{"id":3551,"date":"2022-02-17T19:14:24","date_gmt":"2022-02-17T19:14:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/?p=3551"},"modified":"2022-02-17T19:14:24","modified_gmt":"2022-02-17T19:14:24","slug":"wrwfs-first-speak-truth-to-power-awards-to-zhang-zhan-and-peng-shuai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wrwfs-first-speak-truth-to-power-awards-to-zhang-zhan-and-peng-shuai\/","title":{"rendered":"WRWF&#8217;s First &#8220;Speak Truth to Power&#8221; Awards to Zhang Zhan and Peng Shuai"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Poster_18x24in_Peng-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3553\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/?attachment_id=3553\" class=\"wp-image-3553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Poster_18x24in_Peng-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Poster_18x24in_Peng-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Poster_18x24in_Peng-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Poster_18x24in_Peng.jpg 1296w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Poster_18x24in_Enes-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3552\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/?attachment_id=3552\" class=\"wp-image-3552\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Poster_18x24in_Enes-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Poster_18x24in_Enes-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Poster_18x24in_Enes-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Poster_18x24in_Enes.jpg 1296w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Poster_18x24in_ZhangZhan-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3554\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Poster_18x24in_ZhangZhan.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/?attachment_id=3554\" class=\"wp-image-3554\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Poster_18x24in_ZhangZhan-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Poster_18x24in_ZhangZhan-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Poster_18x24in_ZhangZhan-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Poster_18x24in_ZhangZhan.jpg 1296w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Women\u2019s Rights Without Frontiers to Present Its<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>First \u201cSpeak Truth to Power\u201d Awards to<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Zhang Zhan and Peng Shuai<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>at Enes Kanter Freedom Award Event<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>WASHINGTON, D.C.\u2014 Tonight,\u00a0Women\u2019s Rights Without Frontiers<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>will present our First\u00a0<em>Speak Truth to Power Award\u00a0<\/em>to\u00a0two valiant Chinese women:\u00a0\u00a0Zhang\u00a0\u00a0Zhan and Peng Shuai.\u00a0This presentation will be part of a larger event in which the\u00a0Captive Nations Coalition\u00a0of the\u00a0Committee on the Present Danger: China\u00a0(representing those communities most harmed by Communist China\u2019s genocidal crimes) will recognize Enes Kanter Freedom\u2019s activism on their behalf by bestowing him with the\u00a0<em>2022 Freedom Award<\/em> at an event on Capitol Hill. Women\u2019s Rights Without Frontiers is sponsoring the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;<em>Speak Truth to Power Award&nbsp;<\/em>is designed to honor heroes who have stood up and told the truth about a powerful enemy \u2013 in this case, the Chinese&nbsp;Communist Party \u2013 at great cost to themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zhang Zhan is a citizen journalist and former attorney who has been imprisoned and tortured for boldly reporting on conditions in Wuhan following the initial lockdown of the city in early 2020. Zhan is reported to be close to death due to a hunger strike while detained.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tennis star Peng Shuai bravely accused a high-ranking Chinese minister of sexual assault.&nbsp;&nbsp;Her internet post was deleted within minutes and she was disappeared for weeks.&nbsp;&nbsp;She has now retired from competitive tennis \u2013 many believe, against her will.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reggie Littlejohn, founder and president of Women\u2019s Rights Without Frontiers, stated:\u00a0<em>\u201cThe brutality of the Chinese Communist Party is clearly seen in its abuse of these two, heroic women. Instead of trying to improve the dire conditions in Wuhan at the outbreak of the pandemic, the CCP jailed and tortured Zhang Zhan, who was merely reporting the truth.\u00a0\u00a0A heroic woman of compassion and faith, Zhang Zhan told her lawyers that while in jail, she is praying for her persecutors.\u00a0\u00a0She said she draws the strength to endure from a Bible verse:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cGod is faithful.\u00a0\u00a0He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.\u201d (1 Cor. 10:13) It is a hallmark of totalitarian regimes that a nation\u2019s finest citizens languish in prison.\u00a0We demand Zhang Zhan\u2019s immediate release.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cLikewise, Peng Shuai must have known the consequences of accusing one of the most powerful men in China of sexually assaulting her.&nbsp;&nbsp;Some have said that she has recanted her accusation.&nbsp;&nbsp;I would give that no more credence than the many forced confessions extracted under torture by the CCP.&nbsp;&nbsp;Who knows what kind of threats the CCP may have launched against&nbsp;&nbsp;Peng Shuai and her&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;family.&nbsp;&nbsp;I also believe her retirement from tennis is forced.&nbsp;&nbsp;I worry what may happen&nbsp;&nbsp;to her if the world turns its attention away.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cBoth Zhang Zhan and Peng Shuai have paid the price of speaking truth to power, and both are worthy recipients of this award.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enes Kanter Freedom is a star NBA athlete who has put his reputation and his career at risk to speak out against Communist China\u2019s rampant human rights abuses.&nbsp;&nbsp;Just last week, in a surprise move, the Boston Celtics traded Mr. Kanter Freedom to the Houston Rockets. The Rockets then waived the trade leaving the bold and vocal basketball star&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2022\/02\/15\/enes-kanter-freedom-nba-china-rockets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">without a team<\/a>. Many in the Captive Nations Coalition believe this shocking development is meant to punish the athlete for his persistent support of their communities in defiance of others in the NBA who have roundly ignored Communist China\u2019s crimes against humanity that have subjected and enslaved entire populations of formerly free countries and autonomous regions. Mr. Freedom believes many U.S. corporations have knowingly, or unknowingly, become foreign agents for China.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cU.S. corporations, organizations, and influencers who are not defending the families and communities being methodically exterminated by Communist China are complicit in their crimes,\u201d said Dede Laugesen, executive secretary for the Committee on the Present Danger: China. \u201cThey have sold themselves to the Chinese Communist Party and abandoned all moral principles for profit. They defend China\u2014and her malevolent intent to destroy America\u2014without concern for the people being harmed. Our Captive Nations Coalition is standing with Enes Kanter Freedom against these traitors to America and the free world.\u201d<\/em><em><br><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;<em>Speak Truth to Power&nbsp;<\/em>awards will be presented&nbsp;<em>in absentia,&nbsp;<\/em>as&nbsp;&nbsp;the recipients cannot leave China.&nbsp;&nbsp;Mr. Freedom, however, has stated that he will accept his award in person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the spring of 2021, the Committee on the Present Danger: China and Women\u2019s Rights Without Frontiers teamed up to create the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/genocidegames.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Genocide Games<\/a>&nbsp;Task Force to oppose the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. As the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/search?q=%23GenocideGames&amp;src=typed_query\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">#GenocideGames<\/a>&nbsp;draw to a close, the task force is encouraged by the response of the American public who have helped make this Olympics the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/3123874\/2022\/02\/10\/as-olympics-ratings-crater-nbc-talks-beijing-challenges-and-hopes-for-paris-and-beyond\/#:~:text=The%20Beijing%20Olympics%20are%20on%20pace%20to%20be,of%20the%20live%20morning%20and%20taped%20prime-time%20replay.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">least watched<\/a>&nbsp;games in the history of the organization.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Women\u2019s Rights Without Frontiers to Present Its First \u201cSpeak Truth to Power\u201d Awards to Zhang Zhan and Peng Shuai at Enes Kanter Freedom Award Event WASHINGTON, D.C.\u2014 Tonight,\u00a0Women\u2019s Rights Without Frontiers\u00a0will present our First\u00a0Speak Truth to Power Award\u00a0to\u00a0two valiant Chinese &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wrwfs-first-speak-truth-to-power-awards-to-zhang-zhan-and-peng-shuai\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[231,278,255,233,277,221,279],"class_list":["post-3551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-china","tag-enes-kanter-freedom","tag-genocide","tag-human-rights","tag-peng-shuai","tag-womens-rights-without-frontiers","tag-zhang-shan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3551"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3561,"href":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3551\/revisions\/3561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}