Beijing Songzhuang artist Chasing Soul was arrested on the eve of June Fourth last year when he and his friends participated in a tour of the “Conscience Movement” and has been imprisoned ever since. In the middle of last month, Soul Snatcher read out his last words in court, stating that he would “not eat rice in jail”; recently, his family was informed by the prison that Soul Snatcher was in critical condition due to his hunger strike, and his health is in great concern.
On September 7, the family received a letter from the detainee saying that Soulchaser was on hunger strike and was in critical condition.
Xie Yanyi, a defender of Soul Snatcher, told us that during the court session on August 13, Soul Snatcher made clear his will to fight against hunger strike in his final statement: “He is willing to die for the freedom of conscience, for the freedom to pursue art creation, and he has been on hunger strike for almost a month now.
Xie Yanyi, whose lawyer’s license has been revoked by the Chinese authorities, is unable to meet with him, but he says he is worried about his health but understands his determination to defend his freedom to create art.
“This shows his attitude towards the unjust imprisonment, and also his attitude as an artist, because art creation is the most closely related to freedom of conscience.
The case is being investigated by the Chinese authorities, who have been banning her from attending the trial, which is being conducted by video, on the grounds of the Xin Guan epidemic.
Soul Snatcher, a well-known artist in Beijing’s Songzhuang district and founder of the China Art Museum for Future Generations, has been jailed several times for defending the freedom of artists to express themselves, create and participate in works of art, and has been arrested for expressing solidarity with Hong Kong’s Occupy movement.
Teng Biao, a prominent human rights lawyer, said that the hunger strike in prison represents a worrying human rights situation in China’s prisons and places of detention: “Many hunger strikes are completely unknown to the outside world because families and lawyers are often denied access to them and there is no way to get the news out inside.”
He also pointed out that the Chinese authorities’ crackdown on artistic creation is so severe that most artists are afraid to touch sensitive issues.
Teng Biao said, “There are very few artists who express political views and criticism of the government through performance art and their works, and these artists are few and far between in China and are severely repressed.”
In recent years, Communist authorities have cracked down on Songzhuang artists, issuing a massive notice to artists last January to censor their work for nudity or politically sensitive subject matter. Many art exhibitions and conferences have been blocked and a number of artists have been forcibly expelled, including poet Wang Zang, who was forcibly arrested in June of this year, and artist Hua Yong, who was forced to flee the country.
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