Spies from northern Shaanxi Province have been harassing Gao Zhisheng for days, especially during the night of April 7. On that night their harassment deprived all of Gao Zhisheng’s family members in his home town of sleep, including a baby. After negotiation, Gao Zhisheng and Ma Wendu were forced to leave Gao’s home town in northern Shaanxi Province. All traffic police officers in the county were dispatched to “escort” them. By the time this article was written Gao and Ma, wearing the blue ribbons symbolic of the relay hunger strike, were driving towards Taiyuan City in Shanxi Province, surrounded by a caravan of official “escorts.”
Spies’ Harassment Forced Gao To Leave His Home Town
On the night of April 7, the spies sang, whistled and chatted outside the window of Gao Zhisheng’s dwelling in his home town. From around 11 p.m., they began to blast their car horns vigorously and even urinated at the entrance to Gao’s dwelling. As a result, Gao’s whole family was unable to sleep throughout the night. The new-born grandson of Gao’s eldest brother, who is only just over a month old, howled all night. Gao said, “This is the first sleepless night this baby has had since he came into this world.” Ma Wendu said, “They did not let up the entire night, so even I, who usually easily falls into sleep, could not sleep at all.”
During the night, though Gao Zhisheng and his eldest brother protested several times, the spies did not restrain themselves.
In the morning, the number of spies had increased by 20 more. Gao decided to start negotiations with them; “We cannot continue like this! It is a kind of torture to my family and to you as well. We must leave here.”
The spies said they needed to ask for instructions from their superiors. However after two hours, there was still no reply. Gao and his companions then tried to leave his home town regardless of the situation. The spies asked them where they would go and when they learned that Gao intended to go along the Yellow River in Shanxi Province, the spies firmly replied, “No, you are not allowed to stay in Shanxi. If you want to go, you must return to Beijing. Even if you go somewhere else, you will be taken back to Beijing.”
After 11 a.m., Gao Zhisheng and Ma Wendu left Gao’s home town with Gao’s fourth brother who drove the car for them. Gao said, “Again they have forced me out of my hometown. When I left Beijing, just my family [Gao, his wife and daughter] wept; this time, my extended family cries when I leave.”
Gao Was Seen Off with VIP-Level Security
Gao reported that when he was leaving the village, the city public security bureau and the spies dispatched about 20 vehicles to follow him. The heads of the local public security bureau, the provincial public security department and the provincial state security department in the North of Shaanxi, and leading figures from the village and county also came to the village. They and the villagers formed a huge crowd.
All the traffic police officers in Jia County were called out. Lead by the assistant commissioner of the local police station, five or six police vehicles cleared the way. The police lined up along the road with sentries posted every few yards and the whole road was clear.
Gao’s cousin said to Gao, “I never knew you were so important, like royalty now.”
Gao said, “Only such a huge totalitarian authority could muddle-headedly treat me, a common person, as a head of state. This is quite a phenomenon. To think that they could be so scared of an individual. I am just an individual. I think even when the head of the CCP himself came here, the best they could do was to dispatch all the local police.”
When the reporter phoned at 1:03 p.m. for an interview, Gao’s car was sandwiched between six spy vehicles. Ma Wendu said they were about to get on the highway towards Taiyuan.
The spies following them kept on video recording Gao and his companions, even when they stopped to relieve themselves. After they exited northern Shaanxi and entered Shanxi Province, the vehicles following changed to those of Shanxi.
Chinese Official: They Have No Alternative
An official at the scene of Gao’s departure, who did not want to disclose his name, shook hands with Gao before he left and said, “Do not blame them (the spies,) they have no choice. They are locals and they have no alternative”.
A local bureau chief refused to participate in persecuting Gao and he secretly told Gao’s relatives, “There is nothing wrong with what your third brother (Gao Zhisheng) did. Even inside the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the understanding of its own future is quite confused.”
This bureau chief gave an example, “Recently, about one to two thousands cadres at the municipal level, the bureau level and higher held a meeting. They invited a professor of political science and law from a university to give a lecture on current affairs. After some high-sounding words, the event became a lecture in criticizing the CCP’s tyranny. Many local officials felt as if sitting on pins and needles. What should be done? They were in a dilemma as to whether to interrupt the speech or not.”
The police vehicles from northern Shaanxi escorted Gao over the provincial border. The police even helped Gao to go through some formalities. Gao said, “They asked us not to keep account of what they did, and not to cause them trouble in the future. My fourth brother felt that they no longer had any confidence in their own future.”
According to their plan, Gao and his companions stayed in Taiyuan over the night of the 8th, and would then return to Beijing.
