Jinrey Zhang is a student at Georgetown Law, and in recent years has become increasingly vocal about repression committed by the Chinese government — especially during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
His activism has had an audience: Chinese state security officials, who didn’t like what they heard. Zhang’s family in China has received multiple visits from state officials over the past year.
Zhang studies in Washington, D.C., where a number of dissident international students from China have set down roots. From decrying the human rights abuses surrounding the Beijing Olympics and joining the global White Paper Movement to launching an Independent Chinese Student Union, these students have embraced their free speech rights — and suffered censorship and surveillance, even half a world away from Chinese government officials.
But despite the costs, he says that it’s worth it. And according to Zhang, the CCP’s repression should in some ways encourage activists because it shows how much the Chinese government fears the power of their words, even from young students thousands of miles away.
“Actually, the suppression that’s being done by the Chinese regime really gives me hope,” Zhang says. “Their fear gives me hope.”
Zhang’s story is a powerful reminder of the importance of free expression, the courage of dissenters, and the need to protect against authoritarian censorship seeping into free countries. Here’s our conversation.