“Shame, to insult a woman!” read the hand-lettered sign Zeng Jinyan raised when she faced down Beijing police on June 21 as they threatened to run her down with their car. The wife of AIDS activist Hu Jia, whom police have also targeted, Mrs. Zeng was fed up.
Police had been following her closely all day, had blocked in her car, and now were repeatedly pushing against her with their vehicle. Mrs. Zeng stood her ground. She publicized her experiences on her blog, but it was blocked in China.
Her husband, Hu Jia, who had been subjected to house arrest, detention, and constant monitoring for his human rights activities, said: “Jinyan is very brave. She had no choice but to do that [raise a protest sign]. I was very angry as [their] action was very dangerous, so I rushed to where Jinyan was standing to stop them and move her away from the car.”
Zeng Jinyan’s Blog Diary
First, I declare that what happened today was my personal instinctive resistance to this unreasonable harassment.
When I left home for work this morning, I left it to chance that they [the police] might be gone and give up following me, allowing me time to relax. But this hope vanished when I went downstairs. The plainclothes policeman car was facing the front entrance of our yard.
When I drove out, two cars … followed me. There was a traffic jam near the north turnabout of Tiananmen. I got out and walked to the car following me closely to see if the vehicle’s license plate indicated the same car as yesterday. Those in the car appeared nervous and pulled down a sun shade to prevent me from seeing their faces.
After an early lunch, I took my backpack and came down from my office. The police did not expect me to come down so early, so they hid themselves in a panic when I walked to the front of their car.
In the afternoon, I made a sign with the message “Shame, to insult a woman.” If the police continue to follow me, I will certainly resist.
