的感受。

余谨以至诚

于上主及会众面前宣誓，

终身纯洁

忠贞职守

尽力提高护理专业标准，

勿为有损之事，

勿取服或故用有害之药，

慎守病人及家务之秘密，

竭诚协助医师之诊治，

务谋病者之福利。

——南丁格尔誓言

我常常梦见那座城市。

梦里的天空灰白一片，街道空无一人，只有救护车的警笛声在空气里盘旋。那是我工作了十年的地方，武汉市某著名的三甲医院，曾经充满了忙碌与希望。可那一年，空气里弥漫的不是消毒水的味道，而是一种看不见的恐惧。

我常常梦见那段日子。

我们穿着厚重的防护服，一天又一天地奔走在病房与走廊之间。脸上的口罩勒出深痕，眼睛干涩到流泪。每一位倒下的病人，都是一个家庭的崩塌。我们用尽全力去救治，可有时连告别的机会都没有。

我记得那时的自己还相信——只要竭尽所能，总会有光。但慢慢地，我发现有些东西比病毒更毒。有些问题不能问，有些真相不能说。人们要学会沉默，学会服从，学会用忙碌掩盖内心的不安。从那一刻，我第一次感到一种深深的背叛——不是别人背叛我，而是我所信仰的誓言，被现实一点点侵蚀。

那一天的风很冷，我在急诊室里看到窗外的光一点点暗下去，那是2020年1月23日，武汉，这座拥有着1100万人口、拥有“九省通衢”与“东方芝加哥”称号的超大城市，正式向世界宣布从上午十点开始“封城”，限制市内公共交通关闭并离境通道，下午两点开始关闭高速公路。就此，这座城市开始了史无前例的封锁。

以下是我的爱人写的随感二段节选：“2020年1月26日，也是卷卷妈妈（我的孩子小名卷卷）支援前线的第二天。当护士长在微信群里说自愿报名的时候，她问我的意见，而我说这个时候你最应该打个电话给你爸妈。其实他们早已经做好了心理准备，挂电话她哭了，哭的像一个孩子。我问“你怕吗”？卷妈看看还趴在地上玩积木的卷卷说：“对于这个病我不怕，我哭是因为我可能几个月的时间看不到我的孩子”。听着我也红了眼睛。“别人都说离别的时候说再见要用力一点，因为有些人就真的再也见不到了。我们的离别没有再见。“自己注意身体’‘谢谢你”都不能哭，因为这不是生离死别”。如今我这篇随感文章依然带在身边，仿佛在告诉我那段充满了恐惧，无力，脆弱的日子就在昨天。

（图片提供：张宇；图为新冠病毒疫情期间，张宇在武汉医院尽力救治病人）

但渐渐我发现疫情有些变味了，有些问题不能问，有些真相不能说。人们要学会沉默，学会服从上级安排指示。从疫情的第一天开始，湖北省中医院，武汉大学中南医院，武汉市中心医院等8家医院发出公告，向社会各界征集防护物资。其中多家医院证实，外科口罩、防护服、手术衣、防护面具等物资只能再撑三到四天。以至于领导要求我和我的战友们为了节约防护服和面具等物资的消耗，本应该六个小时在污染区的轮岗变为了十二个小时，不能吃饭、不能喝水、也不能上厕所，每个人都在防护服内穿好成人纸尿布，有时缺少防护装备只能无奈用塑胶袋制品代替，用我们的身体和生命筑起高墙，抵挡病毒一波又一波的袭击。有时还是腹背受敌，还要遭受病人家属殴打、谩骂，医护人员的防护服被扯开，导致严重职业暴露，需要马上隔离。我们也会心寒，我们不是败给了疾病而是败给了人性。

那是一段没有昼夜的日子，累了就在地上随便找个位置睡一会，防护服成了第二层的皮肤，口罩背后的呼吸总是混杂着汗水和消毒液的味道。每一次推开病房的门，都像走进一场不确定的赌局——你不知道下一秒会遇见希望，还是绝望。

严密封控下，一些武汉年轻人经历了政治观念的转变。

我从网上视频看到有居民的门窗被焊死，一些执行封控人员强行进屋检查和消毒，推搡、殴打居民甚至是老人，也有封控人员涉嫌擅自扣留本应分发给居民的食品物资，视频里那些封控人员像黑社会一样。小区设立了蔬菜食品供应点，每次到那里购物都需要排一、两个小时的长队，很不方便，价格比封城前贵许多。但是有关疫情的批评和质疑之声遭到大量删除。

公权力与个人权力的冲突不断浮现，武汉市中心医院眼科医生李文亮之死更是震撼了整座城市。作为新冠疫情的重要“吹哨人”，李文亮因向大众提醒不寻常疫情，而遭地方警方以“传播谣言”为由训诫，其后在当值期间感染新冠病毒。最终2020年2月7日，武汉市中心医院宣布李文亮于当天凌晨不治逝世，终年34岁。如今五年过去了，李文亮生前发布确诊感染的最后微博，被网友称为“中国哭墙”。现超过百万条悼念与申诉的言论持续涌入，至今仍未停息。

那天夜里，我脱下防护服的时候，双手已经抖的拿不稳东西。镜子里的我眼神空洞、嘴唇干裂，像一个被抽空灵魂的人。我想起自己刚成为护士时的样子——那时我相信医学能拯救一切，相信真诚，努力和同情心总会被理解。我一直以为，信仰崩塌会是一场轰烈的爆炸。可后来我发现，它更像是一种缓慢的塌陷。它从一次次的妥协开始，从一次次闭嘴开始。直到有一天，你忽然发现自己也成了那个沉默的人。我不愿意变成这样，我站在天台上，看着远处的万家灯火。感觉上帝的声音告诉我：救死扶伤的誓言，不只是救身体的命，也是守护那一点点不肯麻木的心。

2020年4月8日，武汉解封，但封控模式被推广至中国各地。全国各地在接下来的三年间，一直执行“动态清零”政策。

2022年11月24日，新疆乌鲁木齐的一场住宅火灾造成10人死亡，成为了转折点，严格的封控措施阻碍了居民逃生，群众陆续走上街头，举起白纸示威，掀起“白纸运动”。其间北京、上海等地抗议民众喊出“自由民主法治”、“不要文革要改革”、“不要独裁、不要个人崇拜”、 “习近平下台”、“共产党下台”、“平反六四”等政治口号。在强大抗议声浪中，中共当局几天之后被迫仓促废弃了动态清零政策。这是中共自建政后首次在民众抗议声浪中被迫改变了强制推行的政策。

这次活动能够发生，说明人们心中的怒火已经被点燃了。因为各地封城导致的一系列的经济的问题。引起大量失业的问题，所以才会发生这样的抗议。但是我觉得虽然没有取得很大的实质性进展，但也可以在历史上留下一个缩影。

疫情五年后的今天，我跟随家人来到了美国，离开武汉的那天，我没带多少东西，只有一台笔记本，还有一身还没散尽消毒水味的衣服。飞机升空时，我回头望了一眼——灯火依旧密集，城市看起来平静而辽阔，可我知道那里埋着太多无法言说的故事。

来到美国已经半年了。这里的医院不大，但空气里有种我很久没感受到的东西——自由与轻盈。医生之间会争论，护士会质疑上级的决定，病人有权选择、拒绝，甚至可以质问医生的方案。起初我不习惯，总觉得这样会“惹麻烦”，现在我明白了：讨论不是冲突，表达不是冒犯。那是信任的另一种形式，是职业伦理真正的根。

在这里医生护士的工作不再只是执行上级的命令，而是一场关于“倾听”的修行。我学会了问：“你感觉还好吗？”“我知道你很痛苦”“我有什么可以帮助你的？”这些在过去都显得奢侈的句子，如今成了日常，原来，尊重不需要勇气，只需要习惯。

我又记起我的职业启蒙老师写在黑板上的那句话：医学的意义，是让人重新相信生命值得被尊重。

（图片提供：张宇；图为张宇参加10月4日活动）

如今我可以自由的站在这里对全世界宣告：我对中国共产党恶政统治下的社会充满了绝望，深深感受到中国共产党打着“以人为本”的旗号长期奴役压迫中国人民，中共政权疯狂收割民脂民膏、严控言论，对异议者进行残酷的镇压。

在中国，权力凌驾于法律之上，政府就像强盗无法无天，中国共产党以谎言及暴力对中国人民进行铁腕高压恐怖统治，中共政权就像邪教黑社会组织，中国共产党宣扬所谓的“人类命运共同体”和“以共产主义解放全人类”，严重违背人类文明和普世价值，使世界越来越多的人民深受其害。

所以中国只要存在共产党的统治，是绝不可能有民主的，人民也绝不可能获得自由。如果我们每一个中国人都想取得自己的人权，获得民主，获得自由，我们走不了近路，也回避不了这个巨大的困难，必须推倒中国共产党的独裁统治，才有可能得到民主自由的福祉。

A Medical Witness of Our Time

Author: Zhang Yu
Editor: Li Congling  Chief Editor: Luo Zhifei  Proofreader: Cheng Xiaoxiao  Translated by: Lyu Feng

Zhang Yu, a medical worker who experienced the Wuhan pandemic, recounts her encounters during the lockdown and her reflections after arriving in the United States.

With utmost sincerity, before God and the congregation, I swear lifelong purity, loyalty to my duties, to strive to improve the standards of nursing, to do no harm, to take or administer no harmful drugs, to guard the secrets of my patients and their households, to assist physicians wholeheartedly in treatment, and to seek the welfare of the sick. — The Nightingale Pledge.

I often dream of that city. In my dreams, the sky is gray and pale, the streets are empty, and only the sirens of ambulances echo through the air. That was where I worked for ten years — a renowned tertiary hospital in Wuhan — once full of life and hope. But that year, the air was filled not with the smell of disinfectant, but with invisible fear.

I often dream of those days. We wore thick protective suits, running back and forth between wards and corridors day after day. The masks left deep marks on our faces; our eyes were dry and stung with tears. Every fallen patient meant a collapsed family. We did everything we could, but sometimes, there wasn’t even a chance to say goodbye.

I remember believing then — that as long as we tried our best, there would always be light. But gradually, I realized there were things more toxic than the virus. Some questions could not be asked; some truths could not be told. People had to learn silence, obedience, and to hide their unease with busyness. That was the first time I felt a deep betrayal — not by others, but by the ideals I once swore to uphold.

The wind was bitter that day. I watched the light outside fade as I stood in the emergency room. It was January 23, 2020 — Wuhan, a megacity of 11 million known as the ‘Chicago of the East,’ officially announced its lockdown. Public transport was halted, outbound travel banned, and highways closed. From that moment, the city entered an unprecedented state of isolation.

The following is an excerpt from my husband’s journal: ‘January 26, 2020, the second day that Juanjuan’s mother (my wife) volunteered on the front line. When the head nurse asked for volunteers, she sought my opinion. I told her she should call her parents. They had already prepared themselves mentally. She hung up and cried like a child. I asked, “Are you afraid?” She looked at our daughter playing on the floor and said, “I’m not afraid of the virus. I’m crying because I might not see my child for months.” I couldn’t hold back my tears either.’

[Photo: Zhang Yu treating patients in Wuhan during the COVID-19 outbreak.]

Gradually, I realized that the pandemic had taken on another meaning. Some questions could not be asked; some truths could not be told. From the first day, hospitals like Hubei Provincial Hospital of TCM, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, and Wuhan Central Hospital publicly called for donations of medical supplies. Many hospitals confirmed that surgical masks and protective gear could only last three to four more days. Our supervisors told us to stretch our limited resources: six-hour shifts in contaminated areas became twelve-hour ones — no eating, no drinking, no bathroom breaks. Everyone wore adult diapers under their suits. Some even had to use plastic bags as makeshift protection. We used our bodies and lives to build a wall against wave after wave of infection. Sometimes we also faced hostility — verbal abuse or even physical attacks from patients’ families, tearing our suits and causing occupational exposure. It wasn’t the disease that defeated us, but humanity’s darkness.

Those were days without distinction between day and night. Exhausted, we’d sleep wherever we fell. The protective suit became a second skin. Every breath behind the mask reeked of sweat and disinfectant. Opening a patient’s room was like entering a gamble — we never knew if we’d find hope or despair.

Under the tight lockdown, many young people in Wuhan underwent a political awakening. I saw online videos of residents’ doors being welded shut, of enforcers storming into homes for inspections, pushing, hitting even the elderly. Some hoarded food meant for residents. The community markets had long lines and inflated prices. Criticism of the pandemic response was swiftly censored.

The conflict between public authority and personal rights grew more evident. The death of Dr. Li Wenliang, the ophthalmologist who warned of the novel coronavirus, shocked the nation. Detained for ‘spreading rumors,’ he later died from the infection on February 7, 2020, at age 34. His final Weibo post announcing his diagnosis became known as ‘China’s Wall of Tears.’ Millions have since left comments of grief and protest — still ongoing to this day.

That night, as I removed my protective suit, my hands trembled. My reflection looked hollow and drained. I thought of the young nurse I once was — believing medicine could save everything, believing sincerity and compassion would always be understood. I used to think losing faith would be like an explosion; instead, it was a slow collapse — compromise by compromise, silence by silence — until one day you realize you’ve become the quiet one. I didn’t want that. I stood on the rooftop and looked at the distant city lights. It felt as if God was whispering: the pledge to heal isn’t just about saving bodies, but about guarding the part of the heart that refuses to go numb.

On April 8, 2020, Wuhan reopened, but its lockdown model spread nationwide. Over the next three years, China enforced its ‘Dynamic Zero-COVID’ policy.

On November 24, 2022, a fire in a Urumqi apartment killed ten people. The strict lockdown had blocked their escape. Protests erupted — the ‘White Paper Movement.’ People in cities like Beijing and Shanghai shouted, ‘Freedom, democracy, rule of law,’ ‘No more Cultural Revolution,’ ‘Down with dictatorship,’ ‘Xi Jinping, step down,’ ‘Communist Party, step down,’ and ‘Rehabilitate June Fourth.’ Within days, the government abruptly abandoned the zero-COVID policy — the first time in PRC history that mass protests forced a policy reversal.

This showed the anger in people’s hearts. Lockdowns had crushed the economy and led to mass unemployment. Though the protests achieved little concrete change, they left a lasting mark on history.

Five years after the pandemic began, I moved to the United States with my family. I didn’t bring much — just a laptop and clothes still smelling faintly of disinfectant. As the plane took off, I looked back — the city lights glowed, serene and vast, but I knew it hid countless untold stories.

I’ve been in America for six months now. The hospitals here are small, but the air feels lighter — filled with freedom. Doctors argue, nurses question superiors, patients choose or refuse treatment, even challenge doctors’ plans. At first, it felt wrong, like trouble. Now I understand: debate isn’t conflict; expression isn’t offense. It’s trust — the core of medical ethics.

Here, the work of doctors and nurses is no longer blind obedience, but a discipline of listening. I’ve learned to ask: ‘Are you okay?’ ‘I know you’re in pain.’ ‘What can I do for you?’ Once luxuries, these words are now routine. Respect doesn’t require courage — only habit.

I recall what my mentor once wrote on the blackboard: The meaning of medicine is to help people believe that life deserves respect.

[Photo: Zhang Yu participating in the October 4th event.]

Now I can freely stand here and tell the world: I have lost all hope in the Chinese Communist Party’s tyrannical rule. I’ve seen how it enslaves and oppresses people under the guise of ‘serving the people,’ how it drains the nation’s lifeblood, censors speech, and brutally suppresses dissent.

In China, power stands above law; the government acts like bandits without restraint. The CCP governs through lies and violence, wielding fear and control like a cult. Its slogans about a ‘community of shared future for mankind’ and ‘communist liberation of humanity’ violate human civilization and universal values, harming people worldwide.

As long as the CCP exists, democracy and freedom are impossible in China. If every Chinese person truly wishes for human rights, democracy, and liberty, there are no shortcuts, no detours — only the hard path of toppling dictatorship. Only then can we attain the blessings of freedom and democracy.

作者：张致君
编辑：李聪玲   责任编辑：罗志飞   校对：程筱筱   翻译：吕峰

“10·9锡安教案”中，中共跨省抓捕牧者、查封教会，暴露其对独立信仰的恐惧与打压。锡安教会坚持信仰，彰显良心与自由的力量，呼吁国际社会声援所有受迫害信徒，捍卫信仰自由与人权。

2025年10月9日，北京锡安教会再次成为中共暴政的牺牲品。至少三十名牧者与同工被抓捕或失联，聚会场所被查封，教会财产被没收，部分教牧人员的家属也遭到威胁和骚扰。这场跨省镇压行动涉及北京、上海、浙江、山东、广东、广西、海南等多地，被教会称为“10·9锡安教案”，是近年来中国家庭教会遭遇的最严重迫害之一。

从2018年的“12·9秋雨教案”到今日的“10·9锡安教案”，中共对中国家庭教会的系统性打压，暴露出它对独立信仰力量的深深恐惧，也揭示了专制政权将宗教自由视作政治威胁的冷酷逻辑。

作为同为基督徒的我，内心深感煎熬。

北京锡安教会由金明日牧师于2007年创立。短短十几年间，它便成长为中国城市家庭教会的重要代表，拥有约1500名会友。尽管长期受到打压，锡安教会仍通过线上与线下结合的方式，在全国约40个城市建立百余处植堂。疫情期间和多轮政治整肃之下，锡安依然坚持广传福音、牧养信徒，成为中国家庭教会的榜样与祝福。

然而，这份忠诚与坚韧，并未换来宽容与理解，反而使他们成为中共眼中的“政治风险”。

在中国，任何独立于国家之外的精神力量，往往被视为潜在威胁。家庭教会的存在，不仅挑战了官方“三自教会”的垄断话语权，更触碰了中共对社会与信仰全面控制的根基。

所谓“宗教管理”，实则是政治压迫的系统化操作——查封聚会场所、没收教产、抓捕牧者、恐吓信徒、威胁家属。这一切都在证明：在中国，信仰自由不是权利，而是一种随时可被剥夺的特许。而那些坚持良心与信仰的牧者与信徒，随时可能成为权力机器下的牺牲品。

更令人警醒的是，这种迫害正被中共当作国际政治的筹码。

在中美关系紧张、外交摩擦频繁的背景下，中共通过抓捕基督徒、限制宗教活动，试图将信徒的人身自由转化为对外施压的工具。锡安教会的牧者和信徒，被迫卷入这场不义的政治博弈中。以信仰者为人质，以宗教自由为交换筹码，是对国际关系与人类道义的赤裸亵渎。

历史上，中国家庭教会早已在高压中前行。

王怡牧师在《我的声明：信仰上的抗命》中写道：“信仰的抗命，是对邪恶制度最理性的回应。”家庭教会所坚持的，并非政治对抗，而是人对上帝的忠诚，是良心与信仰的自由。然而，中共却不断将信仰政治化，把牧者的抓捕、信徒的失联包装为“维稳措施”，并企图以此在外交舞台上牟取人权议题的利益。

这种赤裸裸的政治操弄，暴露了中共统治逻辑的野蛮与无底线。

自2018年以来，中国政府对家庭教会的打压持续升级。从强制关闭聚会场所、没收教产、封禁线上布道，到迫使牧者签署“政治承诺书”，控制与监控的力度层层加码。疫情期间，线上聚会也被列入“网络管控”范畴，信徒遭约谈、聚会被封禁。

如今的“10·9锡安教案”，更以跨省抓捕、联合威胁的形式，将信仰自由完全纳入国家暴力的掌控之中。中共眼中，宗教不再是社会良心与人心的安慰，而是潜在风险，甚至可作为外交谈判的筹码。

这种逻辑不仅侵蚀中国的宗教生态，更向国际社会释放出危险信号：当信仰与人权被政治化，当牧者与信徒被视为可交易的工具，一个政权的道德底线已然崩塌。

国际社会长期倡导人权与信仰自由，而中共却以抓捕牧师、骚扰家属的方式挑战这一底线，试图用恐惧抑制舆论、操纵外交。这种行径昭示出其在全球舞台上缺乏任何道义约束。

然而，暴政并未摧毁信仰。

锡安教会及其众多同工依旧在全国各地维系牧养网络，继续传扬福音。哪怕付出自由与安宁的代价，他们仍以行动见证良心与信仰的力量。锡安教会的坚持，正提醒世界：权力可以束缚身体，却无法征服灵魂；暴政可以压迫教会，却无法熄灭信仰。哪里有逼迫，哪里就有复兴，阿们。

“10·9锡安教案”也揭示出，中共以信徒的人身自由作为政治筹码，是对国际道义和基本人权的公然挑战。

面对这样的现实，国际社会必须作出回应——声援被迫害的牧者与信徒，呼吁释放所有被捕人员，要求中共遵守宗教自由与基本人权原则。

唯有全球舆论与行动的共同施压，才能让中共明白：以信徒为人质的策略，不仅不道德，更注定失败。

今日的锡安教会，以及所有中国家庭教会，正在以苦难为代价，为全球信仰自由立下见证。

他们提醒世人：良心与信仰的自由，乃是任何政权都无法剥夺的天赋权利。若中共继续把牧者与信徒当作政治筹码，它不仅将在道义上被唾弃，也将在历史与国际社会中自食恶果。

暴政能够压制信仰的外在表达，却无法阻止信仰力量的传播；

它能囚禁身体，却无法征服灵魂。

在中美关系紧张的背景下，中共将信仰政治化、工具化，其行径尤显卑劣。牧师与信徒被迫成为政治谈判的棋子，他们的信仰与自由，被中共当作利益交换的货币。

面对这种道德与法律的双重践踏，国际社会必须明确表态：信仰自由不可剥夺，牧师不应成为人质，信徒的人身安全不能成为政治交易的代价。

锡安教会的勇气与坚守，将成为中国教会乃至全球信仰自由的象征，而中共的恐吓与迫害，只会让其政权更加孤立与脆弱。

信仰的力量，终将超越专制与暴政。

正如圣经所言：“这世界如果恨你们，你们应当知道，世界在恨你们之前已经恨我了”。《约翰福音》（第15章第18节）

锡安教会的受苦，是整个中国家庭教会的受苦，也是普世基督身体的受苦。

他们的坚韧与信心，将继续提醒世界：信仰自由不可践踏，人的尊严不可被利用，政治权谋不可凌驾于神圣良心之上。

在全球舆论与国际关注之下，中共若继续将信徒当作人质，它的专制本质只会更加赤裸。锡安教会与中国家庭教会的坚守，不仅是对暴政的控诉，更是对全人类良知的呼唤：自由、尊严、信仰——这是任何政权都无法夺走的核心价值。

上帝必安慰受难的信徒，而中共必将面临最终的审判。

（图为金明日牧师被捕文件，中国公安的官方拘留通知在如此大案都能犯低级的时间错误：落款2025年9月26日的通知说2025年10月12日已将人刑拘。）

若一个肢体受苦，所有的肢体就一同受苦；

若一个肢体得荣耀，所有的肢体就一同快乐。

哥林多前书 12:26

中共越是逼迫教会，散落在世界各地的教会越会团结在一起复兴教会。

（图为2025年10月11日 美国前进教会为锡安教会受逼迫基督徒祷告）

（同日，美国各地基督徒发起线上为锡安教会的祷告会）

The CCP’s Cross Hostage Strategy

Author: Zhang Zhijun
Editor: Li Congling  Chief Editor: Luo Zhifei  Proofreader: Cheng Xiaoxiao  Translated by: Lyu Feng

In the ’10·9 Zion Church Case’, the CCP’s cross-provincial arrests of pastors and church closures expose its fear and repression of independent faith. The Zion Church’s perseverance demonstrates the strength of conscience and freedom, calling upon the international community to support persecuted believers and defend religious liberty and human rights.

On October 9, 2025, Beijing’s Zion Church once again became a victim of CCP tyranny. At least thirty pastors and coworkers were detained or went missing, worship venues were sealed, church property confiscated, and some clergy families threatened and harassed. This cross-provincial campaign spanned Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Shandong, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan. The church called it the ’10·9 Zion Church Case’—one of the most severe persecutions against China’s house churches in recent years.

From the ’12·9 Early Rain Case’ in 2018 to the present ’10·9 Zion Case’, the CCP’s systemic repression of China’s house churches reveals its profound fear of independent spiritual power and exposes the authoritarian logic that views religious freedom as a political threat.

As a fellow Christian, I feel deep anguish.

Beijing Zion Church was founded in 2007 by Pastor Jin Mingri. In just over a decade, it grew into one of China’s most influential urban house churches, with about 1,500 members. Despite years of suppression, Zion Church continued to spread the Gospel both online and in person, establishing over one hundred branches in nearly forty cities across the country. Even during the pandemic and amid successive political crackdowns, Zion Church persevered, becoming a model and a blessing for China’s house churches.

Yet this faithfulness and resilience did not bring tolerance or understanding; instead, it made them a ‘political risk’ in the CCP’s eyes.

In China, any spiritual power independent of the state is regarded as a potential threat. The existence of house churches challenges the monopoly of the state-sanctioned ‘Three-Self Patriotic Church’ and undermines the CCP’s total control over society and belief.

The so-called ‘religious management’ is, in essence, a systematic form of political repression—closing worship places, confiscating property, arresting pastors, intimidating believers, and threatening families. All this proves that in China, religious freedom is not a right but a privilege that can be revoked at any time. Those who persist in conscience and faith risk becoming victims of the machinery of power.

Even more alarming, this persecution has been used by the CCP as a bargaining chip in international politics.

Amid strained U.S.–China relations, the CCP has turned the imprisonment of Christians and restrictions on religious activities into tools of foreign pressure. Zion’s pastors and believers have been forced into an unjust political game. Using believers as hostages and trading religious freedom for diplomatic leverage is a blatant desecration of both international norms and moral conscience.

Historically, China’s house churches have persevered under oppression. Pastor Wang Yi once wrote in ‘My Declaration: Faithful Disobedience’: ‘Faithful disobedience is the most rational response to an evil regime.’ What house churches uphold is not political confrontation but loyalty to God—an expression of conscience and faith. Yet the CCP continues to politicize religion, disguising arrests of pastors and disappearances of believers as ‘stability maintenance measures’ and exploiting these acts to ma…

This blatant political manipulation exposes the CCP’s brutal and unscrupulous logic of governance.

Since 2018, the persecution of house churches has escalated—from forced closures and property seizures to banning online preaching, coercing pastors to sign ‘political pledges,’ and expanding surveillance. Even during the pandemic, online gatherings were restricted, believers interrogated, and meetings banned.

The ’10·9 Zion Church Case’ represents the culmination of this repression—cross-provincial arrests and joint intimidation bringing all religious freedom under the control of state violence. In the CCP’s eyes, religion is no longer the conscience of society or the comfort of souls but a political risk and a diplomatic tool.

This logic corrodes China’s religious ecosystem and sends a dangerous signal to the world: when faith and human rights are politicized, when pastors and believers become instruments of trade, the moral foundation of a regime collapses.

While the international community advocates for human rights and religious freedom, the CCP challenges these universal principles by arresting pastors and harassing families—using fear to suppress dissent and manipulate diplomacy. Such acts expose its moral bankruptcy on the global stage.

Yet tyranny has not destroyed faith.

Zion Church and its coworkers continue to sustain ministry networks and spread the Gospel nationwide. Even at the cost of freedom and peace, they bear witness to the power of conscience and belief. Their endurance reminds the world that power can restrain the body but not the soul; oppression can silence churches but cannot extinguish faith. Where there is persecution, there is revival. Amen.

The ’10·9 Zion Church Case’ also shows that the CCP’s use of believers as political hostages is a direct affront to international ethics and fundamental human rights.

The international community must respond—support persecuted pastors and believers, call for their release, and urge the CCP to respect freedom of religion and basic human rights.

Only through collective global action can the CCP understand that hostage tactics against believers are immoral and doomed to fail.

Today’s Zion Church and all of China’s house churches bear witness through suffering to the global cause of religious liberty. They remind the world that freedom of conscience and belief is a God-given right no government can revoke. If the CCP continues to use pastors and believers as political pawns, it will face moral condemnation and historical judgment.

Tyranny may suppress outward worship, but it cannot stop the spread of faith; it may imprison bodies, but it cannot conquer souls.

In the tense context of U.S.–China relations, the CCP’s politicization and instrumentalization of faith are particularly shameful. Pastors and believers have become pawns in political negotiations—their faith and freedom traded as currency.

The international community must stand firm: religious freedom is inalienable; pastors must not become hostages; believers’ safety must never be used as political leverage.

The courage and perseverance of Zion Church will become a symbol of religious freedom in China and the world. The CCP’s intimidation and persecution will only make its regime more isolated and fragile.

The power of faith will ultimately triumph over despotism and tyranny.

As Scripture says: ‘If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.’ — John 15:18

The suffering of Zion Church is the suffering of all China’s house churches and the universal Body of Christ. Their endurance and faith remind the world that religious freedom must never be trampled, human dignity must never be exploited, and political expediency must never override sacred conscience.

Under global scrutiny, if the CCP continues to treat believers as hostages, its authoritarian nature will only become more exposed. The perseverance of Zion Church and other house churches is not only an indictment of tyranny but a call to the world’s conscience: Freedom, Dignity, Faith—these are core values that no regime can take away.

God will comfort the persecuted, and the CCP will face final judgment.

[Photo: Pastor Jin Mingri’s detention notice — a Chinese police document dated September 26, 2025, absurdly stating that the detention occurred on October 12, 2025.]

‘If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.’ — 1 Corinthians 12:26

The more the CCP persecutes the church, the more believers around the world unite to revive it.

[Photo: On October 11, 2025, Forward Church in the U.S. prays for persecuted Christians of the Zion Church.]

[Photo: On the same day, Christians across the United States hold online prayer meetings for the Zion Church.]

作者：黄明发
编辑：韩唳   责任编辑：刘芳   校对：程筱筱   翻译：刘芳

2025年9月，由陈维明、金秀红等发起的“追责中共病毒”车队自加州自由雕塑公园启程，历时31天在全美二十余州数十座城市宣讲，呼吁追究中共在疫情中的责任并要求赔偿，提醒美国社会警惕其渗透与跨国镇压。车队和人员得到德州官员与美国国会议员的热情接待与认可，强调应区分中共与中国人民。

2025年9月6日，我们在加州自由雕塑公园发起“追责中共病毒”全美车队巡游宣讲行动，由陈维明先生、金秀红女士为代表，黄明发、张振振、袁泽刚等多位坚定的反独裁人士参与，共计30余人。行动主旨：追究中共在疫情中的责任，呼吁美国政府协助受害的美国民众与中国民众获得合法合理的赔偿，并提醒善良的美国人民高度警惕中共的渗透与跨国镇压。同时，我们也期盼美国朋友支持中国推进乡村自治、分权多中心的自由民主现代国家建设，避免类似中共病毒伤害人类的悲剧重演。

车队于9月6日下午出发，至10月7日在洛杉矶中领馆前收官。我们以“习近平病毒”为主题，行经全美二十余州、数十座城市。其中美国首都华盛顿特区给我印象最为深刻。尽管地理面积和人口数量都无法与纽约市相比，但华盛顿特区作为美国政治中心，其影响力毋庸置疑。这或许正是美国国父们当年将美国建成一个多中心小政府理想的体现。

我们在德克萨斯州米德兰市受到了市长以及德克萨斯州两位议员的热情欢迎和赞许。更令我们惊喜的是，9月13日，我们受美国国会行动部门中国委员会共同主席克里斯·史密斯议员邀请前往国会座谈。当天，史密斯议员因投票未能亲自接见我们，特委托中国委员会主任前来欢迎。我们并不觉得受到冷落，但史密斯议员对此深感抱歉，并在9月24日再次邀请重量级议员——美国众议院与中共战备竞争委员会主席约翰·罗伯特·穆纳尔，与他本人亲自接待我们。9月28日，密苏里州的幕僚长也热情接待了我们车队的代表。以上种种，充分体现了美国精英阶层对我们此次活动的认可。

美国人民对我们的态度更为友好，他们纷纷与我们合影留念，并竖起大拇指表示赞许，让我们近距离感受到了美国人民的善良与热情。

我们此次追责中共病毒宣讲活动历时31天，圆满完成。希望通过此次宣讲活动，让美国人民铭记中共的邪恶和病毒的危害，认识到中国人民与中国共产党并非一体，中国人在今天仍然是习近平的奴隶。这既是事实，也是真相。

黄明发

2025年10月9日

洛杉矶艾尔蒙地

From Liberty Sculpture Park: A Nationwide Journey to Hold the CCP Accountable for the CCP Virus

Author: Huang Mingfa
Editor: Han Li Executive Editor: Liu Fang Proofreader: Cheng Xiaoxiao Translator: Liu Fang

In September 2025, the “Hold the CCP Accountable for the CCP Virus” motorcade, initiated by Chen Weiming and Jin Xiuhong, set out from Liberty Sculpture Park in California. Over 31 days, it traveled through more than 20 states and dozens of cities across the United States, calling for accountability and compensation for the CCP’s responsibility in the pandemic, and warning American society to stay alert to its infiltration and transnational repression. The convoy received warm welcomes and official recognition from Texas state officials and U.S. congressmen, who emphasized the importance of distinguishing between the CCP and the Chinese people.

On September 6, 2025, we launched the “Hold the CCP Accountable for the CCP Virus” national convoy campaign at Liberty Sculpture Park. Led by Mr. Chen Weiming and Ms. Jin Xiuhong, and joined by over 30 steadfast anti-dictatorship activists including myself, Zhang Zhenzhen, and Yuan Zegang, the campaign aimed to hold the CCP responsible for the pandemic, to urge the U.S. government to assist both American and Chinese victims in obtaining fair and lawful compensation, and to remind kind-hearted Americans to remain vigilant against the CCP’s infiltration and transnational oppression. We also hoped our American friends would support China’s progress toward rural self-governance and a decentralized, free, and democratic modern state—preventing another human tragedy like the CCP Virus.

The convoy departed on the afternoon of September 6 and concluded on October 7 in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles. With the theme “Xi Jinping Virus,” we traveled through more than 20 states and dozens of cities across the U.S. Among them, Washington, D.C.—the nation’s capital—left the deepest impression on me. Though its size and population are far smaller than New York City’s, Washington’s political influence is indisputable. This perhaps reflects the vision of America’s Founding Fathers in building a decentralized republic with limited government.

In Midland, Texas, we were warmly welcomed and praised by the city’s mayor and two Texas state legislators. Even more excitingly, on September 13, we were invited to Capitol Hill by Congressman Chris Smith, Co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. Although he was unable to meet us in person due to a voting session, he sent the Commission’s Director to greet us on his behalf. We felt no disappointment—on the contrary, Congressman Smith later expressed deep regret and, on September 24, invited another influential lawmaker, Congressman John Robert Moolenaar, Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, to meet with us personally. On September 28, the Chief of Staff from Missouri also received our delegation warmly. These experiences clearly demonstrated that our campaign had earned genuine recognition from America’s political elite.

Ordinary Americans were even more supportive. Many stopped to take photos with us and gave us a thumbs-up in approval—gestures that allowed us to feel, up close, the kindness and warmth of the American people.

Our 31-day “Hold the CCP Accountable for the CCP Virus” campaign concluded successfully. We hope that through this journey, the American public will remember the CCP’s evil and the devastation caused by the virus, and recognize that the Chinese people are not the same as the Chinese Communist Party—Chinese citizens remain slaves under Xi Jinping’s tyranny. This is both a fact and the truth.

Huang Mingfa

October 9, 2025

El Monte, Los Angeles

作者/副主编：张致君
责任编辑：罗志飞    校对：程筱筱    翻译：刘芳

（被捕前的昝爱宗（中）与邹巍（右）在朱虞夫家）

2025年10月6日，中国民主党浙江委员会朱虞夫先生获悉，邹巍之父邹福明在杭州去世，羁押在看守所的邹巍无法参加父亲的葬礼。

同日，中国民主党浙江委员会发布讣告：“中国民主党浙江委员会成员邹巍的父亲邹福明先生于2025年10月6日18时35分在杭州逝世，享年八十七岁。邹巍因2024年7月13日到浙江海宁钱塘江边悼念刘晓波而被抓捕，于同年7月20日被杭州市公安局拱墅区分局以涉嫌‘寻衅滋事罪’刑事拘留，羁押在杭州市拱墅区看守所。2025年9月19日，拱墅区法院开庭审理，尚未判决。邹巍不能与其父作最后的告别及参加葬礼。特此电告国内外同仁及各界。”

邹巍因海祭诺贝尔和平奖得主刘晓波，被中共以“涉嫌寻衅滋事罪”抓捕并关押。今年9月中旬案件开庭后，一直未宣判。

家庭与亲情是社会最基本的情感纽带，也是衡量文明社会法治水平的重要指标。在民主国家，即便是服刑囚犯，其亲情权利通常受到法律保障，这体现了法治独立、司法透明和制度文明的基本原则。

然而，在中国浙江民主党人邹巍因政治原因被羁押，其父亲去世时，他无法参加葬礼。这一事件是个人家庭的悲剧，也折射出中共专制制度对人性、家庭权利和社会信任的系统性摧毁。

邹巍，长期从事民主运动与政治倡导，曾因推动宪政改革与多党竞争触碰中共政治红线而被羁押。邹巍未能在父亲遗体前行最后告别礼，再一次把中共专制权力凌驾于人性和家庭伦理之上的制度逻辑暴露在国际社会面前。邹巍无法参加父亲葬礼并非偶发事件，而是中共专制体制中一贯性制度化的政治压制行为。中共常将家庭关系视作政治控制的工具，通过剥夺亲情权利强化对异议者的心理压力和社会孤立，形成制度化控制的长期机制。

历史上，中共长期对政治异见者及其家庭施加干预，形成系统性压迫，具有非常典型的制度特征。诺贝尔和平奖获得者刘晓波在母亲病逝时无法探视，其临终告别被剥夺；维权人士黄琦被羁押期间，其母亲去世也未获允许参加葬礼；盲人维权人士陈光诚长期被软禁，其亲属在生死事件中受到严格限制。这些案例显示，中共将亲情剥夺作为政治控制工具，通过制度化的心理压迫削弱异议者意志，从而确保权力的绝对控制。中共专制体制的核心逻辑是权力优先、服从绝对，亲情与个体情感可能成为独立意志的体现，因此被视作潜在威胁而受到压制。这种制度性剥夺不仅影响个体心理健康，也破坏社会信任与伦理基础，使社会整体呈现长期的不安全感和恐惧氛围。

中共对家庭和亲情的干预不仅是心理层面的控制，更是通过法律条文和行政条例加以规范化。例如，《中华人民共和国刑事诉讼法》和《看守所条例》赋予了行政权力广泛裁量权，使羁押人员的探视权利、与亲属沟通权利以及参加家庭重大事件的权利受制于政治判断，而非独立司法。这种权力扩张直接导致了邹巍事件的发生，也是中国法律制度在实践中缺乏独立性、无法有效保护基本人权的体现。在这样的制度下，权力与家庭伦理发生冲突，亲情成为政治控制的牺牲品。

通过国际比较可以发现，在法治独立的国家，囚犯可以在直系亲属病重或去世时申请临时外出参加葬礼，并且此类申请由独立司法系统审查，不受政治干预。在美国，联邦监狱局规定囚犯可申请“compassionate leave”，允许其在警员陪同下参加亲属葬礼；在日本，狱政法允许囚犯在直系亲属重病或死亡时申请临时探视；欧洲国家同样保障囚犯家庭权利，通过法律确保权力不得随意剥夺个体尊严。在与中国一海之隔的台湾，政治案件羁押者在家庭重大事件中亦可获得临时外出许可。这些实践显示，制度独立、法律约束和透明的审查机制是保护亲情权利、维护人性尊严的核心条件。

从理论层面分析，亲情权利是人性最直观的体现，也是权力与法治关系的重要检验指标。专制国家权力追求绝对服从，而亲情体现个体独立性。在剥夺亲情权利的制度逻辑下，权力将家庭关系纳入控制体系，以削弱异议者的心理韧性。心理学研究表明，剥夺亲情权利会导致长期精神创伤、孤立感、抑郁和焦虑，不仅影响被羁押者本身，也对家庭成员造成心理伤害。在社会层面，这种制度化的控制会形成恐惧氛围，削弱社会信任和社会凝聚力。这种制度性恐惧和家庭关系破坏导致社会参与度下降，公民自我审查增加，形成长期制度性信任危机，从而对国家治理造成深远影响。

从政治哲学角度看，亲情权利是社会契约的重要组成部分。社会契约理论认为，国家权力应以保护公民权利和尊严为核心。若国家剥夺最基本的人性权利，如亲情权利，则其合法性和道德基础应该受到质疑与挑战。邹巍事件表明，中共通过政治化羁押行为剥夺亲情权利，违反了社会契约的基本原则，使国家权力成为个人自由和家庭伦理的压迫工具。

在社会学视角下，专制对家庭权利的剥夺形成长期的社会结构性问题。家庭是社会信任的基础，而亲情权利受限削弱了民众对公共制度的信任，形成连锁效应：民众自我审查，社会参与度降低，社会合作意愿下降，导致长期制度性信任危机。这种影响不仅体现在政治领域，也影响教育、经济、文化等社会各层面，使社会整体运行效率和创新能力下降。

邹巍事件同时揭示了国际社会在监督中共专制国家人权时的作用。政治异议者家庭权利的保护不仅是国内法的问题，也涉及国际法和全球舆论的监督。司法独立和法治建设是防止类似事件发生的核心机制，权力受约束才能保障亲情权利不受政治干预。国际法律监督、舆论压力和非政府组织的关注可以形成对专制国家的外部压力，促使其在处理政治案件时更加谨慎。这种国际压力不仅限于公开谴责，还可以通过报告制度、联合国调查和国际人权机制进行系统监督，形成持续的约束力。

亲情权利不仅是个体基本权利，也是社会文明与法治水平的重要标志。中共制度若无法保障亲情权利，其所谓文明水平仅是表象，而非实质。邹巍无法参加父亲葬礼，是中共专制制度冷酷与人性剥夺的典型案例。对比民主国家的实践，亲情权利在法治独立、司法透明的社会中得到保障，权力无法随意剥夺人的尊严。父亲已逝，儿子仍被囚，这不仅是个人悲剧，也是制度冷漠的体现。

中国若希望实现法治与文明，必须让法律高于权力，让亲情、人性与尊严成为制度核心，而非政治工具。

邹巍父亲的葬礼，是铁窗前的沉默，也是对中共专制冷酷的控诉。唯有让人性重回制度核心，类似悲剧才能不再重演。现如今要求中共·制度改革、司法独立、法治透明，逐步建立一个能够保护人性和家庭权利的社会已无可能。

唯有结束其专政，才能迎来真正改变。

附邹巍简历：

1968年生，浙江省杭州市人，国民主党浙江委员会重要成员（俗称浙江民主党人），人权活动家，中国在押政治犯。

因执着追求民主自由理念，很早即成为浙江杭州区域坚定的民主运动参与者， 又因浙江省民运人士冲破中共政府的打压与阻隔风险成立民主党浙江委员会，其即一直以浙江民主党人自居，故此多次被当局警方传唤和抄家。2012年1月12日，就曾因广东省陆丰市发生了乌坎事件（即陆丰市乌坎村在基层选举过程中，发生了村民从对经济的要求上升到对政治的要求的集体抗争事件，此一事件因震惊世界而导致中共认为国内政治形势严峻，其遂在此阶段被杭州市警方数十人突然冲进其家进行大抄家，当场搜走其个人计算机、通讯簿、U盘等凡被认为「有价值」的东西，并将其带走传讯；2023年11月20日，曾因为江苏南京异议人士孙林在家遭警方疑似殴打致死而举牌发声，同时又是网络发布的《就孙林之死真相不明——致南京市政府公开信》的积极签名者，遂立遭杭州市拱墅区警方抓走刑拘，其家及其母住宅均遭搜查; 2024年3月17日，曾因为新冠疫情吹哨人李文亮医生「被死亡」四周年纪念之际举牌发声，又因在中共两会召开之际被警方强迫旅游结束后，到湖州市办事并在网上公布自己被旅游、被维稳等讯息，而又被当地警方带走传唤和被训诫; 2024年7月13日，诺贝尔和平奖得主刘晓波逝世7周年纪念日，因其与独立作家昝爱宗、庄道鹤和民主党人毛庆祥等7人，为悼念刘晓波而前往浙江省海宁市钱塘江入海口举行海祭活动，并将活动部分照片发于网上，遂于次日凌晨即被杭州警方带走6人，后有5人被训诫、做笔录之后陆续释放，而其及詹爱宗则因中共第20届三中全会即将在京召开， 竟仍续押不放而被强迫旅游; 返家后，7月20日，其再次因海祭之事和昝爱宗同天被杭州市拱墅区警方以涉嫌“寻衅滋事罪”正式刑拘; 同年8月29日，二人又被杭州市拱墅区检察院以同罪名予以正式批捕。后遭起诉，2025年9月19日开庭，未当庭宣判。

目前被羁押于杭州市拱墅区看守所（又称半山看守所，浙江省杭州市拱墅区半山路342-68号，邮政编码：310011）

The Father’s Funeral and the Silence Behind Bars

— In Memory of Zou Wei’s Father, an Indictment of the CCP’s Cruelty —Executive

Editor: Luo Zhifei  Proofreader: Cheng Xiaoxiao   Translator: Liu Fang

(Before his arrest, Zan Aizong (center) and Zou Wei (right) at Zhu Yufu’s home)

On October 6, 2025, Zhu Yufu of the China Democracy Party Zhejiang Committee learned that Zou Wei’s father, Zou Fuming, had passed away in Hangzhou. Zou Wei, who has been detained, was unable to attend his father’s funeral.

On the same day, the Zhejiang Committee of the China Democracy Party issued an obituary:

“Mr. Zou Fuming, father of China Democracy Party Zhejiang Committee member Zou Wei, passed away in Hangzhou at 6:35 p.m. on October 6, 2025, at the age of 87. Zou Wei was arrested on July 13, 2024, in Haining, Zhejiang Province, for holding a memorial at the Qiantang River to mourn Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo. On July 20 of the same year, he was criminally detained by the Gongshu Branch of the Hangzhou Public Security Bureau on suspicion of ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’ and has been held at the Gongshu District Detention Center in Hangzhou. On September 19, 2025, the Gongshu District Court held a trial but has not yet delivered a verdict. Zou Wei is unable to bid his father a final farewell or attend the funeral. This is hereby notified to colleagues and friends at home and abroad.”

Zou Wei was arrested and imprisoned by the Chinese Communist authorities for commemorating Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo at the sea. The case was heard in mid-September this year but remains unadjudicated.

Family and kinship are the most fundamental emotional bonds of society and an important measure of the rule of law and civilization. In democratic nations, even convicted prisoners usually retain the right to family contact and compassion, reflecting judicial independence, transparency, and institutional humanity.

However, while the Zhejiang democracy activist Zou Wei remains detained for political reasons, his father’s death prevented him from attending the funeral. This is not only a personal and family tragedy but also a reflection of the Chinese Communist regime’s systemic destruction of humanity, family rights, and social trust.

Zou Wei has long been engaged in democratic advocacy and constitutional reform. Because of his efforts to promote multiparty competition, he has repeatedly crossed the CCP’s political red lines. His inability to say farewell to his father exposes once again the CCP’s institutional logic—placing power above humanity and family ethics. Zou’s inability to attend the funeral is not an isolated incident but part of a long-standing, institutionalized pattern of political repression. The CCP habitually treats family ties as instruments of political control, depriving dissidents of family rights to exert psychological pressure and enforce isolation, thereby achieving long-term social control.

Historically, the CCP has consistently interfered in the families of political dissidents, forming a systematic pattern of oppression. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo was denied the chance to visit his dying mother or bid her farewell. Human rights defender Huang Qi was not allowed to attend his mother’s funeral while in detention. Blind activist Chen Guangcheng was long under house arrest, and his family was strictly restricted during major life events. These cases show that the CCP uses the deprivation of family rights as a tool of political control—inflicting psychological pressure to weaken resistance and ensure absolute obedience. The core logic of its autocratic system is power supremacy and total submission. Family affection, as a symbol of individual autonomy, is perceived as a potential threat. Such institutionalized deprivation harms not only individual mental health but also erodes social trust and moral foundations, creating an enduring atmosphere of fear and insecurity across society.

The CCP’s interference with family and kinship extends beyond psychological manipulation and is codified through legal and administrative instruments. For example, the Criminal Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Regulations on Detention Centers grant authorities broad discretionary powers, making detainees’ visitation and communication rights— and their ability to attend major family events—subject to political judgment rather than judicial independence. This expansion of administrative power directly led to the Zou Wei incident and reflects the lack of judicial independence and effective human rights protection in China’s legal system. In such a system, when power and family ethics collide, kinship becomes the casualty of political control.

A comparison with democratic societies reveals a stark contrast. In countries governed by the rule of law, prisoners may apply for temporary release to attend funerals or visit critically ill relatives, and such applications are reviewed by independent judicial bodies, free from political interference. In the United States, the Federal Bureau of Prisons allows inmates to apply for compassionate leave to attend family funerals under supervision. In Japan, the Prison Act permits temporary leave for inmates to visit sick or deceased relatives. European countries similarly guarantee inmates’ family rights by law, ensuring that dignity cannot be arbitrarily stripped away. In Taiwan, even political detainees may be granted temporary leave for major family events. These practices show that institutional independence, legal restraint, and transparent review mechanisms are essential to protecting family rights and human dignity.

From a theoretical perspective, family rights are a direct manifestation of human nature and an important indicator of the relationship between power and law. In authoritarian states, power demands absolute obedience, whereas kinship represents individuality and independent emotion. Under a system that suppresses family rights, the regime subsumes family relations into its control mechanism to weaken dissidents’ psychological resilience. Psychological research shows that deprivation of family connection causes lasting trauma, loneliness, depression, and anxiety, harming not only the detainee but also their family members. Socially, such institutionalized control breeds fear, undermines social cohesion, and destroys trust. It leads to self-censorship, civic disengagement, and a long-term crisis of institutional trust that ultimately weakens national governance.

From the perspective of political philosophy, the right to family connection is an integral part of the social contract. The social contract theory holds that state power must exist to protect citizens’ rights and dignity. When the state deprives individuals of fundamental human rights—such as the right to family—it forfeits its moral and legal legitimacy. The Zou Wei case demonstrates how the CCP weaponizes detention to strip away family rights, violating the foundational principles of the social contract and turning state power into an instrument of oppression against personal freedom and family ethics.

From a sociological perspective, authoritarian deprivation of family rights produces deep structural consequences. Family is the cornerstone of social trust; when that trust is undermined, citizens’ confidence in public institutions collapses. The result is a chain reaction—self-censorship, civic apathy, and declining cooperation—culminating in a long-term crisis of social trust. This deterioration affects not only politics but also education, economy, and culture, eroding efficiency, creativity, and the vitality of society as a whole.

The Zou Wei incident also highlights the role of the international community in monitoring human rights abuses under the CCP regime. Protection of dissidents’ family rights is not merely a domestic legal issue but one of international law and global moral oversight. Judicial independence and the rule of law are fundamental to preventing such tragedies. Only when power is restrained can family rights be shielded from political manipulation. International legal mechanisms, public opinion, and NGOs can exert external pressure on authoritarian states, compelling them toward greater caution. Such pressure should not stop at condemnation but extend to sustained monitoring through reporting systems, UN inquiries, and global human rights frameworks.

Family rights are not only basic human rights but also a key indicator of a society’s civilization and legal maturity. If the CCP regime cannot guarantee these rights, its claimed “civilization” is nothing more than a façade. Zou Wei’s inability to attend his father’s funeral stands as a stark example of the regime’s cruelty and its denial of humanity. In democratic societies, family rights are safeguarded by independent judicial institutions; dignity cannot be arbitrarily denied. A father has died, yet his son remains imprisoned—this is not merely a personal tragedy but a manifestation of institutional coldness.

For China to achieve genuine rule of law and civilization, the law must stand above political power, and humanity, kinship, and dignity must become the moral core of governance rather than tools of control.

The funeral of Zou Wei’s father is a silence before prison bars—and an indictment of the CCP’s cruelty. Only when humanity is restored to the center of the system can such tragedies cease to recur. At present, demanding judicial independence and transparency under CCP rule is futile.

Only by ending the dictatorship can true change begin.

Biography of Zou Wei

Born in 1968, a native of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. He is a key member of the Zhejiang Committee of the China Democracy Party (commonly referred to as the “Zhejiang Democracy Party”), a human rights activist, and a current political prisoner in China.

Committed to the ideals of democracy and freedom, Zou Wei became an active participant in the democratic movement in the Hangzhou region at an early stage. When pro-democracy activists in Zhejiang took great personal risks to overcome government suppression and established the Zhejiang Committee of the China Democracy Party, he publicly identified himself as a “Zhejiang Democrat.” Because of his persistent involvement, he has been repeatedly summoned and had his home searched by police.

On January 12, 2012, following the Wukan Incident in Lufeng City, Guangdong Province — a landmark protest in which villagers escalated economic grievances into demands for political rights — dozens of Hangzhou police officers raided Zou Wei’s home. They confiscated his personal computer, address book, USB drives, and any items deemed “valuable,” and took him away for interrogation.

On November 20, 2023, Zou was detained again after publicly protesting the suspicious death of Jiangsu dissident Sun Lin (also known as Sun Bin), who was reportedly beaten to death by police in Nanjing. Zou held a sign calling for justice and co-signed an open letter titled “To the Nanjing Municipal Government: Clarify the Truth About Sun Lin’s Death.” He was soon taken into custody by the Gongshu District Public Security Bureau in Hangzhou. Police also searched both his residence and his mother’s home.

On March 17, 2024, during the fourth anniversary of the “death” of COVID-19 whistleblower Dr. Li Wenliang, Zou once again held a sign in commemoration. Around the time of the CCP’s National People’s Congress sessions, he was subjected to “forced travel” (a common police tactic to remove dissidents from sensitive locations). After returning to Huzhou City, he posted online about his forced travel and surveillance, for which local police summoned and reprimanded him.

On July 13, 2024, the seventh anniversary of Liu Xiaobo’s death, Zou, together with independent writer Zan Aizong, Zhuang Daohe, and fellow democrats Mao Qingxiang and others — a total of seven participants — held a sea memorial at the mouth of the Qiantang River in Haining, Zhejiang Province, to honor Liu Xiaobo. Some photos of the ceremony were later shared online. In the early morning of the next day, six of them were detained by Hangzhou police. Five were released after being interrogated and warned, but Zou Wei and Zan Aizong remained under detention due to the upcoming Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP in Beijing. Both were subsequently subjected to further “forced travel.”

After returning home, on July 20, 2024, Zou and Zan were formally criminally detained by the Gongshu District Public Security Bureau on the charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” On August 29, 2024, the Gongshu District Procuratorate approved their formal arrest on the same charge.

Zou Wei and Zan Aizong were later indicted. Their trial took place on September 19, 2025, but no verdict has yet been announced.

Zou Wei is currently detained at the Gongshu District Detention Center (also known as Banshan Detention Center), located at No. 342-68 Banshan Road, Gongshu District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, Postal Code 310011.