‘If I Don’t Oppose Dictatorship, Am I Still a Man?’: Chinese Activist Gets Eight Years in Prison · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Wu Gan via Apple Daily News. Licensed for non-commercial use.
“For those living under a dictatorship, being given the honorable label of one who ‘subverts state power’ is the highest form of affirmation for a citizen.”
Chinese human rights activist Wu Gan made this statement to a Tianjin court after receiving an eight-year prison sentence on December 26, 2017. In early January, he filed an appeal to the sentence.
Wu Gan, better known by his nickname “Super Vulgar Butcher”, has been active in Chinese human rights circles since 2008, when he began campaigning on behalf of Deng Yujiao, a waitress who was charged with murder after she stabbed and killed a government official when he attempted to rape her.
His earned his nickname after writing a blog post on “how to slay pigs” (a euphemism for bringing down corrupt officials) and thus established his reputation as a “butcher”. Speaking with the New York Times’ Sinosphere blog, Wu's lawyer, Ge Wenxiu, explained that the name is intended to mock state officials’ use of vulgarity with a sarcastic suggestion that he wants to “slay” for them their corruption and misconduct.
Wu was arrested in 2015 after a protest outside a court in Jiangxi province over a rape and murder case in which the defense was denied access to court documents. His arrest marked the beginning of a nationwide crackdown on human right lawyers and activists.
He was initially charged with “picking quarrels and provoking troubles” and defamation but upon his refusal to confess to his crime, the police changed the allegation to “subversion of state power.”
Wu explained in his statement (via China Change) that he had refused to trade a lighter sentence with public confession:
For those living under a dictatorship, being given the honorable label of one who “subverts state power” is the highest form of affirmation for a citizen. It’s proof that the citizen wasn’t an accomplice or a slave, and that at the very least he went out and defended, and fought for, human rights. Liang Qichao (梁启超, famous reformist at end of Qing dynasty) said that he and dictatorship were two forces inextricably opposed; I say: If I don’t oppose dictatorship, am I still a man?
They have attempted to have me plead guilty and cooperate with them to produce their propaganda in exchange for a light sentence — they even said that as long as I plead guilty, they’ll give me a three-year sentence suspended for three years. I rejected it all. My eight-year sentence doesn’t make me indignant or hopeless. This was what I chose for myself: when you oppose the dictatorship, it means you are already walking on the path to jail.
Wu Gan’s friends were disheartened upon hearing the news of his sentencing. On Twitter, Old Wine said:
看到朋友一个个陷入囹圄，除了愤怒，内心还是很纠结的，既希望他们像屠夫一样做个铁骨铮铮的汉子，又不想让他们受苦受非人的折磨，该妥协时也可以做些底线上的让步。前者我是敬重的，后者我是理解的。
新年伊始，每每想到冰冷铁窗里的他们，心如刀绞，恨己无能。
— 陈年老酒 (@old_wine) January 2, 2018
One after another, my friends were sentenced to jail. Apart from anger, I have complex feelings: I wish that my friends would stand up to their principle like Butcher. On the other hand, I don’t want them going through torture and wish that they could compromise. I respect Butcher and I understand those who make compromise. It is now the new year, whenever I think about those who are in jail, my heart hurts and I feel so helpless.
After Wu’s statement was widely circulated, another round of smear campaigning targeting him and other human rights lawyers has emerged. A number of Twitter bots spread posts (examples one, two, three and many others) accusing Wu Gan of garnering personal benefits through online activism backed by anti-China forces.
Knowing that the Chinese dissident community has been overwhelmed with pessimism, Wu Gan wrote a letter to the Chinese Twitter community, urging them to carry on defending conscience and freedom on December 31:
希望外面诸君不管环境再怎么恶劣，也不要悲观，也不要沉默，更不能做帮凶。我们可以懦弱、胆怯，但绝不能漠视残酷的现实，违背基本的常识，去说胡话，说鬼话，幻想明君，道德劝说，想不劳而获。我们要传播真相、捍卫良知、尊重常识、鼓励勇敢。每个人都多多少少有缺点和局限，包括我。我认为多接受各种思想，多点理解，少点功利，少计较个人得失，多付出，多去做实在的事，都会有回报的。至少我感受到了，你们的支持和关注就是最好的证明。
最后借用肖申克的救赎里一句话做结尾：有些鸟儿它永远关不住，它身上每片羽毛都散发着自由的光芒。
I wish that fellows outside [the Great Firewall] would not be silenced and overwhelmed by pessimism. No matter how bad the situation is, you can’t conspire with [the dictator]. We can be nervous and frightened, but we can’t be blind to the cruel reality and tell lies that are against our common sense, or imagine that an enlightened emperor can save us, or that the battle can be won without paying efforts. We have to spread the truth, defend conscience, respect knowledge, encourage bravery. Everyone has weaknesses, including me. But I believe that with openness to ideas, more understanding, and less calculation for personal gain, more contribution and acts will be rewarded. The fact that I can feel your support and attention is the best proof.
Lastly I want to borrow a sentence from The Shawshank Redemption: some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers carry the color of freedom. [The original quote from Stephen King is: some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice.]
In response to the letter, veteran Chinese activist Wu’er Kaixi from the 1989 Tiananmen pro-democracy movement wrote:
让我们在这一天一起郑重面对未来，我们并不活在一个美好的时代，但我们可以作一个美好的个人。我们可以被屠夫感染，而了解无惧是个有效选项，而我们的无惧，将令恐怖无法降临，这个时代也就可因此变美好一些。希望2018是这样的一个时节点。各位新年快乐！ pic.twitter.com/NnI49Pn83H
— 吾尔开希 Wu'er Kaixi (@wuerkaixi) December 31, 2017
Let’s face the future in a solemn manner today. We are not living in a good time, but we can be good people. We can be affected by Butcher and see fearlessness as an option. Our fearlessness will block terror and make our time better. I hope 2018 can be a starting point for this attitude. Happy New Year!
Wu Gan’s lawyer filed a written appeal to the court’s ruling on January 8 2018 (English version via China Change) defending citizens’ rights to free speech:
When rendering judgement on whether an individual’s conduct is criminal, it is vital to examine the character of their actions. The actions of the appellant — whether speech made via Weibo, WeChat, Twitter, his three “Guides,” interviews given to foreign media, or audio lectures — all fall under the rubric of legitimate exercise of freedom of speech. Similarly, the appellant’s participation in  12 noted cases — which involved ‘stand-and-watch’ protests, appealing in support of a cause, raising funds, or expressing himself via performance art — are also all exercises in freedom of expression, provided for in his civil rights of: the right to criticize and make suggestions; the right to lodge appeals and complaints; the right to report and expose malfeasance, and so on. These rights are innate, and are provided for in the constitution and law of the People’s Republic of China. The exercise of these rights has nothing at all to do with so-called subversion of state power.