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Gao Zhisheng

  • Christian Lawyer Remains Missing After Eight Years
    Gao Zhisheng is standing in front of a building dressed in a dark blue jacket.
    Gao Zhisheng
    Photo: ChinaAid

    For many years, Gao Zhisheng was a bold advocate for persecuted religious communities in China. While serving as a lawyer representing various faith groups, he himself was frequently harassed and arrested. In 2005, Gao's law practice was shut down by the government after he publicly condemned the human rights violations that were being committed against practitioners of a religious movement known as Falun Gong.

  • Human Rights Lawyer Still Missing After Two Years
    Unwavering Convictions by Gao Zhisheng - Photo: ChinaAid www.chinaaid.org
    Photo: ChinaAid

    Gao Zhisheng, a prominent human rights lawyer, has personally experienced persecution for many years. The Voice of the Martyrs Canada has been reporting on Gao's case since his initial arrest in 2006. Since then, he has been released and re-arrested numerous times, often disappearing to undisclosed locations at the hands of the authorities.

    When Gao had gone missing on August 13th, 2017, family and friends had assumed he had been apprehended by the authorities again. Yet, in reality, two of his supporters had smuggled him out of the province in an attempt to free him from house arrest and keep him safe. After three weeks of intensive searching, the authorities managed to locate him, and Gao has not been seen nor heard from since. There have been rumours of his location, but no one was able to verify them.