ICC recently had the privilege of meeting Li Jing, the wife of imprisoned Christian and human rights activist Guo Quan. With the help of an ICC partner, Li Jing was able to escape from Nanjing, China, in February with her 11 year old son, Noah, and move to the United States. Li Jing’s husband, Guo Quan, is a former university professor who was sentenced in 2009 to 10 years in prison for the “subversion of state power”. Devoted followers of Christ, Li Jing told ICC that it was her husband’s Christian faith which inspired him to write two books which would later contribute to his arrest. She said that the Bible teaches love as a commandment and that her husband feels compelled to speak out for those who are oppressed.
Years before being arrested and sentenced, Guo Quan was fired from his teaching position by the Communist Party for his activism and given a minimum wage position at the University where he had formerly been a professor. Li Jing and her husband would then have their lives turned upside down by authorities. Their home was raided several times in the middle of the night and their belongings confiscated. Li Jing’s coworkers were instructed to report on her activities and cameras were installed in her apartment complex. Because his father was a well-known human rights advocate, Li Jing’s son Noah suffered discrimination at school and was mocked by teachers and students while being stripped of his leadership positions in class.
Li Jing and her son are two of several individuals in China who have received support through ICC’s suffering wives and children fund.
