Wang Bingzhang is a Chinese human rights activist and founder of two Chinese pro-democracy movements. He was abducted in Vietnam in June 2002 and detained by Chinese secret police. The Chinese government announced his detention in December 2002, charging him with espionage for Taiwan and terrorism, including in connection with an alleged plot to attack the Chinese embassy in Bangkok. He was sentenced to life in prison and is considered a political prisoner of China. Since his imprisonment, evidence has emerged that the Chinese government fabricated testimony against him. In addition, both Taiwanese and Thai authorities have issued official statements contradicting the Chinese government's accusations against him.
Background
Wang Bingzhang was born on December 30, 1947, in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China. He graduated from Beijing Medical University and served as a doctor for eight years. In 1979, he was sponsored by the Chinese government to study abroad in McGill University, Canada where he obtained his Ph.D. degree in pathology in 1982. In 1982, Wang established China Spring, the first pro-democracy Chinese magazine overseas. The next year, he launched the "Union of Chinese Democracy Movement", Alliance for Democratic China publicly denouncing the one-party rule in China. He later traveled back to China and co-founded two opposition parties, the Chinese Freedom Democracy Party and Chinese Democracy Justice Party in 1989 and 1998, respectively. The latter led to his arrest in China. He was expelled from the country, but was not sentenced.
Kidnapping and Imprisonment
In early 2001, Wang was in Thailand when, acting on a tip from a Chinese national that Wang was plotting to attack the Chinese embassy in Bangkok, Royal Thai Police investigated him. They found no evidence of such a plot. Instead, they realized that Wang was a pro-democracy activist. Given Chinese influence in Thailand, and fearing for Wang's safety, they urged Wang to leave the country. In June 2002, Wang went to Vietnam with Yue Wu and Zhang Qi where, according to Yue Wu, they were seized by Chinese-speaking agents who claimed they were Vietnamese authorities. However, instead of taking them to a police station, the agents took them to a nearby river where there was a waiting ferry. From there, they were brought to Guangxi Province, where, after being held for several days, they were left for Chinese authorities to retrieve. In December 2002, the Chinese government announced his arrest.
Trial
In February 2003, Wang was sentenced to life in prison, on charges of espionage for Taiwan and terrorism. He was sentenced to ten years in prison on the latter charge, and life in prison on the former. His trial was closed to the public and lasted for one day. He is imprisoned in the Shaoguan Prison.
Evidence Fabricated by Chinese Government
According to Ni Jinbin, who, along with Zhang Yiqun, met Wang in Shanghai in 1998, and whose testimony was included in the verdict against Wang, Ni left China in 1998, and never gave the cited testimony. Further, according to Ni, in April 2003, Zhang Yiqun, whose testimony was also cited in the verdict against Wang, emailed Ni after Wang's verdict became public. Zhang explained that in late 2002, Chinese security agents visited him over the course of several days, and detained him overnight in various hotels, in an effort to get him to give testimony against Wang. They presented him with a statement they'd written and asked Zhang to sign it. Zhang refused, asked them to leave him alone, and asked them to treat him as if he were a deceased person. The security agents told Zhang: "Even if you were dead, we'd still be able to get your signature. We are experts when it comes to documents. If we so desired, we could find many "Zhang Yiquns." It was only months later, when news of Wang's imprisonment broke, that Zhang realized that Wang was in Chinese custody at the time. Ni Jinbin later provided a sworn declaration to the Wang family attesting to these facts, including his receipt of the email from Zhang.
Conditions of Confinement
In March 2006, Wang was punished for misbehaving when he went hunger strike to plead for release to pay a final respect to his father at his funeral; but he was handcuffed by and locked with a jail guard in his jail cell. This resulted in prolonged punishment. Visitation rights were restored in November 2006. According to Dr. Bing Wu Wang, Wang's younger brother, his physical health had deteriorated rapidly since the last visitation. This was due, according to Wang, to a new prison warden who served much lower food quality, harsher physical abuse and intense political study sessions. Throughout his confinement, Wang has been kept in what is essentially solitary confinement, in that he is not permitted routine interaction with other prisoners.
Exonerating Evidence on Both Espionage and Terrorism Charges
In 2009, the Royal Thai Police issued a statement contradicting a key plank of the Chinese government's claims against Wang, namely an alleged plot to attack the Chinese embassy in Bangkok. According to the Royal Thai Police, who'd carefully monitored Wang's activities in Bangkok, and who investigated a tip relating to such a plot, no evidence for such a plot existed. In 2013, the Taiwanese legislature asked the National Security Bureau, the main intelligence agency of Taiwan, whether Wang had ever done intelligence work on Taiwan's behalf. The National Security Bureau conducted an inquiry and stated that the answer was no.
Religious Beliefs
Wang Bingzhang is a Christian. In Nov. 2017, the 1st edition of the book written by Wang Bingzhang during his time as a political prisoner was published. The book is about decoding the Bible. The publication ceremony was at the Bible Museum in Washington DC on the 19th of November.
