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What are you willing to risk for your beliefs? 

For many people, that’s a hypothetical question. But for international students like Jinrey Zhang, they often have to choose between speaking their minds and protecting both their families and themselves from authoritarian censorship or worse. 

Zhang is a student at Georgetown Law, and in recent years has become increasingly vocal about repression committed by the Chinese government — especially during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Zhang studies in Washington, D.C., where a number of dissident international students from China have set down roots. From decrying the human rights abuses surrounding the  and joining the global  to launching an , these students have embraced their free speech rights — and suffered censorship and surveillance, even half a world away from Chinese government officials. 

Many students in Zhang’s shoes carefully protect their anonymity, knowing the dangers of speaking out against the Chinese Communist Party under their real name. But he has made the decision to no longer hide his identity. Courageously, he’s telling the world his story using his real name.

For individuals from authoritarian countries, activism can come with a cost. Few know that better than Zhang, whose family was harassed multiple times by Chinese state security and party officials over his activism here in the United States. Last June, security officials interrogated Zhang’s father about his son’s political leanings, and required that he tell Jinrey to shut up — or else.

Zhang’s story is a powerful reminder of the importance of free expression, the courage of dissenters, and the need to protect against authoritarian censorship seeping into free countries. 

Zhang knows that serious consequences like surveillance, confinement in the country, or even imprisonment may await him should he ever return home, and that he may never be able to safely see his family face to face again. “There’s a very solid possibility that I personally will not be able to return to China,” Zhang told ��֭����.

But despite the costs, he says that it’s worth it. And according to Zhang, the CCP’s repression should in some ways encourage activists because it shows how much the Chinese government fears the power of their words, even from young students thousands of miles away.

“Actually, the suppression that’s being done by the Chinese regime really gives me hope,” Zhang says. “Their fear gives me hope.” 

Zhang’s story is a powerful reminder of the importance of free expression, the courage of dissenters, and the need to protect against authoritarian censorship seeping into free countries. Here’s our conversation. 

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