Nine years after the arrest, the daughter of Zhou wrote a letter asking about justice and family trauma.

A daughter's statement and appeal on “709”

Zhou Jiyan Watch China

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I'm Zhou Ji-da, daughter of Zhou Shih-suk, former director of the Beijing Sedagogic Law Office.

In 2015, China was widely known as the “709 Big Arrest”. My father Zhou Shih-Shu was one of the human rights lawyers who were criminally prosecuted in this incident. He was sentenced to seven years ' imprisonment until 24 September 2022, when he returned home.

I wrote these words not only because he was my father, but also because of the political persecution that took place in my childhood, which changed my family and profoundly affected my growth.

I hope that Chinese society and the international community will face the events of 709, promote redress of the relevant grievances, hold accountable for violations and violations and respect for the fundamental rights and dignity of every individual.

I demand that the current Chinese regime immediately and unconditionally correct the wrong sentences handed down against human rights lawyers and citizens in the “709” incident, exonerate them in accordance with the law and hold those found guilty of the violations accountable for their actions.

I. My childhood, forced to separate from my father

When the events of 2015 “709,” I was only five years old.

In September 2022, when my father came home from prison, I was 12 and a half.

Over seven years ago, it was supposed to be a time when a child was cursing, growing up and becoming aware of the world. I should have had more opportunity to tell my father about the school, ask him questions and be accompanied in case of difficulties.

But these ordinary and precious lives are irreparably missing to me.

Late in the night of July 9, 2015, the father had not returned home. I remember calling him several times and asking him when he was coming back.

For the first time, he said, "No more today. The blogger adds:

After a while, I called again and asked if he was coming home. He still told me to come back the next morning.

I'm not comfortable with that. I called again. I was just a little girl who wanted to wait for Dad to come home, and I repeatedly confirmed that he was not coming home.

And finally, I can only say, "Okay. The blogger adds:

I was not aware that that might be the last time in my childhood that I had waited so naturally for my father to come home.

The next morning, the father was taken away by three plainclothes men. According to what the father later told me, the other party did not show his documents or give reasons.

It was hard for a child to understand why the father who had spoken the previous day on the phone had suddenly disappeared and had gone for more than seven years.

It became clear to me only later that this was not only a break-up of families but also a long-term injury left by a political persecution to a child.

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After the father was arrested, the mother assumed full responsibility for me.

Mother was in bad health. After her father was arrested, her health deteriorated further and she was hospitalized and rescued several times. Even though she was physically disabled and had difficulty in moving, she insisted on cooking and sending me to school.

Many times, my mother woke up in the morning to prepare breakfast for me, and fell on the ground because of her physical condition.

I was a little girl, and I didn't know how much pain my mother was in. I just know she's been trying to take care of me.

After more than seven years, the father finally came home. Mother wrote a message to her father on her cell phone:

“You walk seven years, I'm not dead. The blogger adds:

I feel bad every time I think about that.

At the end of 2023, the mother was again hospitalized and rescued. On July 3rd, 2024, she left me forever.

Later, I learned that, at the time of the “709,” incident, the pacemaker installed by the mother had reached the point where the need for a replacement of the battery was needed. However, the situation of the family, which has been in a very difficult situation for a long time because of the arrest and sentencing of the father, has not been addressed in a timely manner.

I have been feeling pain and regret for this. I cannot change the fact that my mother has left, nor can I determine how many years the mother would have been with me if nothing had happened in that year.

But I know that if the father had not been taken away, our family would have had at least the opportunity to face the difficulties together, rather than leaving the mother alone to bear the burden.

After my mother died, I lost my mother and forever those family times that I could have had.

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I do not wish to attribute the departure of my loved ones simply to one cause. But I cannot avoid the fact that the harm caused by political persecution does not end with the release of a person. It may continue to affect a family, even with irreversible consequences.

Three, father's back, seven years of separation, and it's impossible to cancel.

After his release from prison, his father tried to take care of me.

I thank him and I know he loves me.

Later, I heard from my father and family, and when I was a child, he loved me especially, and I was very much in love with him.

But after all, more than seven years of separation is not a word “backed” that can be fully compensated.

When my father returned to my life, I was not the five-year-old who wanted him to come home every day. I grew up and started to have my own ideas and went through moments when many fathers were not able to be with me.

We need to get back to know each other and re-establish a feeling of proximity.

It is difficult to explain this in a few words. Fathers are present, but there are some intimacy that should have been naturally formed and that needs to be re-established.

I believe that this is also an easy to ignore injury caused by the events of “709”.

When talking about political persecution, attention is often paid to how many years of imprisonment, what treatment the arrested have suffered, what work has been lost, and how easily the lost companionship of the child, the feelings of forced interruption between loved ones, and the life a family has to start again after years of separation.

For me, these are the real things that happened.

iv. I wonder what the father did.

While in prison, my father wrote to me several times, but I understand that many of them were detained.

On the eve of the Children ' s Day in 2019, the father had spoken to the parties about the telephone call. Since then, despite the fact that other prison inmates were allowed to speak to their families as required, the father, who had been in prison for almost six years, was allowed to make only two telephone calls, according to him.

For a child who has long been absent from his father, a telephone call and a letter are very valuable.

I've been wondering: What kind of law did your father break in China? Why does he have to take such treatment?

The father told me about his capture, interrogation, prosecution and sentencing. He told me that he had not seen the legal formalities and had no clear reasons for his removal; He was subjected to ill-treatment in the course of his subsequent case, such as in a long-term, forced posture and restricted defence.

According to the information provided by the father, he also alleges that the persons concerned forged or supplemented part of the legal process, altered important recorded evidence and violated his procedural rights during the trial.

These allegations, which have serious legal implications, should be verified by an independent and impartial investigation.

I am not the case officer of the year, nor have I personally experienced every detail of my father ' s detention. But as his daughter, I saw his father taken away and personally experienced a change in family life for more than seven years since then. I have reason to ask the relevant authorities to examine carefully the evidence and complaints submitted by the father, rather than to keep these questions unanswered.

The father also informed me that during the course of the case, the persons concerned had expressed the view that the law did not really limit their power to arrest whom they wanted to arrest.

If these circumstances are true, then the question is not just the personal suffering of my father, but whether any ordinary person has legal protection.

The law should not lose protection of a person because of his or her profession, opinion or expressed opinion. Any person who is guilty of a crime shall be judged on the basis of facts and law and through a fair judicial process.

V. “709” I know, should not be forgotten

After my father was arrested, I became aware that he was not alone in criminal proceedings.

The Beijing Bar Association was hit and several human rights lawyers, citizens and defenders were arrested, prosecuted or sentenced. Many families have thus suffered from a similar separation, fear and distress.

The father also told me what he believed had been the case of improper interference and showed me the charges he had kept for a long time.

In these materials, the father alleges that the then Ministry of Public Security, who was the head of the Sun Liang Army, then Secretary of the Central Political and Law Commission, Men Jianjun, and others, had improperly influenced the handling of the case; He also made specific allegations against the relevant officers, prosecutors and the judiciary in Tianjin.

These individual allegations should be investigated in accordance with the law on the basis of evidence and cannot be relied upon solely by statements of either party in lieu of formal findings. But it is equally important that the authorities concerned do not refuse to investigate or leave the case unresulted for a long time simply because the accused has important functions.

After his release from prison, the father did not stop filing complaints and complaints. He collated the material, briefed the relevant authorities and told the international community about the “709” incident.

I understand that he has submitted his complaint to the relevant authorities, but has encountered obstacles in seeking judicial redress. He also complained and prosecuted his micro-accounts for permanent closure, hoping to resolve the problem through legal means.

The father considered that the blocking of the micro-intelligence account was linked to his continued exposure to the “709” incident. The reasons and responsibilities should be explained on the basis of the facts.

These things also affect my life.

On one occasion, the school informed parents of the school ' s attendance. As the father was not normally able to receive the information, I waited alone outside the school on cold winter nights.

In another case, parents were informed by the school that they would pay the fee for the secondary examination, and the father was also delayed by the delay in receiving the notice. Something like that is not only one time.

For adults, a ban on a social account may be a problem in life. However, for a minor child, when parents are unable to receive the school notice normally, it may be the most specific and common daily life that is affected.

In mid-September 2026, I was able to use the mother ' s original mobile phone number under two-way communication restrictions, and the reason received was telecommunications fraud. I do not understand the specific basis for this approach, but I hope that the parties concerned will be able to explain the facts and deal with them in accordance with the law.

I do not ask anyone to give me special treatment because of my family background. I only wish to be able to study normally, to contact family members and to be just when I encounter problems, like other ordinary citizens.

VI. I hope to get justice, not special care.

Fathers have been complaining for themselves for years.

I know, this road is not easy.

However, I also believe that the fact that a person has been released after serving his sentence does not mean that all the problems in the case in question have been resolved; A family ' s re-life does not mean that the harm suffered before will automatically disappear.

If there is an error in the judgement, it should be corrected in accordance with the law.

If the person who is responsible for the case has committed torture to extract a confession, forged evidence, unlawfully restricted personal liberty or other unlawful acts, the investigation shall be conducted in accordance with the law and shall be held accountable on the basis of the results of the investigation.

If the person concerned used his or her authority to interfere in the administration of justice, the facts should be established and his or her position should not be exempt from scrutiny because of his or her high position.

I hope that the relevant authorities will examine the case of “709” in public and carefully, deal with the complaint in accordance with the law and inform the person concerned and the family of the outcome of the case.

I also hope that other lawyers, citizens and their families who were affected by the events of 709 will be treated fairly.

I make these requests not because I think that father will never make a mistake, nor because I want anyone to be found guilty without investigation.

I asked that every case be dealt with on the basis of facts and law; Every serious allegation of violation should be investigated carefully; Every person who has been unjustly treated should have access to a fair process of redress.

That is what the law should mean.

vii. My appeal

I am a daughter who lost her father in the “709” incident for more than seven years and later her mother.

I cannot let my childhood come back, nor can I let my mother return to me.

But I hope that my own experience will make it more visible that the events of “709” are not just cases of lawyers and citizens arrested and sentenced. It has also changed the fate of many families, affected the growth of many children and left in the minds of some the wounds that have so far been irreparably inflicted.

I solemnly appeal

First, China's current regime is called upon to confront the events of 709 and to immediately and unconditionally promote the correction of the wrong verdicts in question, to exonerate lawyers and citizens who should be acquitted in accordance with the law and to restore their rights and dignity.

Secondly, the authorities concerned are required to investigate, in accordance with the law, the serious allegations of unlawful arrest, torture or extortion of confessions, falsification of evidence and interference in the administration of justice, in an independent and impartial manner, and to hold accountable under the law for proven criminal acts, without distinction as to the functions and status of the persons involved.

Third, the relevant judicial authorities are required to receive and examine complaints from the parties in accordance with the law, to respond to the relevant legal questions in an open and transparent manner and to enable affected parties and their families to obtain a true and clear response.

Fourth, the international community, human rights organizations, the legal profession and the media are called upon to continue to follow the events of 709, to help preserve and verify relevant evidence, and to continue to promote the fair handling of cases and to avoid the recurrence of similar incidents.

I hope that one day, when people again talk about “709,” they will no longer be remembered only for those who were taken away, for the sentences and for the suffering of those families, and will see the social insistence on justice and the possibility of redress for mistakes.

I don't want any kids to go through what I've been through.

Nor do I want any family to be forced to suffer long-term separation and irreparable harm simply because their loved ones uphold their legal convictions.

I am not old enough, but I know that there are things that cannot be considered as never happening because of the time that has passed.

I am not asking for compassion, but justice; (a) Equality before the law, not special treatment; It is not about who gets revenge, but about what happens, where responsibility is being held accountable and where mistakes are being corrected.

“709” should not be forgotten, and those who suffered should not be forgotten, nor should justice be forgotten.

Zhou Ji-da

23 October 2026

Note: This section of the report, which deals with the specific process of handling the father's case, the behaviour of the person concerned and the legal process, is based on the father's oral statement, the information provided by him on the charges and other public events of “709.” The allegations shall be based on the original materials, the official documents and the results of the investigations conducted in accordance with the law.

This post was launched by China Spring and is available for comment. Zhou Jiyan Watch China