CONTACT: Reggie
Littlejohn, President, Women’s Rights Without Frontiers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: BITTERSWEET CARNEGIE HALL PERFORMANCE BY LITTLEJOHN'S DAUGHTER RESCUED FROM CHINA
Photo 1: Anni Zhang in front of Carnegie Hall with
Reggie Littlejohn and husband Robert
NEW YORK: On Sunday afternoon, 13-year-old Anni Zhang,
rescued from China, was living a
dream come true – she performed piano in Carnegie Hall. What should have been a completely
joyous occasion, however was marred.
Her father, veteran activist Zhang Lin, was not able to attend because
the Chinese government refused to issue him a passport.
Reggie
Littlejohn, president of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers, played a key role in bringing Anni to
the United States from China, where she and her father were under house arrest
after she had been detained and denied the right to go to school. Littlejohn and her husband, Robert,
have been raising Anni as their own daughter. They flew the family, including
Anni’s older sister Ruli, from San Jose, CA to New York to celebrate Anni’s
achievement with her.
Littlejohn
stated, “My husband and I are so proud of Anni. She came to the United States without playing an instrument,
and after just two years, she won an international competition to perform at
Carnegie Hall. That’s got to be
some kind of a record. I think
she’s a genius! She looked
gorgeous in her purple sequined concert gown, and she played brilliantly. But as my heart was bursting with pride
for her, it was also aching for her father, who could not be here to enjoy this
important moment with his daughter.”
Littlejohn
continued, “I spoke with Zhang Lin.
He told me that he has applied several times for a passport, telling the
authorities that he needed one quickly so that he could come to New York and
see Anni perform. Each time, they
refused him a passport. They once
told him it is because of his ‘history.’
What could this statement mean, other than that they are punishing him
for his ‘history’ of pro-democracy activism? What kind of an inhumane government is this,
that would detain a 10-year-old to punish her father, and then would refuse a
passport to the father to punish them both?”
Activist Chen Guangcheng
issued the following warning to the Chinese government: “Controlling
people's right to freedom of movement is a hallmark of authoritarian
regimes. To the Chinese Communist Party: If you want to be recognized as
legitimate in the international community, you need to respect the basic rights
of citizens."
Jing Zhang, president of Women’s
Rights in China and colleague of Zhang Lin, also played a major role in
bringing Anni to the United States.
She stated: “The Chinese Communist Party’s persecution
of pro-democracy activists is unprecedented. Recently family members of activist Peng Ming, who was
serving his sentence, received horrible news. Hubei Prison officials claimed that Peng Ming died suddenly
of a heart attack. But then Peng Ming’s heart and brain were secretly removed,
without permission from his family.
Many dissidents and even petitioners seeking justice are
imprisoned. The CCP has become
desperate. At this time, they will
make life more difficult for Zhang Lin.”
Yao Cheng, a close friend of Zhang
Lin, who helped Anni escape and paid for it with years of jail time, stated: “I did not expect the Chinese
government to issue Zhang Lin a passport.
The Chinese government is lying.
We cannot expect them to have mercy on him.”
Anni said, “Performing at Carnegie Hall
was one of the most wonderful moments of my life. I only wish my father could have been there to share it with
me.”
Anni is known as “China’s youngest
prisoner of conscience.” When she
was ten, Anni was kidnapped out of her elementary school, detained overnight,
denied the right to go to school and put under house arrest with her
father. Learn more about her story
here.
