Posted
December 11th, 2008
by
English PEN is seriously concerned about the detention of prominent dissident writer Liu Xiaobo, former President and Board member of Independent Chinese PEN Centre, who was arrested on 8 December 2008. He is among a number of activists to have been detained in recent days for their participation in events to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) that was celebrated world-wide yesterday, 10 December. Most have since been released, but Liu is thought to have been charged with ‘suspicion of inciting subversion of State power’.
According to our information, writer Liu Xiaobo is among a number of dissidents to have been detained or harassed in recent days after issuing an open letter calling on the National People’s Congress Standing Committee to ratify the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and launching Charter 08, a declaration calling for political reforms and human rights. These activities are part of campaigns to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (10 December), and were signed by more than 300 scholars, journalists, freelance writers and activists in China. The following background is given by Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) in a 9 December 2008 alert:
A group of Chinese citizens launched Charter 08 (零八宪章) today, a declaration that outlines a vision for a constitutional democratic China and initiates a platform for citizens’ actions. Charter 08 calls for bold political reforms, including an end to one-party rule and replacement of the current political system with one based on human rights and democracy. Charter 08 was signed not only by well-known dissidents and intellectuals but also by officials and rural leaders. The signatories will form an informal and open group to promote democratization and advance human rights in China. Charter 08, assisted by CHRD, was inspired by Czechoslovakia’s Charter 77 in which Czech and Slovak citizens espoused similar ideals for their country.
For more information, please follow these links:
“An Open Letter to Calling on the National People’s Congress Standing
Committee to Ratify the ICCPR”, 10 December, 2008 (in Chinese),
http://www.crd-net.org/Article/Class4/200812/20081209030825_12257.html
PEN America statement on Liu Xiaobo’s detention,
http://www.pen.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/3000/prmID/172
Charter 08, 10 December, 2008 (in Chinese),
http://crd-net.org/Article/Class71/200812/20081209130050_12266.html
Charter 08, 10 December, 2008 (in English),
/writersinprison/campaigns/chinacampaign/charter8/
Please send appeals:
- Expressing serious concern at the arrest of prominent dissident writer Liu Xiaobo;
- Calling for his immediate and unconditional release in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory.
Appeals to:
His Excellency Hu Jintao
President of the People’s Republic of China
State Council
Beijing 100032
P.R. China
Mr. Meng Jianzhu
Minister of the Public Security
East Chang’an Avenue 14
100741 Beijing
P.R. China
Please note that there are no fax numbers for the Chinese authorities. WiPC recommends that you copy your appeal to the Chinese embassy in the UK asking them to forward it and welcoming any comments:
Her Excellency Mrs. Fu Ying
Embassy of the People’s Republic of China
49 – 51 Portland Place
London W1B 1JL
Originally posted with the url: www.englishpen.org/writersinprison/bulletins/chinaprominentdissidentwriterdetained/
