The United States has weighed in on China’s decision to block a prominent human rights activist from traveling to the country to visit his sick wife, marking the first time Washington has commented on Beijing’s treatment of dissidents since Joe Biden took over the presidency.

A U.S. Department of State spokesperson said on Friday that media reports about China barring Guo Feixiong from visiting his cancer-stricken wife in the U.S. were disturbing, according to a Chinese-language report in Voice of America. Democratic values played a center role in the Biden administration’s foreign policy, and the U.S. has pledged to defend democracy, human rights and dignity, the spokesperson said in a statement. The country will continue to stand with human rights defenders, including Guo, from all around the world, who seek to express their thoughts freely and without fear from prosecution and violence, the spokesperson added.

The European Union also chimed in, calling for Beijing to allow Guo to visit his wife. “EU calls on #China to allow #HumanRights defender #GuoFeixiong (Yang Maodong) to leave [China] to visit his very ill wife,” tweeted Nabila Massrali, EU spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy, adding that she was concerned about the lack of information about Guo’s current location and that his liberty and freedom of movement should not be restricted.

Guo originally planned to board a U.S.-bound flight from Shanghai on Jan. 28 but was barred from leaving the country by officials who said his departure would be “endangering national security.” He sent a message to a Voice of America journalist, calling for the U.S. government for help, and told Apple Daily that he was going to stage a hunger strike at Shanghai’s Pudong Airport. Guo could no longer be reached shortly after he sent those messages.

The condition of Guo’s wife, Zhang Qing, has worsened since she heard the news of her husband being blocked from traveling, according to Yang Zili, a family friend who also lives in Maryland, where Guo’s family resides.

“Guo’s sister told me that Zhang Qing could still walk in the morning but she has been resting in bed after learning that her husband cannot come,” Yang told Apple Daily.

Zhang’s cancer has already spread, and she will need to go through chemotherapy and a second operation, Yang said. Guo’s children also hoped that their father could visit. Guo’s youngest son has not seen his father since the age of four, Yang added.

“I believe some Beijing hardliners wanted Guo to agree on some terms or sign some agreements before letting him go,” Yang said.

A participant of the 1989 pro-democracy movement that led to the bloody crackdown at Tiananmen Square, Guo was sentenced to a five-year jail term in 2007 for defending the rights of the residents in Guangzhou’s Taishi village. The activist was prosecuted for “illegal business” crimes. He was again sent to jail for six years in 2015 for taking part in an anti-censorship protest outside the offices of Southern Weekly in 2013. His wife and children arrived in the U.S. and were granted political asylum in 2009.

Click here for Chinese version

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play