Her battle to save husband from executioner lost, Chinese mother backs artist son

Zhang Jing  suddenly became a widow and single mother last September when her husband Xia Junfeng  was executed amid controversy for killing two urban management officers in 2009. Having lost a 461/27-year battle to save her husband, she said all she cared about now was their 13-year old son, Qiangqiang, an aspiring painter who is holding his first “overseas” exhibition in Hong Kong.

Last week, “Me and My Mum, Only the Two of Us” – Qiangqiang’s seventh exhibition and his first outside the mainland – opened at the Centre for Community Cultural Development in Shek Kip Mei. His artistic talent came to light following the wide media attention to Xia’s case.

 Zhang had cautiously kept her son’s first trip to Hong Kong a secret until they arrived in the SAR. Her campaign to save her husband’s life made her an internet celebrity, with more than 100,000 followers on Weibo (China’s version of Twitter), and therefore a sensitive figure to the authorities. Yet, she is no longer as vocal about her own grievances or social injustice.

“Now all I want is to be left in peace with my son,” she said.

It is for that reason that they moved to Beijing three months ago after spending the Lunar New Year at home in Shenyang  , Liaoning  province. “I didn’t expect to leave home and become another ‘Beijing Wanderer’ at the age of 40,” she said. But the change of environment has helped Qiangqiang cope with the loss of his father, and the capital also provides greater opportunities to study art.

Qiangqiang showed an interest in drawing at an early age, but it was only later that his parents realised their son’s talent. Zhang said they had considered his artistic activity a costly hobby. As their son won more awards, they felt more financially burdened.