From Virginia Suburb, a Dissident Chinese Writer Continues His Mission

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The writer Yu Jie, his wife, Liu Min, and their son, Yu Guangyi, in Washington last month after China allowed them to leave. Living now in Fairfax, Va., Mr. Yu says he hopes to stay but sees his “lifelong goal as achieving democracy and freedom in China.” - Cliff Owen/Associated Press

By EDWARD WONG
Published: February 25, 2012

FAIRFAX, Va. — If the place that the Chinese writer Yu Jie and his family live in nowadays, a modest house in this pleasant Northern Virginia suburb, seems ordinary, the story of what brought them here is anything but.

In January, Mr. Yu, one of the foremost critics of China’s leadership, left China after months of abuse, house arrest and round-the-clock surveillance by the state. At its worst, it was flat-out torture: in a detention cell, security officers bent back Mr. Yu’s fingers one by one, kicked him in the chest and held burning cigarettes close to his face, he said.

“If the order comes from above, we can dig a pit to bury you alive in half an hour, and no one on earth would know,” Mr. Yu said the head officer told him.

Mr. Yu fainted and was taken to a hospital, where doctors pulled him from death’s door, he said. That was on Dec. 9, 2010. Months later, after returning home, he talked to family and friends about leaving China.

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/world/asia/yu-jie-dissident-chinese-writer-continues-his-work-in-us.html?_r=1&hp