Concerns grow for Chinese human rights lawyer Wang Yu after she misses International Women’s Day awards
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the activist had intended to attend virtual ceremony honouring women of courage
- Last known communication with Wang and her husband was on Sunday and their whereabouts are currently unknown
Wang had expressed her intention to participate in Monday’s virtual ceremony, before losing touch with State Department officials, according to Blinken. “We have not been in regular communication over the past two days,” he said during the event.
“We’re concerned because we know that she wanted to attend today’s ceremony. We’ll be following up and, if necessary, speaking out on her case.”
A State Department representative did not answer questions as to whether the administration believed Wang had been detained by authorities, but said the US government was worried about her “safety and security”, and disappointed that “she wasn’t given the freedom” to attend Monday’s event.
Wang had recently travelled from Beijing to Guangzhou in southern China with her husband Bao Longjun, according to Chen Jiangang, a US-based friend of Wang’s and a fellow “709” human rights lawyer.
Chen told the South China Morning Post neither Wang nor her husband had answered their telephones since Sunday, when Bao said he had been contacted by public security officers and told not to leave Guangzhou.