Escape From China by Zhang Boli

Author:Zhang Boli
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Published: 1998-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

They asked me detailed questions about the ’89 Democracy Movement and the situation of the twenty-one student leaders. The translator’s Chinese was excellent. If you didn’t see him, with his brown hair and blue eyes, you would have thought that he was a broadcaster for the Chinese Central Broadcasting Radio.

I had a lot to say about the massacre, the searches, and the arrests carried out by the Chinese Communists, and what this told you about our national leaders. I told them I hoped that the humanitarianism of the Soviet government would move them to send me to a Western country. I argued that the ideals of humanitarianism and human rights had been revived when Gorbachev expressed his new approach to politics.

A colonel, who was older than the others, said, “We have decided to send you to the Chinese government. What do you think?”

I answered, “I’m disappointed.”

“Will the Chinese government shoot you?”

“I don’t know, it’s possible. Some others, not so prominent in the Democracy Movement, have been executed.”

“You should understand, if we send you to a Western country, the recently resumed friendly relationship between China and the Soviet Union will be affected.”

I responded, “But if you send me to the Chinese government and they treat me like an enemy of the state, as they have been doing in their propaganda and arrest orders, then severe punishment will follow. Then you will be blamed by the whole world, and the economic support given to the Soviet Union by Western countries will be affected.”

He was honest. “This is exactly the difficulty of our position.”

In the end, he said, “We still need to wait for the final decision.”

At noon on January 10, 1990, Colonel “Ivanovsky” and the translator came into my cell. They took me to a room that appeared to be a courtroom. Their expressions were serious. They allowed me to change into my own clothes and to check everything in my bag. I found that nothing was missing, even the large number of electric watches that I had brought along to exchange for rubles and that might not be of any use to me after all. I signed several papers put before me and then said in a casual tone, “Are we moving to another place?”

Instead of answering, they covered my eyes with a thick towel. The translator said quietly, “Sorry, we are ordered to do so.”

I was guided by my arm outside the underground area. Just as I entered a car I heard some voices yelling “Dosvedanya” as the car started its engine.

The translator removed my blindfold. I saw the officers with whom I was familiar and the young soldiers who had guarded me for two weeks. I stretched out my hand to them one by one. We wished each other good luck.

The jeep moved. My eyes were again covered. I could see nothing but felt heat rising within the car. I reclined on the car seat and felt drowsy. Colonel “Ivanosvky” and the translator were talking rapidly in Russian. I

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