Chen Guiqiu’s husband is held in detention for exposing human rights abuses in China. Chen and her two daughters fled home but were detained in Bangkok.
“I was in despair, completely surrounded at that moment. I knew Chinese security agents, in plainclothes, and their cars were all outside the jail waiting for me. I didn’t know what to do, but only put everything in the hands of God”, said Chen Guiqiu, wife of human rights lawyer Xie Yang.
One of Chen’s daughters is a U.S. citizen so the U.S. Embassy officials stepped in before Chinese agents took them. After an hours-long diplomatic standoff at the airport,
the mother and daughters finally made it to the U.S.
Chen’s husband, Xie, has been a lawyer for pro-democracy activists. Months after detention, he was charged with crimes against the state. Police started meeting with his wife for hours, threatening to evict her, deny her children schooling and have her fired from her job.
Police even detained Chen’s 14-year-old daughter when she tried to travel to Hong Kong. With a travel ban placed on the family, Chen contacted Bob Fu, a Christian rights activist. Bob Fu helped the family flee China.
