Academic Tells of Detention in China

A Chinese-born scholar who was convicted of espionage by China and released on medical grounds offered details about her five-month detention for the first time Monday to a radio audience in Asia.

Gao Zhan, a permanent U.S. resident and American University sociologist, said that she underwent grueling interrogations that lasted for hours but that one of her main concerns was the safety of her husband and 5-year-old son, who had accompanied her to China.

Chinese officials did not tell Gao that her husband, Xue Donghua, and their son, Andrew, had been allowed to return to the United States after 26 days in detention. She also said she feared for the safety of family members living in China, including her parents and her in-laws.

“I [was] very concerned about my family members and I was very afraid for my son and my husband,” Gao, 39, said in an interview with Voice of America that may have reached some of her former interrogators. In China, her remarks on the hourlong “China Forum” broadcast reached audiences from Beijing to Shanghai, VOA officials said.

Declaring her innocence on all charges, Gao said Chinese officials grilled her about her research on social problems, reforms and family issues. She believes they suspected her of spying because she belongs to the Assn. of Chinese Political Studies, a U.S.-based academic group. Gao also said she had reviewed materials that her accusers said contained “state secrets” for distribution only to Chinese officials and members of the Chinese elite.

“To say [my work] threatened national security is laughable,” Gao said.

Gao was released July 26 because of a heart condition, just days after being convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges that she gave classified information to Taiwan. She returned to her home in northern Virginia.

Describing her release, she said Monday: “I never felt so happy, I can’t be happier, even though physically I’m so weak. I felt I owed the audiences all over the world an explanation of what happened.”

Gao said her detention will haunt her the rest of her life. She said she was so traumatized that she has been unable to drive since her return. But she did add that she is planning to write a book about her experience.

“I have nightmares almost every day,” Gao said. “There’s someone at my door, and they want to take me away.”

Gao said she hopes to become more active in pushing for human rights in China, adding that China should be forced to comply with international human rights standards.

“I think [for] the benefit of both the American and Chinese people, a good relationship between China and America is good,” she said during the interview, which was conducted in Mandarin and translated into English.

Gao, her husband and their son were visiting China for her scholarly research when they were detained at the Beijing airport Feb. 11. The Chinese government accused her of obtaining copies of articles on Taiwan from her friend Qu Wei, an official with the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots. China sentenced Qu to 13 years in prison in connection with the incident.

Gao said that during her imprisonment she was fed meager rations such as onion stew and was interrogated and taunted for hours at a time.

“I still wasn’t clear why I was charged, why I had to suffer,” Gao said.

Even though she now speaks more openly about her ordeal, she said she remains hesitant to reveal too much out of concern for her 10 relatives still living in China. Since her release, she said, her father has warned her to “behave myself and not make trouble.”

Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) has arranged to have Gao become a U.S. citizen immediately. Gao’s citizenship ceremony was to have taken place last Thursday in Washington, but the Immigration and Naturalization Service ceremony was delayed because of problems with her paperwork, INS officials said.

Gao, who has submitted a copy of her conviction to INS officials for review, said she hopes to complete the citizenship process soon.