Grace Gao

Grace Gao, also known as Grace Geng, is a Chinese-American human rights activist. She is daughter of imprisoned Chinese human rights lawyer and dissident Gao Zhisheng. She and her family have been spied on, beaten and intimidated by the Chinese authorities. ), and speak out against human rights abuses in China.

Early life Gao was escorted to school everyday by police officers who followed her wherever she went. and, at 17 years old, she was suicidal, attempting to take her life on several occasions. then went to the United States where they received political asylum. In New York, Grace underwent six months of hospital treatment for mental health issues, but still found it hard to trust people. and his accusations that the government was running extrajudicial "brainwashing base" for dealing with Falun Gong practitioners, Gao's family were put under 24-hour police surveillance. in 2006 escaped an assassination attempt. On 15 August 2006 Gao Zhisheng disappeared while visiting his sister's family and was officially arrested on 21 September 2006. His family were beaten. He was tortured whilst in custody and is still under house arrest. and in the October met with UK officials to discuss her father's case. In 2018, in an open letter to Angela Merkel, she called on the German Chancellor to speak out on behalf of her father during a state visit to China.