{"id":632,"date":"2012-05-15T04:48:29","date_gmt":"2012-05-15T04:48:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/?p=632"},"modified":"2012-05-15T04:48:29","modified_gmt":"2012-05-15T04:48:29","slug":"reggie-littlejohn-to-testify-concerning-chen-guangcheng-he-peirong-pearl-and-jiang-tianyong-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/reggie-littlejohn-to-testify-concerning-chen-guangcheng-he-peirong-pearl-and-jiang-tianyong-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Reggie Littlejohn to Testify Concerning Chen Guangcheng, He Peirong (Pearl) and Jiang Tianyong Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

He Peirong and Jiang Tianyong \u2013<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Chinese Communist Repression <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Against the Supporters of Chen Guangcheng<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Testimony of Reggie Littlejohn, President<\/h2>\n

Women\u2019s Rights Without Frontiers<\/h2>\n

May 15, 2012<\/h2>\n

House Committee on Foreign Affairs, <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, <\/strong><\/h2>\n

and Human Rights<\/strong><\/h2>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Honorable members of the Sub-Committee, ladies and gentlemen, I am grateful for this opportunity to testify here today, during a sensitive time in engaging the People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC) to free Chen Guangcheng and his family.<\/p>\n

I have been asked to brief the Sub-Committee on the treatment of two prominent activists who are supporters of Chen: He Peirong, also known as Pearl, who was instrumental in Chen\u2019s escape, and Jiang Tianyong, a key member of Chen\u2019s legal team.<\/p>\n

He Peirong (Pearl)<\/strong><\/p>\n

He Peirong, also known as Pearl, has played a key role in organizing support for Chen within China.\u00a0 When I testified about her on May 3, she had been detained for almost a week and I was very concerned that she might be tortured to learn the names of others in her network.\u00a0 The very day after the hearing, at which her case was strongly raised by Rep. Chris Smith, Pearl was released and was interviewed by the BBC.<\/p>\n

Some say that quiet, back door diplomacy is the way to deal with the detention of Chinese human rights defenders.\u00a0 But we have found that high profile visibility is far more effective.<\/p>\n

Pearl herself seems to have endorsed this approach in her BBC interview.\u00a0\u00a0 According to this interview, she was confined to a hotel room.\u00a0 The police were \u201cpolite,\u201d but persistent in their effort to obtain information, which Pearl did not divulge.\u00a0 About her own safety, she said, \u201cI was very concerned, but once the thing went public, I was no longer worried.\u201d[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

I skyped with Pearl the day after her release, and again on this past Saturday.\u00a0 Pearl is grateful that she was treated so well in detention in Nanjing.\u00a0 This has not always been the case.\u00a0\u00a0 I understand from a reliable source that she has encountered violence three times in Shandong:<\/p>\n