A few months ago, I read about a Chinese man who was living in a Tokyo airport, getting food and clothing from tourists and washing up in the restroom sink.
His name is Feng Zhenghu, and he was turned away from the Shanghai airport 8 times before he finally said, “You know what? Screw you! I’m camping out here in the airport and protesting until you let me back into my country!”
Despite holding a Chinese passport and Japanese visa, he opted to take his struggle public by refusing to enter Japanese immigration. It’s like something out of the Twilight Zone: a man stuck in limbo, not knowing if he’ll ever be able to return home. (I’m thinking the Twilight Zone would probably put the man on a space station as he watches the world explode under some sort of doomsday machine, instead of in a Tokyo airport because he can’t seem to catch a flight back to China, but the sentiment stands.)
Feng is a human rights activist who’s been arrested in the past. A “trouble-maker”, which is why the Chinese authorities refused to let him back into the country.
But Feng held his ground, and was recently allowed back into China.
The thing that just amazes me about this is that he returned under no specific conditions. He even admits that he “would not [have] agree[d] to any conditions for returning home,” adding that “Returning home is a basic right of any citizen.” Read the Washington Post article here.
Feng Zhenghu, my hat’s off to you, sir. You are an inspiration to all human rights activists, particularly those of us working for Tibet. Tibetans want to return home, but most of them refuse to do so under the ridiculous conditions the Chinese government keeps offering. (And those who have tried to sneak back into Tibet are often “disappeared” at the border.)
Thank you for your courage and hard work and for your amazing civil disobedience. I hope you will continue working for democracy and human rights within China, and that you spend this New Year, and all future New Years, in happiness with your family and friends.
Returning Home From Exile 