Zeng Jinyan made the following comments from her husband, "Perhaps the European Parliament was thinking of the work I did in the areas of AIDS and the environment, because what I did in terms of human rights was very far from sufficient and I will need to redouble my efforts."
Disidenta dzīvesbiedre Zeng Jinyan pastāstīja, ka, novembra beigās apciemojot vīru, apsargi viņiem aizlieguši runāt par balvu, taču pauda vēlmi izmantot Saharova balvas 50 000 eiro kā „sākumkapitālu cilvēktiesību aktīvistu ģimeņu atbalstam".