Today, May 10, 2026, is Chinese dissident artist Gao Zhen’s 70th birthday, and he is spending it in a Chinese prison.
He is unable to see his wife and son, who are banned from returning home to the US from China. The bans are a strategic move by the Chinese government to punish family members for Gao’s work and emotionally alienate them.
His wife, Yaliang, shares a birthday message with him*:
To my dearest Mr. Gao,
Happy birthday!
I hope that by the time this wish is published, you’ve already returned to your son’s and my side. We will celebrate your and your twin brother’s birthday together. This is the nightly prayer I recite with our son. I hope God hears our prayer and allows you to return to our side as soon as possible. You previously never liked nor hoped for people to remember your birthday. Only I know that you wished to be alone on that day to remember your mother. But after this, we will honor your mother together on every birthday.
When you recover from this tribulation, the days that our family spends together will be a joy reborn.
Since Aug. 26, 2024, you’ve been forcibly taken away from us for over 600 days. The first half of the year was filled with my tears, and by the second half, we wiped our tears and fervently prayed. A year later, I smile as I bring our son to school, we study together, and write letters to you. Now, I’m patiently waiting for you to return. I’m trying my best to live a normal life with our son.
One day, our son told me, “The time waiting for my dad to finish ‘work’ and going to class at school feels the same –too slow. But breaks and weekends feel too fast; I don’t really like this feeling. I think ‘time’ is bewitched by God. When dad returns, I want to discuss this issue with him.”
It’s true. The days waiting for you to come home feel like years. It’s only when you meet your lawyers and when I flip through your letters and admire your hand-torn paper art that I am able to calm myself down. These are also the happiest moments with our son. We repeatedly imagine what it would be like to reunite with you, how wonderful it would be. At your post-trial meeting, you told the lawyers that on the morning of your trial that you saw our son and me standing at the entrance. I couldn’t see you, but you saw us. I deeply hope that these heartbreakingly beautiful moments are not fleeting, but a tight and lasting embrace where we never separate.
I woke up this morning, and our son told me he had the same dream these days. In his dreams, you return and, like a giant, pick him up. I told him that’s not a dream, but a beautiful reality that will happen soon.
Love,
Your wife, Yaliang, & son, Gao Jia
亲爱的高先生
祝你生日快乐！
希望这个祝福视频播出时，你已经回到我和儿子身边。我们一起给你和你的双胞胎弟弟一起庆祝你们的生日。这也是我和儿子每晚睡觉前向上帝祈祷的功课。希望上帝会听到我们的祷告，让你尽快回到我们身边。虽然之前你一直不喜欢也不希望别人记得你的生日。只有我知道，你希望那一天你想独自思念你的妈妈。但这次之后，我们会陪着你过将来的每个生日，一起纪念你的妈妈。
等你劫难归来，我们一家在一起的日子都将是重生的喜悦。
从2024年8月26日到现在，你被强行带离已经600多天了。从前半年的哭哭啼啼，到后半年的擦干眼泪虔诚地祈祷，到一年之后微笑着送儿子上学放学，一起学习，一起给你写信。再到现在耐心等待你的回归。我陪着儿子努力过正常的日子。
有一天儿子对我说：妈妈，等爸爸“工作”完成回家和我在学校上学的时间是一样的，感觉太慢了。但假日和每个周末又过的太快了，我一点也不喜欢这种感觉。我怀疑“时间”被上帝施了魔法。等爸爸回来后我要和爸爸研究讨论一下这个问题。
是啊。等待你回家的日子度日如年。只有律师会见你时，翻看你的来信欣赏你给我们的手撕作品时才能平静下来。也是我和儿子最幸福的时刻。我们一次次地想像再次和你重逢的画面，那将多么美好。你在庭审后会见律师时说，庭审的那天早上，在法院门口看到了我和儿子站在门口，我们看不见你，你看的见我们。多希望这种心碎的美好，不是瞬间而是我们能紧紧地拥抱不再分离。
今早起床，儿子说最近他总是做一个同样的梦，都好几天了。他说他梦见你回来了，像一个大力士把他高高举起来。我说那不是梦，那将是美好的现实，很快很快就会到来。
爱你的雅良和儿子高嘉
*The English version is translated by HRF from the original Chinese text.
