Released Chinese rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang catches up on stolen time on Father’s Day
To Chinese human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang, the goal of his first Father’s Day upon release from jail was to learn how to be the father to his seven-year-old son again.
Having spent nearly five years behind bars, Wang was hoping to renew his relationship with his son. He might have reunited with his wife Li Wenzu and his son after he was released in April, but the time stolen by the totalitarian government has forced upon him and his son an emotional trauma that might never be healed.
“A few years ago, my son told our relatives that he didn’t not remember much about his father,” Wang told Apple Daily in an interview.
Even after the reunion, Wang felt that “there is a bit of an estranged feeling, a sense of rejection” between him and his son, “all because we did not have the time to build our relationship.”
Wang’s son was only two years old when he was taken away by the authorities as part of what was known was 709 crackdown, a massive purge that began on July 9, 2015, during which nearly 300 human rights lawyers and activists were arrested and persecuted on charges including state subversions and inciting public disturbance. Upon his release in April, Wang said he was jailed because he refused to plead guilty.
Wang said that his son’s emotional connection with him depended on Li’s description of him while he was in jail. But for nearly five years, he was not a part of his son’s life, and he knew very little about his son.
“I don’t know how much time it will take to mend our relationship, to compensate for what I owe [my son]. I don’t know how to build a father-and-son relationship either,” Wang said.
On the bright side, Wang now has a lot of opportunities to learn more about his son and how to be a father. He said recently he was completely lost after accidentally making his son cry.
The story began with Wang’s son wanting to have playtime at his classmate’s home but Wang understood that the so-called playtime involved bullying a kitten. He wanted his son to respect the life of the kitten, but he had trouble with conveying the message to the seven-year-old boy.
“I told him not to bully the kitten. And then my son questioned me: ‘is the kitten or me more important?’ I told him that the kitten is important. To my surprise, what I said really upset him and he could not stop crying,” Wang said.
Although Wang will have a lot to catch up with his son as a father, he knew he still had a chance with his son. “My son would be very worried if I would be taken away whenever I leave the house. If I was gone for long, he would ask his mother whether I was being taken away,” he said.
He said he tried to keep his emotions under control during his jail time, avoid thinking too much about his family and special dates such as the birthdays of his wife and his son or Father’s Day. But now, he is grateful that he could be with his family.
“Now I do not have to suppress my emotions any more. Whenever I miss my son, I just hold him,” he said.
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