Yan Xhengxue
2001
charcoal on paper
17" x 14"
$375 (framed or unframed)

(Purchasing Information)

Painter, China

Police detained Yan Xhengxue, a 50-year old painter and deputy of a local People’s Congress, in July of 1993 in response to an argument with a bus conductor in Beijing. Never accused of a crime, he was found outside the police station several hours later by a passer-by, severely bruised and nearly unconscious. In the suit that he filed soon after his attack, three police officers admitted to involvement in Yan Xhengxue's assault, yet months passed without any action by the courts. When broad public support finally forced his case to be heard nearly a year later, neither Yan Xhengxue nor his doctor were permitted to testify. The one police officer that was prosecuted, Zhang Chi, was given a suspended sentence. Yan Xhengxue, however, was not. Colleagues of Zhang Chi, angered by Yan Xhengxue's attempt to seek justice, fabricated bogus charges of theft against him. He was sentenced by a local government committee to two years at a forced labor camp -- without any evidence, formal charges, or the opportunity to defend himself. Chinese law both prohibits the use of "torture to extract confessions" and guarantees the right to seek justice against officials who abuse their power. Unfortunately, the case of Yan Xhengxue is but one example of the abuse of power and the true arbitrary nature of the Chinese system.

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