Golden Shield

by Anchuli Felicia King

  Nín tàitai yídìng zhīdào nín bèi dàibǔ de yuányīn—

  THE TRANSLATOR:—Your wife must know why you were arrested—

  JULIE:—that this case will improve the lives of activists around the world—

  EVA: (synchronously)—which means she will stand by you—

  这意味着，她因该会支持您—

  Zhè yìwèizhe, tā yīnggāi huì zhīchí nín—

  THE TRANSLATOR: (synchronously)—which means she will stand by you—

  JULIE:—by taking a stand against Chinese tyranny—

  EVA: (synchronously)—no matter the cost.

  不管什么代价。

  Bùguǎn shénme dàijià.

  THE TRANSLATOR: (synchronously)—no matter the cost.

  JULIE:—and exposing this regime for what it is.

  EVA: (staggered) She is clearly a very strong person.

  她明显是个非常坚强的人。

  Tā míngxiǎn shìgè fēicháng jiānqiáng de rén.

  THE TRANSLATOR: She is clearly a very strong person.

  DAO: (breaking down) I know. I know.

  我知道，我知道。

  wǒ zhīdào, wǒ zhīdào.

  JULIE: Uh, is that a …

  DAO: You’re right.

  你说没错。

  Nǐ shuō méi cuò.

  JULIE: Is that a yes?

  DAO: I know.

  我知道。

  wǒ zhīdào.

  JULIE: Evie.

  AMANDA: Why’s he—

  JULIE: Is that a yes?

  EVA: You can ask your questions here.

  THE TRANSLATOR: Dallas, 2015.

  JULIE: Mr McLaren and his colleagues knew about the existence of Zhuangzi. They knew that the Chinese Government explicitly intended to target Zhuangzi activists through the construction of the Golden Shield. And then they helped build it anyway. Why did they do this? Out of pure and simple greed. Because Mr McLaren and his colleagues valued their bottom line more than they valued the rights and lives of Chinese citizens. Citizens like the next person you’ll be hearing from. My client, Mr Dao Li.

  Between 2002 and 2006, Professor Li posted a number of articles on Zhuangzi. These articles detailed various ways you could break through the firewall to the World Wide Web. But he was very careful to conceal his identity and his activities on this platform. He was after all, an expert in this field.

  But in 2006, Professor Li was arrested. How was he discovered? You already know the answer to that question. That was the year the Ministry of Public Security implemented Mr McLaren’s decentralized network topology, allowing them to internally monitor online traffic and target citizens like my client.

  THE TRANSLATOR: Palo Alto, 2013.

  JANE: When I say call me back, you / have to—

  MARSHALL: I’m busy, Bollman.

  JANE: You have to call me back.

  MARSHALL: I’m busy, someone’s suing us?

  JANE: Yes, I’ve been trying / to—

  MARSHALL: Who’s suing us?

  JANE: Eight Chinese dissidents.

  MARSHALL: What?

  JANE: Eight—

  MARSHALL: I heard you—fucking, what?

  JANE: Eight Chinese dissidents are suing us for criminal collusion with the Chinese government.

  MARSHALL: The—how? What? In China?

  JANE: In Texas.

  MARSHALL:… how?

  JANE: It has to do with … pirates. (beat) It’s something of a legal loophole.

  MARSHALL: We pay you to foresee loopholes—did you just say pirates?

  JANE: Yes, well, there’s stranger precedent in the history of American legislation. For instance, it’s technically still illegal for a donkey to sleep in a bathtub.

  MARSHALL: What the fuck does that have to—

  JANE: Absolutely nothing. I’m just a font of legal trivia.

  MARSHALL: What have they got on us?

  JANE: (showing the document) This floated up on WikiLeaks.

  MARSHALL: But, but, we shredded these. We shredded these. Didn’t we shred these?

  JANE: I am certainly surprised by their reappearance.

  MARSHALL: We did! We fucking shredded them!

  JANE: Did you leave a copy lying around?

  MARSHALL: No!

  Sophie Ross.

  JANE: Did someone on the board leave a copy lying around?

  MARSHALL: Bollman, I saw it with my own eyes, after the meeting, we gathered them and we fucking shredded them. Are we going to trial?

  JANE: Hopefully, it won’t come to that.

  MARSHALL: Yeah? What’s fucking hopeful about it?

  JANE: We’re going to propose a settlement—a generous settlement—and pray the matter doesn’t make it any further.

  MARSHALL: So we’re gonna pay them to shut up.

  JANE: Yes, well, we lawyers prefer the term ‘settle’.

  THE TRANSLATOR: D.C., 2013.

  JANE: So. Brass tacks. As you know, I represent an organization with the net worth of a Scandinavian nation’s GDP, and as such, we have absolutely no interest in engaging with this trivial, though admittedly imaginative, bit of litigation. By the by, my compliments, very wily.

  JULIE: (to Richard) You didn’t tell me she was this patronizing.

  RICHARD: She’s British.

  JULIE: Still.

  JANE: I’m happy to report that our organization is willing to offer your merry band of Chinese terrorists an exceedingly generous settlement, in exchange for, well, blah blah, keep it out of the press, you get the gist.

  RICHARD: How generous?

  Jane writes a number on a piece of paper.

  Rich takes it.

  He looks at it.

  He passes it to Julie.

  Beat.

  Julie slides it back.

  JULIE: We’re not settling.

  THE TRANSLATOR: ‘I’m not settling.’

  RICHARD: Jules.

  JULIE: We’re not settling.

  RICHARD: Would you give us a second?

  JULIE: We don’t need a second. Jane, I appreciate you coming all this way. There’s the door.

  JANE: I think you’d be wise to listen your colleague, Ms Chen.

  JULIE: And I think you’re fucking scared. (beat) CLO for a multinational, former top-shelf barrister, and you’ve never seen anything like it. You don’t know how to try this. You don’t know how to begin trying this.

  JANE: Ms Chen, respectfully, you’ve never seen anything like this. You’re in torts.

  JULIE: That’s right. We are. And we’re gonna try this like we would any other civil suit. Duty, breach, harm, causation. Damages.

  JANE: We’ll bury you in paperwork.

  JULIE: Bring it. We’re gonna try this thing, Bollman, and we’re gonna win. We’re gonna drag your organization’s name through the mud, we’re gonna expose your collusion, we’re gonna royally piss off the Chinese government, and more importantly, we’re gonna win. And when we do—we’re coming to you for twice this figure.

  Jane goes to leave.

  JANE: As a self-professed expert in torts, you might wanna look up the definition of a class action. It typically involves multiple plaintiffs. Plaintiffs with names. Not ‘Does One through Eight.’

  JULIE: Oh, we’ll have named plaintiffs, don’t you worry about that. Plaintiffs and testimony.

  JANE: (laughing) You’re not telling me you’re gonna get a dissident out of China to testify in a civil court in Dallas? (beat) Are you? (beat) You’re getting someone out of China?

  JULIE: We’ll be in touch.

  Beat.

  JANE: (to Richard) This is a crusade. It’s senseless, and it’s at the expense of your clients. Prevail upon your colleague to see some sense.

  JULIE: He doesn’t control me.

  RICHARD: (shrugging) It’s true. I’m the looks of the operation.

  JULIE: Hey, Bollman. How do you sleep at night?

  JANE:… I’m sorry?

  JULIE: I said h
ow do you sleep at night?

  Beat.

  JANE: (coolly) I have one of those tempur-pedic mattresses.

  Jane leaves.

  JULIE: What? What’s that face?

  RICHARD: That’s my ‘you just turned down ten million dollars’ face.

  JULIE: We’ll get twenty. (beat) And it’s not about the money.

  RICHARD: You do know that money is one of the binding principles of a lawsuit. A plaintiff is wronged, they are therefore awarded financial damages. And sometimes, from those damages, we the lawyers actually get paid our legal fees.

  JULIE: Landmark case, Rich. We’re trying international human rights law as torts. It’s not about the money.

  RICHARD: Yeah, yeah, it’s about doing the right fucking thing, goddamn it. (beat) You sure Dao feels that way?

  JULIE: What’s that supposed to mean?

  RICHARD: I mean that your client is a guy in a wheelchair who can’t get a lecturing job with a stack of medical bills and a young daughter.

  JULIE: He’s not in this for the money, Rich. He was—he’s an activist. He’s fighting for the rights of his people.

  RICHARD: Is that something he actually said, or something you’ve inferred?

  Beat.

  JULIE: Hey, Rich. That’s pretty good.

  RICHARD: What?

  JULIE: Stack of medical bills. I can use that.

  THE TRANSLATOR: Dallas, 2015.

  JULIE: I want to talk for a moment about what compensation could do for Mr Li. You can see that the injuries Dao sustained in prison have left him permanently confined to a wheelchair. This has obviously had an enormous personal cost. It also has a very literal cost. There’s a stack of medical bills. There’s disability insurance. And because of his time in prison, Mr Li struggles to get teaching work. He struggles to make the money he needs to raise his young daughter. All of this, simply because he was helping others to exercise their universal right to free speech, a right that you and I take for granted in this country.

  THE TRANSLATOR: Yingcheng, 2015.

  The Translator translates Dao’s and Mei’s dialogue into English.

  DAO: I … I may spend some time in America soon. For a conference.

  我… 我过一阵子要去美国呆一段时间。参加一个会。

  wǒ… wǒguò yī zhènzi yào qù měiguó dāi yīduàn shíjiān. Cānjiā yīgè huì.

  MEI: What kind of conference? (beat) With your American colleagues?

  什么会? (beat) 跟你美国的同事?

  Shénme huì? (beat) Gēn nǐ měiguó de tóngshì?

  DAO: Yes.

  是的。

  Shì de.

  MEI: Which university are they from?

  他们是哪个大学的？

  Tāmen shì nǎge dàxué de?

  DAO: Caltech, in California.

  加州理工, 在加利福尼亚。

  Jiāzhōu lǐgōng, zài jiālìfúníyǎ.

  Beat.

  MEI: They’re not professors. Who are they?

  不是教授。他们是谁？

  Tāmen búshì jiàoshòu. Tāmen shì shéi?

  DAO: It’s late.

  时间不早了。

  Shíjiān bù zǎole.

  MEI: Are they other terrorists?

  他们也是恐怖分子吗？

  Tāmen yešhì koňgbùfènzi ma?

  DAO: I’m not a terrorist.

  我不是恐怖分子。

  wǒ búshì koňgbùfènzi.

  MEI: Then what are you? What did you do?

  那你是什么? 你干了什么?

  Nà nǐ shì shénme? Nǐ gànle shénme?

  DAO: I thought you knew.

  我以为你都知道了.

  wǒ yǐwéi nǐ doū zhīdàole.

  MEI: I knew you were lying to me. But I chose to believe you. I thought that whatever you were doing, it couldn’t be that dangerous. Because I never thought you would be so selfish, that you would value your ideals more than the safety of our family.

  我当时就知道你在骗我。但我选择相信你。我以为不管你在 做什么，都不会那么危险，可我从没想过你会如此自私， 你会为了理想不顾家人的安危。

  wǒ dāngshí jiù zhīdào nǐ zài piàn wǒ. Dàn wǒ xuǎnzé xiāngxìn nǐ. wǒ yǐwéi bùguǎn nǐ zài zuò shénme, dōu bù huì nàme wéixiǎn, kě wǒ cóng méi xiǎngguò nǐ huì rúcǐ zìsī, nǐ huì wèile lǐxiǎng bùgù jiārén de ānwéi.

  DAO: I wasn’t being selfish. I was helping people. I was teaching people.

  我并不是自私。我在帮大家，我在教育大家。

  wǒ bìng bùshì zìsī. wǒ zài bāng dàjiā, wǒ zài jiàoyù dàjiā.

  MEI: Who were you helping? Anonymous people on the internet? Are they more important than your family?

  你帮了谁？在网上无名无姓的人？他们比你的家人更重要 吗？

  Nǐ bāngle shéi? Zài wǎngshàng wúmíng wú xìng de rén? Tāmen bǐ nǐ de jiārén gèng zhòngyào ma?

  DAO: It doesn’t matter who they are! I’m a teacher! Sharing my knowledge is my duty! How can I remain silent when I understand what the government is doing?

  他们是谁并不重要!我是个教授!分享我的知识是我的责 任!当 我明白政府在做什么时，我怎么能保持沉默?

  Tāmen shì shéi bìng bù zhòngyào! wǒ shìgè jiàoshòu! Fēnxiǎng wǒ de zhīshì shì wǒ de zérèn! Dāng wǒ míngbái zhèngfǔ zài zuò shénme shí, wǒ zěnme néng bǎochí chénmò?

  MEI: And what about your duty to your family?

  那你对你家人的责任呢？

  Nà nǐ duì nǐ jiārén de zérèn ne?

  DAO: China is also my family! (beat) I never meant to put you in danger. I was just teaching people how to break through the firewall. Everybody is doing it. I didn’t think they’d arrest me.

  中国也是我的家人! (beat) 我从来没有故意把你带入危险之中.

  我只是教人们如何突破防火墙。人人都这样做。我没想到他 们会把我抓起来。

  Zhōngguó yěshì wǒ de jiārén! (beat) wǒ cónglái méiyǒu gùyì bǎ nǐ dài rù wéixiǎn zhī zhōng. wǒ zhǐshì jiāo rénmen rúhé túpò fánghuǒqiáng. Rén rén dōu zhèyàng zuò. wǒ méi xiǎngdào tāmen huì bǎ wǒ zhuā qǐlái.

  MEI: But now you’re putting us in danger again. I heard them asking you questions. They want you to testify in court.

  但现在你又把我们陷入危险。我听到他们问你问题。他们希 望你在法庭上作证。

  Dàn xiànzài nǐ yòu bǎ wǒmen xiànrù wéixiǎn. wǒ tīng dào tāmen wèn nǐ wèntí. Tāmen xīwàng nǐ zài fǎtíng shàng zuòzhèng.

  DAO: Xiao Mei, if we win this case, we’ll have enough money to leave China. You won’t have to work anymore. We could go anywhere—England, Europe. Xiao Xiao can get a good college degree. We can start again.

  小梅, 如果我们赢了这个案子，我们会得到足够的钱离开中 国。你不必再工作了。我们可以去任何地方—美国，欧洲。 小晓可以去上一个好的大学。我们可以重新开始。

  Xiǎoméi, rúguǒ wǒmen yíngle zhège ànzi, wǒmen huì dédào zúgòu de qián líkāi zhōngguó. Nǐ bùbì zài gōngzuòle. wǒmen kěyǐ qù rènhé dìfāng—měiguó, ōuzhōu. Xiǎo xiǎo kěyǐ qù shàng yīgè hǎo de dàxué. wǒmen kěyǐ chóngxīn kāishǐ.

  MEI: So now you want to leave China? You’re a hypocrite. Where’s your patriotism now?

  你现在想离开中国了？你是个伪君子。你的爱国主义现在在 哪里？

  Nǐ xiànzài xiǎng líkāi zhōngguóle? Nǐ shìgè wèijūnzǐ. Nǐ de àiguó zhǔyì xiànzài zài nǎlǐ?

  DAO: They’ve beaten it out of me.

  被他们毒打没了。

  Bèi tāmen dúdǎ méile.

  Beat.

  MEI: Did they do this to you in prison? Why won’t you tell me?

  这是他们在监狱里干的吗？你为什么不告诉我?

  Zhè shì tāme
n zài jiānyù lǐ gàn de ma? Nǐ wèishéme bù gàosù wǒ?

  DAO: If we leave China, we can start again. I made a mistake. I am working hard to fix it.

  如果我们离开中国，我们可以重新开始。我犯了一个错误。 我正在努力弥补。

  Rúguǒ wǒmen líkāi zhōngguó, wǒmen kěyǐ chóngxīn kāishǐ. wǒ fànle yīgè cuòwù. wǒ zhèngzài nǔlì míbǔ.

  Beat.

  MEI: I waited for you for five years. I’m tired of waiting.

  我等你等了五年。我不想再等了。

  wǒ děng nǐ děngle wǔ nián. wǒ bùxiǎng zài děngle.

  Beat.

  DAO: We’ve been working on this case for three years. They need me.

  我们这个案子已经忙了三年。他们需要我。

  wǒmen zhège ànzi yǐjīng gōngmangle sān nián. Tāmen xūyào wǒ.

  MEI: I need you. Go to America.

  我需要你。你去美国吧。

  wǒ xūyào nǐ. Nǐ qù měiguó ba.

  Beat.

  DAO: (as he’s leaving, almost to himself) I can’t survive without you.

  没有你我活不下去的。

  Méiyǒu nǐ wǒ huóbuxiàqù de.

  Mei cries.

  She leaves.

  THE TRANSLATOR: Dallas, 2015.

  JULIE: I have one final thing to say to you about my client, and it’s a … a tragic, recent development. As a result of his participation in these proceedings, Dao and his wife Mei have recently separated, which is an incredible burden, given his condition. Ladies and gentlemen, I’ll remind you what you heard in Mr McLaren’s testimony—ONYS makes around $50 billion a year. Think about what a fraction of that money could do for my client. Fracturing locations:

  MARSHALL: I don’t understand why I have to stick around for this.

  JANE: You’re the defendant.

  MARSHALL: I have shit to do, you know, I can’t just be sitting around in a Dallas courtroom, waiting for the fucking cripple / to tell his sob story.

  JANE: Oh, Christ, McLaren.

  MARSHALL: Waste of my fucking time. I mean what the hell are they trying to get out of this anyway, huh? Money. We tried to give them money.

  JANE: They want to make a statement.

  MARSHALL: Yeah, well, some kinda fucking statement, when they fucking lose this thing. (beat) Jane, there’s no chance of them winning, right? Cuz you said to me, to my face, that there’s no chance in hell of them winning.

  JANE: There’s … a very small chance.

  MARSHALL: Very small? Since when did no chance become very small?