Former prisoner of conscience from China (Mrs. Yumei Liu) has made a financial contribution to a comic book project that artfully draws attention to the abuse of political prisoners in China.
She was arrested and tortured nine times as part of the so-called “re-education” led by the Chinese Communist Party. Her father, mother and younger sister died as a result of the repression.
Yumei Liu comes from the Chinese province of Liaoning. Today she lives in asylum in Finland.
According to the authors of the project, she sent 230 Euro (276 USD) to support a crowdfunding campaign for the comic book.
The historical fiction story takes place in China in 2006. According to the project’s website, the comic book tells the story of a girl who goes to China for an organ transplant, where she stumbles upon a horrifying truth: that the organs used for transplant are harvested from people in a detention camp next to the hospital.
The art project needed to gain 16,000 Euro to successfully wrap up the crowdfunding campaign.
In November 2018, Ms Yu-mei Liu testified during a public hearing in the Czech Senate.
“They gave me electric shocks, beat me with their fists and kicked me, grabbed me by the hair, slammed my head against the wall, handcuffed me to the ground with handcuffs and shackles. They put iron rings around my neck, fixed my head to the ground, and also used iron pliers to pry teeth out of my mouth…” says the official record of her testimony dated November 19, 2018 in the Czech Senate.
The Senate committee also invited representatives of the human rights organization Amnesty International to the hearing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and Chinese Ambassador Jianmin Zhang.
According to Senator Václav Chaloupek, the Chinese embassy did not respond to the invitation and, following an emergency, the secretary of the committee merely stated that they “received the invitation.” However, the embassy representative did not attend the hearing.
A few months after her testimony, the Czech Senate passed a resolution condemning human rights abuses in China.
More about the comic book
The authors of the project chose the graphic novel format because of its universal appeal.
“It is also a medium that is dignified enough to tell important, real stories. That’s why we decided for it in the end,” states Milan Kajínek, who is working on the project in his personal capacity.
The script and early drawings for the comic have been completed. The project is currently seeking funding through crowdfunding campaign.
“With this comic, we want to add fuel to the fire of resistance and draw attention to crimes that cannot be tolerated: The abuse of life-saving science and the rise of the Communist Party’s totalitarian power in China,” the website states. More here…
The article was updated March 22, 2021.
