By Mimi Lau, For original news, Click here.
- After spending five years in prison for inciting subversion, the 48-year-old has returned to his hometown and says the jail time confirmed his beliefs
- He was jailed along with two other activists after distributing books and printed materials on grass-roots pro-democracy campaigning
In an interview with the South China Morning Post on Tuesday, Tang said he stood by his beliefs about advancing democracy in the country.
“My imprisonment has confirmed my beliefs that [building] a democratic society that values human rights is the only way to prevent tragedies, such as what happened to me, from happening again to other people,” Tang said. “I believe [democracy] is still the way to go [for China] – where every citizen can stand up for their rights.
Another lawyer in the case, Guo Feixiong, is serving a six-year jail term for disturbing public order, “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”.
Tang was arrested in May 2014 along with activists Yuan Chaoyang, also known as Yuan Xinting, and Wang Qingying, after distributing books and printed materials on grass-roots pro-democracy activism.
On Tuesday, Tang said he did not get much sleep during his first night of freedom.
“I was just chatting with an old friend … To me, life in or outside prison makes no political difference as people [in China] continue to be deprived of their rights such as free speech,” Tang said.
Tang, who is a Christian, said he was treated “relatively well” in prison but his Bible and one of his favourite books, Streams in the Desert, had been taken away, though he had been allowed to keep other books sent to him by his family.
Wang Yanfang, Tang’s wife, who left China for San Francisco in 2016, said she was looking forward to seeing her husband. But Wang said her first concern was his health, and that he needed medical treatment for an unspecified condition.
Tang said he planned to return to Guangzhou in a week for treatment but he would not consider leaving China. “There’s still work to be done here,” he said.