Wang Jia was in detention for nearly eight years and sent a cancer alert: Why is it difficult for family members to know about the state of health in prison?

Wing Yi ' s family ' s access to him and to a true medical statement became the centre of the emergency statement to China Aid on 28 September. According to the Chinese religious freedom agency, sources in China have learned that Wang Yi, a pastor of the Church of the Church of the Sundu Autumn, may have advanced liver cancer in the Sichuan Golden Tongs Prison. It noted that severe visiting restrictions prevented it from independently confirming the diagnosis. Even so, a priest who has been in detention for nearly eight years has been informed of serious illness, it is difficult for family members to verify the situation directly and is a public event that needs to be responded to.

The sentence is public, why is the case not known to the family in time?

In December 2018, Chengdu police took action against the Church of the Autumn Covenant and members of the Church, Wang Yi, were taken away. In December 2019, Chengdu Court sentenced Wang Yi to nine years in prison for inciting subversion of State power and illegal business. The authorities have publicly announced the penalty, but Wang Yi ' s physical condition in prison, treatment arrangements and family meetings have been lacking in the same open channels for a long time. The United States International Religious Liberty Commission included him in information on religious prisoners of conscience, and ChinaAid documented continuing concerns about medical treatment and visits to his prison sentences.

“Whatever position the Chinese Government holds on Wang Yi's imprisonment, there is no reason to refuse to allow serious prisoners access to their families and to receive appropriate treatment. “—According to the statement of the head of ChinaAid, Fulciu, on 28 September (translation).

This sentence takes the incident back to the human condition: The penalty is deprivation of liberty, but it cannot be a substitute for medical care; The prison has information on the treatment and is also responsible for the person ' s representation with his or her lawful relatives.

One meeting in 2021 and a long interval since then

ChinaAid reported in 2021 that Wang Yi's wife had been able to visit her husband after nearly three years. Today, the Agency again stated that meaningful family access remains severely restricted. Late liver cancer is a possible case described by the source and not a hospital diagnosis obtained in this article; However, the mere fact that external messages are sent to inform the health of the family members serving their sentences exposes the disparity between the family and the prison.

Specific requests from public statements

• Allowing the wife, children and parents to visit Wang Yi personally, with appropriate arrangements;
• Provide complete health information to families and medical treatments that have been carried out;
• Allow independent doctors to assess and provide timely treatment when needed;
• Substantive response to the family and to the human rights and religious freedom bodies concerned with the case.

Why is this not isolated medical news

The case of Wang Yi originated in a large-scale investigation of the Church of the Autumn Covenant in

1. Criminal treatment of their sermons, religious practices and public expression has long been a representative case of religious freedom disputes in China. During the period of imprisonment, the medical situation is again a difficult information for the outside world: legal penalties, restrictions on church activities and the closure of information in prison, which follows the experience of the same person. This is the historical context of the concern of the present statement, not a sudden general health scandal.

A judgement stating nine years ' imprisonment was not able to answer what had happened in the cell. The direct response of the prison and the Sichuan provincial prison administration is whether Wang Yi is now receiving medical treatment, whether she has access to her family and how medical care is guaranteed by law in case of serious illness. It is much more meaningful to give answers to these questions than to keep the next unverified disease hearsay going.