24th Anniversary of CCP's Cross-Border Capture of Overseas Pro-Democracy Leader Wang Bingzhang; Held in Solitary Confinement for Years

(Rights Defense Network Information Center report) On June 28, 2026, this outlet learned that 24 years ago, Wang Bingzhang was abducted across the border in Vietnam and brought back to China by CCP agents. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2003 and has been held in solitary confinement for more than two decades.

Biography of Wang Bingzhang: Born on December 28, 1947, he is from Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province; a Christian, U.S. permanent resident, democratic dissident, spokesperson for the China Democratic Justice Party, and adviser to the China Democracy Party Overseas Joint Headquarters. He is popularly known as “the first person in China’s overseas democracy movement” and is a political prisoner detained in China.

In 1982, he founded the magazine China Spring in the United States. He was the founder and first chairman of the China Democracy Alliance, and before his arrest served as spokesperson for the China Democratic Justice Party and adviser to the China Democracy Party Overseas Joint Headquarters. At the end of June 2002, he was abducted in Vietnam by unidentified individuals, brought into China, and arrested by the police. On February 10, 2003, he was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of “espionage and organizing and leading a terrorist organization.” It is reported that he has been held in solitary confinement in prison for a long time and has suffered extreme physical persecution. During this period, he suffered one major stroke and two minor strokes, and developed severe allergies. When the condition flares up, he experiences asthma, allergic rhinitis, and incessant sneezing and coughing, causing significant damage to his lungs and chest. He often feels that life is worse than death. In winter, he suffers from chilblains and bedsores, while a thin wall is inadequate to keep out the severe cold. His repeated requests to be transferred to another prison were not permitted. His family’s requests to visit him over several years were also refused. It was not until February 28, 2014, that his younger brother, Wang Bingwu, was permitted to meet him for 10 minutes as the family’s representative. He learned that Wang Bingzhang had been held alone in a small cell in the prison all along, knowing nothing about the outside world and unable to exchange any correspondence. On September 20, 2016, because his health could potentially suddenly become life-threatening, prison authorities installed an alarm in his cell, saying that he should immediately activate the alarm if he felt unwell. During Canada’s Thanksgiving period on October 15, 2021, his younger brother, who lives in Canada, finally received a notice from prison authorities in mainland China stating that approval had been granted for a visit, which should indicate that his brother was still alive. On May 9, 2024, Freedom House, an international human rights organization headquartered in Washington, the capital of the United States, presented him with its 2024 Freedom Award to express its recognition of his efforts and sacrifices for democracy and freedom in China.

He is currently serving his sentence at Beijiang Prison in Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province (P.O. Box 6-9, No. 7 Lishizhen, Zhenjiang District, Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province, postal code: 512140).