News
< Feldman's new book "No Time to Think" | Main | USC Annenberg launches M.A. degree program in Arts Journalism >
Last Week’s Freedom to Write Action Alert - China
June 06, 2008
With just 62 days left until the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Beijing, China’s number of imprisoned writers has jumped to 42. This week’s three letters of appeal go to help 5 Tibetan and Chinese writers who have been under attack, imprisoned, or convicted.
Story Continued...
This week’s Action Alerts:
1. Tibetan and Chinese writers under attack.
Woeser, a well-known Tibetan writer/blogger and political dissident, is under attack. On the evening of 27th May (Beijing time), Woeser discovered that her Skype account and gmail address were both apparently accessed and her Skype ID hijacked. Sources close to Woeser have reported that the perpetrators are impersonating her and contacting Tibetans in her contact lists. We have reason reason to believe these people could be in grave danger. On the afternoon of 27th May, at 4pm, a malicious email was sent to contacts in Woeser’s gmail account address book purporting to contain information about a “Tibetan Uprising” and containing a virus attachment. At around 3am on 28th May Woeser discovered that she could no longer access her blog/website and the content had been changed: http://woeser.middle-way.net/
The attack was claimed by the “Honker’s Union of China,” a well-known network of nationalistic Chinese hackers. She was recently under house arrest by the Chinese government and police have warned her to stop writing about Tibet. She has been a lone voice among Tibetans reporting on recent Tibetan protests across the country and the ensuing crackdown, including details about the situation in Tibetan areas in the wake of the earthquake.
Woeser, 41, uses only one name in the Tibetan tradition. She was born in Lhasa and lives in Beijing with her husband, Wang Lixiong a Chinese writer and intellectual.
On the 19th anniversary of the crackdown on the Tiananmen demonstrations, Liu Xiaobo, prominent Beijing dissident and intellectual, was seized by Beijing police. Liu was released a couple of hours later.
At 6 p.m. on June 4th, Liu and his wife Liu Xia were on their way to dinner when they were stopped outside of their apartment block by officers from the local police station under the Beijing Public Security Bureau (PSB). Head of the police station led the effort to seize Liu: he grabbed Liu’s head and neck while several other policemen grabbed Liu’s arms. Together, they forcibly dragged him to a small house nearby. Liu was released a couple of hours later but is now barred from leaving his home.
Liu is a human rights defender, writer, social critic and president of the Independent Chinese PEN. He was imprisoned for twenty months for participating in the 1989 pro-democracy movement. Between 1996 and 1999, he was detained for three years in a Re-education through Labor camp for criticizing the Chinese government. Liu continues to be closely monitored by the authorities and his freedom of movement is often restricted during sensitive times. Prior to the 19th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre on June 4, police from the National Security Unit of Beijing PSB questioned and warned Liu against writing articles about the crackdown.
Suggested actions:
Please use the information provided to send letters of appeal to the Chinese authorities protesting the attacks against Woeser and Liu Xiaobo. Please send appeals via the diplomatic representative for China in your country, welcoming any comments.
His Excellency Hu Jintao
President of the People’s Republic of China
State Council
Beijing 100032
P.R.China.
2. Two Chinese journalists convicted.
Freelance journalists Qi Chonghuai and He Yanjie were convicted and sentenced to four and two years in prison respectively on 13 May 2008 for blackmail and extortion. PEN sources suggest that the charges may be fabricated, leading to concerns that the journalists are targeted for their critical reporting on official corruption. International PEN fears that Qi Chonghuai and He Yanjie may be held solely for peacefully exercising their right to free expression, which is protected under Article 35 of the Chinese Constitution and Article 19 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory. International PEN therefore seeks further information about the charges against the two men, and calls for their immediate and unconditional release pending a review of their case.
According to International PEN’s information, Qi Chonghuai and He Yanjie were arrested on 25 June 2007 in the city of Jinan, in the eastern province of Shandong, following the publication of an article alleging corruption in the Tengzhou Communist Party, which was published in June 2007 on the Xinhuanet website. They were both charged with blackmail on 2 August 2007 for allegedly accepting bribes from local officials whilst researching the article. A photographer, Ma Shiping, was also detained for publishing photos in the article. Qi Chonghuai was held incommunicado for the first two months of his detention, and claims to have been repeatedly assaulted and threatened by security guards throughout his eleven-month pre-trial detention. The case was turned back to the police for further investigation by the prosecution in February 2008 for lack of evidence. The trial on 13 May at the People’s Court of Tengzhou City, Shandong Province, reportedly did not comply with international standards of fairness. Both men are held at the Tengzhou City Detention Centre, Shandong Province.
Qi Chonghuai, aged 43, had been journalist for 13 years before his arrest. From 2004-6, Qi worked for various publications, including the Shangdong Zhoukan (Shandon Weekly), the Renmin Gong’an Bao (People’s Public Security News), and the Zhongguo Anquan Shengchan Bao. In June 2006, he started work as director of the newspaper Fazhi Zaobao (Legal System Morning News), which ceased publishing in December 2006 and was reformed with its existing staff as the Fazhi Ribao (Weekend edition of the Legal System Daily). He has also worked as special correspondent with the Fazhi Zhoubao (Legality Weekly) and the Jizhe Guancha (Journalist Observer). Qi is known for his reporting on corruption and social injustice in Shangdong province both in the Chinese and overseas media, and is said to have been repeatedly warned by the authorities to cease such reporting prior to his arrest.
He Yanjie, aged 40, is a freelance reporter and was working as Qi’s research assistant in the investigation of local corruption and injustice prior to his arrest. With Qi, he co-authored a number of reports in various newspapers and online media outlets. He formerly worked for the Shandong Gongren Bao (Shandong Workers Daily) and the Zhongguo Yancao Bao (China Tobacco Post).
Please send appeals:
Expressing serious concerns that Qi Chonghuai and He Yanjie may be sentenced for their critical writings on corruption, and seeking further information about the basis for the charges against them;
Expressing alarm at reports that they did not receive a fair trial, and calling for their immediate and unconditional release pending a full review of their case; calling for a full and transparent investigation into the reported assaults on Qi Chonghuai whilst in detention so that those responsible may be brought to justice. Please note that fax numbers are no longer available for the Chinese authorities, so you may wish to ask the diplomatic representative for China in your country to forward your appeals. Please copy appeals to the diplomatic representative for China in your country if possible.
His Excellency Hu Jintao
President of the People’s Republic of China
State Council
Beijing 100032
P.R.China.
Her Excellency Ms. Wu Aiying
Minister of Justice
10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie
Chaoyang-qu
Beijing-shi 100020
P.R.China.
Procurator General Mr. Cao Jianming
Supreme People’s Procuratorate
Beiheyan Street 147
100726 Beijing
P.R.China
3. Dissident writer Chen Daojun detained.
Dissident writer and journalist Chen Daojun was detained on 9 May 2008 near the city of Chengdu, Sichuan province. International PEN seeks urgent information about his wellbeing following the devastating earthquake in the province on 12 May 2008, and sends sincere condolences to the Chinese for the losses suffered as a result of this disaster. PEN is concerned that Chen Daojun was charged with subversion after publishing an article and campaigning on environmental issues. It calls for his immediate and unconditional release if he continues to be held in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory.
According to PEN’s information, freelance journalist Chen Daojun was among a number of people detained on 9 May 2008 whilst protesting the building of a chemical plant in the town of Pengzhou, 39 km outside the capital Chengdu. He is reportedly held on subversion charges, apparently for an article published on 5 May 2008 on the overseas Chinese website China E-Weekly about the alleged dangers of the proposed plant. There has been no news of him since the earthquake devastated the region on 12 May 2008.
The following is an excerpt from an American PEN press release issued on 13 May 2008:
Chen Daojun, aged 40, is an essayist and former journalist at several provincial newspapers from 1998 to 2002, when he resigned from his post as a Communist Party official. In recent years, he has also published many essays and articles in overseas Chinese media, particularly on the Internet, on sites such as Fire of Liberty, China E-Weekly, Democratic Forum, New Century News and Boxun Newsnet. It is believed that Chen was targeted not only because of his role in the environmental protests but also because of his critical stands on several sensitive issues, including his support of Tibetan rights and his opposition to the politics of the Beijing Olympics.’
Please send appeals:
Expressing serious concern for the safety of detained journalist Chen Daojun following the earthquake in Sichuan on 12 May, seeking urgent information about his well-being, and expressing sincere condolences for the losses suffered in this disaster; expressing serious concern that he appears to have been charged in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which China is a signatory, and if so calling for his immediate and unconditional release.
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 fax numbers are no longer available for the Chinese authorities, so you may wish to ask the diplomatic representative for China in your country to forward your appeals. Please copy appeals to the diplomatic representative for China in your country if possible. We recommend that you copy your appeal to the Chinese embassy in your country asking them to forward it and welcoming any comments.
News & Updates:
The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN welcomes the release of dissident writer and member of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre Zhou Yuanzhi on 15 May 2008. International PEN remains concerned that he remains under heavy restrictions, and reminds the Chinese authorities of their obligations to Article 19 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
According to International PEN’s information, Zhou Yuanzhi was taken from his home on 3 May 2008 and held at an unknown location under the Residential Surveillance law, which provides for interrogation of suspects without formal arrest. He reported that during this time, he was held at a hotel and questioned by the police about his articles, books, contacts and interviews. He was released on 15 May 2008, but remains under heavy restriction, including being forbidden from travelling beyond his home city without police authorisation, being prohibited from communicating with strangers, and being banned from publishing. These restrictions could last up to six months, during which time Zhou could be formally detained and questioned at any time. Zhou extends his thanks to all who campaigned on his behalf, he believes that international pressure contributed to his release.