Peking University<\/a>\u00a0graduate\u00a0Sun Min<\/a>\u00a0was\u00a0one of over a dozen<\/a>\u00a0student and labor activists\u00a0detained by authorities in various Chinese cities between November 9 and 11<\/a>. As of today, her whereabouts remain unknown.\u00a0This most recent round of detentions is part of a state crackdown on\u00a0rising labor activism by students or graduates of elite Chinese universities<\/a>, led by self-described communists who espouse Marxist principles and have devoted themselves to promoting workers\u2019 rights. An earlier round of detentions in August led to the\u00a0disappearance of fellow Peking University graduate Yue Xin<\/a>, whose current whereabouts are similarly unknown.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, CDT translated a profile of Sun Min<\/a>, posted originally by the\u00a0Jasic Workers Solidarity Group, which outlined her devotion to her activism. CDT now offers a translation of an essay by feminist activist Zheng Churan (also known by her pen name Datu, literally “Big Rabbit”), in which she connects Sun’s activism to China’s feminist movement, and declares the missing Marxist to be her idol<\/strong><\/a>. Zheng Churan is one of the “Feminist Five” activists who were criminally detained for over a month in 2015<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nMy Idol Has Disappeared<\/span><\/h3>\n
My idol has disappeared.<\/span><\/p>\n
When I was writing this piece, I could barely put pen to paper. Agitated, I would delete each character I wrote. It\u2019s easy enough to tell everyone Sun Min is my idol, but to explain why she is missing, that requires delving into my old life. I really don\u2019t know what sort of language is up to the task of describing how it feels, having someone you love just vanish. It\u2019s like when <\/span>I once disappeared<\/span><\/a>. My comrades had to let their tears flow before turning to words. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
I awkwardly turned around to ask, \u201cWho\u2019s Sun Min?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
I always imagined that if she\u2019d lived in revolutionary times, she would surely have been a heroine, wearing a sword and venturing forth to rid the people of a scourge. She loved <\/span>Qiu Jin<\/span><\/a>, the anti-Qing revolutionary. One Spring Festival, so as to avoid her family\u2019s repeated urges to marry, she ran off on her own. On New Years Day she was in Hangzhou, on a shore of West Lake. At Qiu Jin\u2019s tomb she sang \u201cStrive for Women\u2019s Rights.\u201d We love freedom, we drink a cup of wine to freedom. And she wielded a sword, in a sense, freely and naturally saying, \u201cDon\u2019t love red wedding attire, love military arms.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
I hope you\u2019re safe and sound. \u00a0[Chinese<\/strong><\/a>]<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Translation by Alicia.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"