A Conversation with Koala, a Survivor of the 2015 “709 Crackdown”
Today, the ninth anniversary of the 709 crackdown, when the Chinese government arrested hundreds of human rights lawyers and activists in an effort to suppress civil society organizing, Human Rights in China (HRIC) held a closed-door event featuring “Koala” (ZHAO Wei), the youngest person apprehended during the crackdown. This conversation with Koala was moderated by HRIC’s program director, Mia Lam, and attended by a select and diverse audience of around 20 people.
The event opened with the poem “Threshold” by the Russian poet Ivan Turgenev, which Koala believes portrays the mentality of a political prisoner.
"You, who wishes to step over this threshold, do you know what awaits you?"
"I know," answers the girl.
"Cold, hunger, hatred, derision, contempt, abuse, prison, sickness, and maybe even death?"
"I know."
"Complete alienation, loneliness?"
"I know. I am ready. I shall endure all sufferings, all blows."
"And not from your enemies alone, but from your family and friends?"
"Yes. Even from them."
The following discussion between Koala and Mia encompassed a range of pertinent topics related to Koala's identity and professional journey. To begin, Koala provided an in-depth account of her transition from a journalism major to a human rights activist. Koala started to follow social issues through Weibo during her junior year in college. In the process, she got to know a number of human right defenders, including Li Heping. Koala started working for Li as an assistant in October 2014, ten months before her arrest during the crackdown. “What human rights defenders are doing reveals the dark side of Chinese society, which is something that the CCP does not want to see,” Koala said.
In 2015, she was arrested and imprisoned in a “police base” under residential surveillance for six months before she was transferred to a detention center. Koala spent 364 days imprisoned in total. “Humiliation and mental torture was a constant theme,” she explained. On her first day in detention, she was forced to change under a camera. She endured 14 days of continuous sleep deprivation and continuous interrogation, sitting in a high chair where her feet could not reach the ground to maximize discomfort. “The moment you step into that room you lose all freedom,” she said. “When I went elsewhere, like a hospital, they put a black bag onto my head; I never (in those 364 days) saw the sun or the moon for even one day.”
“The CCP’s strategy in dealing with political prisoners is like a classical conditioning experiment for a dog,” Koala said. “Today you confess, and they will leave you alone. It is temporarily easier. But a few days later, they will come back again. An internalization of surveillance, control, and fear.” The experience caused lasting anxiety. “After I was released, every time I heard a knock on the door, my immediate response was that it’s the police.” She was traumatized by her arrest, which the police disguised as a package delivery: when her roommate opened the door, the police came in and pushed Koala to the ground. “We are all like the dogs in that classical conditioning experiment.”
At one point during her imprisonment, Koala was suddenly moved to a new room. She suspected that the police wanted her to hear the screams of other people experiencing torture next door. What surprised her was that one of the female guards seemed disturbed when they heard the screams. Koala asked the guard, “How come you are scared? You are the police.” “I am also a human being, after all,” the female guard answered.
Some guards treated her badly; she says she hated those guards who mistreated her and “became vindictive.” She lied that those guards treated her especially well to a superior so that they would be scolded. However, “there were also those who chose sympathy and understood that we are not guilty.” The best and worst parts of humanity were like two sides of the same coin.
How did you overcome the fear?
“I have never overcome it. I was inspired by many other human rights defenders’ efforts to step forward and tell their story, but the fear never subsides,” Koala said. “I think I am already among the lucky few. There were a total of 248 summoned during the 709 crackdown, but only a few escaped to the free world. Because I have the fortune to come here, I have the obligation to tell their story.”
Why did your case in particular generate so much attention?
“My mom posted the notice of arrest online immediately after it was received, so people knew that the charge against me is not picking quarrels and provoking trouble but subverting state power,” Koala speculated that people cared more about her case because she was a young and vulnerable woman.
Koala also addressed the government's misinformation campaign to entrap her defense attorney, offering insight into the larger strategy employed by the Chinese government to defame human rights defenders. Koala’s lawyer was not able to meet her during the entire year she was imprisoned. Her lawyer heard the rumor that she was assaulted in the detention center and tried to fact check it online, attempting to pressure the police for a lawyer’s meeting. For doing so, her lawyer was arrested on the charge of spreading rumors. Later, a government appointed lawyer asked Koala to sign a complaint against her lawyer for libel. “I found this to be very absurd. They assume I would think it’s shameful to be the victim of a sexual assault. But for me there is nothing to be shameful about.”
What made you decide to come to the United States?
After Koala’s false confession was published, the government painted her in public discourse as someone who has confessed to their allegations, “a role model.” Xi’s amendment to the constitution was a key catalyst for her to leave China. “I felt that not only was all hope lost, but that there was nothing I could do.” Koala says that since coming the United States, it feels so good to be free. “For the first time after the arrest, I feel like I have again lived for myself. I told myself that I was a loser every day so I could normalize the mistreatment they imposed upon me,” she said.
Furthermore, Koala elaborated on her decision to vocalize her experiences during the MeToo movement last year and her accusation of journalist Zhu Ruifeng’s sexual assault against her in May 2015, explaining how she incorporated feminism into her identity and struggle. “I saw more and more people speak up about their experience and thought that this is the only chance in this life to do myself justice.” She continued, “a person’s action is not representative of the group. It is only horrifying when the group is indifferent towards things like [sexual assault].” The identity of a female human rights defender is sometimes contradictory. Police never treat women as the main culprits in human rights cases, which is a convenience. But a female defender always becomes the subject of the male gaze when they are put into the spotlight.
How can people abroad support human rights defenders in China?
Koala believes that international exposure and financial support for the work done by domestic activists in China would be really helpful. “I wouldn’t even be here without the international community advocating for me.” While detained, she received much more frequent doctor’s visits thanks to the international community’s efforts, because the police became truly afraid that she would die while inside.
Do you hate the South China Morning Post journalist who reported your forced confession?
“I don’t think we should put the blame on individuals, as they had no awareness of my whereabouts (under surveillance during the interview). I think we should point fingers at those who fundamentally and systematically created this oppression of human rights defenders.”
The evening concluded with a dynamic and thoughtful Q&A session, allowing attendees to engage directly with Koala and gain further insights into her experiences and perspectives. This event underscored the continued relevance of the 709 crackdown in contemporary discussions on human rights activism in China and the enduring resilience of those who advocate for justice and accountability.
