VACLAV HAVEL: China's Human-Rights Activists Need Support

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122964944665820499.html

* DECEMBER 19, 2008

China's Human-Rights Activists Need Support
The signatories of Charter 08 face the wrath of the state.

By VACLAV HAVEL
Prague

In January 1977, a group of Czechoslovak citizens, of which I was privileged to be one, released Charter 77. That document was our call for the better protection of basic civil and political rights by the state. It was also the articulation of our belief that, as citizens, we had a certain responsibility to work with the Czechoslovak government to ensure through our vigilance that basic rights would be protected.

With the release of Charter 77, we wanted to create not a membership organization, but instead, as I wrote then, "a free, informal open community of people of different convictions, different faiths, and different professions united by the will to strive, individually and collectively, for the respect of civic and human rights in our own country and throughout the world."

More than three decades later, in December 2008, a group of Chinese citizens has taken our modest effort as their model. They have made a similar call -- for human rights, good governance and respect for the responsibility of citizens to keep watch over their government -- to ensure that their state plays by the rules of a modern open society.

The document they have issued is an impressive one. In it, the authors of Charter 08 call for protection of basic rights, increased judicial independence, and legislative democracy. But they do not stop there. With the passage of time, we have come to realize that a free and open society means more than the protection of basic rights. To that end, the signatories of Charter 08 also wisely call for better environmental protection, a bridging of the rural-urban divide, better provision of social security, and a serious effort to reconcile with human-rights abuses committed in decades past.

The original signatories, who number more than 300, come from all walks of life, and from across China -- a testament to the broad appeal of the ideas put forward in Charter 08. Among the signatories are China's top minds from law, political science, economics, the arts and culture. Their decision to sign onto such a document was surely not taken lightly, and their words should not be so brusquely brushed aside. Since the Charter was released, more than 5,000 men and women have added their names to it.

China in 2008 is not Czechoslovakia in 1977. In many ways, China today is freer and more open than my own country of 30 years ago. And yet, the response of the Chinese authorities to Charter 08 in many ways parallels the Czechoslovak government's response to Charter 77.

Rather than respond to our offer of engagement with dialogue and debate, the Czechoslovak government instead chose repression. It arrested some of the signatories, interrogated and harassed others, and spread disinformation about our movement and its aims.

So too has the Chinese government declined the invitation to discuss with the signatories of Charter 08 the merits of their proposal. Instead, it has detained two signatories, Liu Xiaobo and Zhang Zuhua, both of whom the government has identified as lead actors in its creation. Mr. Zhang has been released, but Mr. Liu, a prominent writer and intellectual, is still being held incommunicado without charge.

Dozens of others have been interrogated, and an unknowable number are being watched by state security agents as they make phone calls and type email messages on behalf of their jailed comrades. Soon after Charter 77 was issued, I was arrested for the commission of "serious crimes against the basic principles of the Republic." It is feared that Mr. Liu will be charged with "incitement to subvert state power," a similarly arbitrary crime.

I am saddened by this turn of events, and my thoughts are with Liu Xiaobo's wife, Liu Xia, who has yet to be given the opportunity to speak with her husband. The Chinese government should learn well the lesson of the Charter 77 movement: that intimidation, propaganda campaigns, and repression are no substitute for reasoned dialogue. Only the immediate and unconditional release of Liu Xiaobo will demonstrate that, for Beijing, that lesson has been learned.

Mr. Havel is the former president of the Czech Republic.

ZENG Jinyan: On HU Jia's behalf for Acceptance of the Sakharov Award

Dear friends, Hello,

I am Hu Jia's wife, Zeng Jinyan. Hu Jia is currently in prison and so is unable to come to the ceremony to receive his Sakharov Prize.

I don't have a passport so I cannot come to Europe either to attend the ceremony for the Sakharov Prize's 20th anniversary. We are deeply sorry about this.

The good news is that Hu Jia was transferred on 10 October 2008 from Chaobai prison in Tianjin to the Beijing municipal prison, and that the conditions in which he is being held have improved. As for his health, he is looking a little better. He seems to be in slightly better shape than he was in Chaobai prison.

However, he had two blood tests in the space of a month and we don't know what the results were. Although we asked for them, the results of the tests have not been given to the family. This behaviour worries us. It makes us fear that his cirrhosis has got worse.

I visited Hu Jia in the Beijing municipal prison on 21 November 2008. Before our meeting, we were both warned separately by the prison authorities that we were forbidden to talk about the fact that he had been awarded the Sakharov Prize.

So, during my visit, neither of us was able to talk about the prize. We weren't able to discuss it by letter either, as all our correspondence is inspected. Even if all we do is express a view about social phenomena or if Hu Jia talks about the prison, when the prison authorities are not happy with it, our letters are confiscated or Hu Jia's letters are returned to him. We very much hope to be able to communicate more normally, but for the time being it is very hard.

At the end of October 2008 or beginning of November, I am not exactly sure which, State Security police officers told Hu Jia he had won the Sakharov Prize.

And when I saw him on 21 November, I could sense that he was very happy about it. I know that Hu Jia spoke to his mother and to the policemen about it. These are more or less his words:

"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."

He also said this Sakharov Prize was very important for China and he was confident that the future would prove him right. Obviously, from my personal viewpoint, I hope he comes home as soon as possible. Hu Jia said one day that he hoped to be China's last prisoner of conscience but the reality is very different. Since the day of his trial, on 3 April, there have been others such as Huang Qi, Zeng Honglin and Chen Daojun who have been arrested by the authorities because their expressed their views publicly. And some of them have been tried and given prison sentences.

This shows that the situation of freedom of opinion is still absolutely appalling and that there is no reason for optimism.

But even in these circumstances, there are now a great many exceptional people and people of goodwill in Chinese society who are going to great lengths to find ways to make the real situation in China known, and to express deeply-felt views, and the Internet is providing them with a very interesting platform. But unfortunately there is sometimes a very high price to be paid for this.

If the truth be told, sometimes one's courage is not enough. Sometimes the price to be paid is very, very high. There have been cases in which, after human rights activists, writers and others have used their freedom of thought, their relatives have also been harassed by the police, have lost their jobs or have been put under house arrest. And more serious still, some have even been tried and convicted.

Hu Jia had himself been illegally kidnapped several times by the police since 2004, without any form of legal procedure. He was constantly followed and in the end he was given a prison sentence. And I, who am his wife, I am often harassed by the police.

Others are in the same situation, such as Chen Guangchen and his wife, Guo Feixiong and his wife, and even their child, who has been denied his right to education. Thanks to many appeals from different quarters, Guo Feixiong's children were later able to go back to school although in circumstances that are not very satisfactory.

For all these reasons, I would like to respect the desire that Hu Jia has expressed on many occasions. He has often said he would like to set up a support network to help the families of human rights activists. To provide moral support for the families, to ease their mental and life pressure to which they are subjected. So that they can be strong enough to face the pressure of the authorities in a more active and optimistic manner, and to discourage cruel revenge-taking on families.

I cannot at the moment do very much but I would like to use the 50,000 euros of Hu Jia's Sakharov Prize as start-up money, to establish a foundation to support the families of human rights activists and to finally realise what Hu Jia had always wanted.

Why is the human rights work done by Hu Jia so difficult?

I think this is mainly because China's legal system is not satisfactory. There are laws, there are all sorts of articles and regulations, some are well written, but they are not applied.

In reality, the situation of the rule of law is disastrous. The judicial system has no independence. Until 2004, Hu Jia devoted most of his activity to the problems of AIDS and the environment. He spent a lot of the time in the field, on campaigns, where people needed him to take concrete action.

Then, from 2004 onwards, the police regularly denied him his freedom of movement and he had no other choice but to participate in human rights movements from his home, writing articles and publishing reports from the field.

I think that during all these years, the most important and most interesting thing he did was to have constantly persisted in saying the truth. He never stopped writing about the phenomena he observed. He never stopped describing, one by one, all the realities that the Chinese media cannot say. He never stopped publishing all this on websites so that the public could learn about the reality of China and understand it.

In my view, this has been his greatest contribution.

If you look at China now, you see everyone talking, but lying is very widespread. Nonetheless, there are people who continue their quest for the truth. Because the school textbooks our children study, our newspapers and broadcast media, our libraries and all these documents and files, they all resemble what you find in the novel 1984. They are written in another language to describe a fictitious reality.

What is the real situation, the real China? We do not know.

That is why there is a group of thinking people, like Hu Jia, in China who have never abandoned their quest for the truth. But Hu Jia has paid a very heavy price.

Our child is now just one year old. This is a key period in her life but Hu Jia is not able to be at her side. It is very difficult for me to talk about this, but I think…

And then Hu Jia has also always been very optimistic. He said he thought China was experiencing the most open period of its history, that you had to seize the opportunity to more effectively promote a fairer, freer and more democratic society in China.

We can indeed see this in our daily life, although the government still has very tight control over the media and over freedom of association, and perhaps even tighter control with the use of new technology. But on the other hand, civil society also uses the new technology and the platform that the Internet provides to actively promote a fairer judicial system and a more just society, and to investigate and expose the real China.

And to carry out citizen education, to educate citizens about human rights. It is a real hope: whether the government wants it or not, and whether leading figures inside or outside China recognise it or not, China is moving at great speed towards an open and democratic society.

I would finally like to say that, whatever happens, we must maintain an active and optimist attitude and pursue our efforts to promote the rule of law in China, to promote democracy and freedom in China.

We are full of hope of soon being able to hail the arrival of an open China. We are full of energy for China to become a country at peace.

I would like to thank our European Parliament friends from the bottom of my heart. The European Parliament has from the outset taken an interest in Hu Jia's case and has deployed considerable efforts on behalf of freedom for Hu Jia and other Chinese human rights activists, efforts that demand respect.

It has also never stopped drawing attention to the need for freedom to become a reality for the people of China. Thank you, thank you very much.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all those friends who I have never seen. If you had not supported us for so long, if you had not taken an interest in our fate, if you had not constantly encouraged us, I think we would never have found the courage to confront such a difficult social reality.

It helps us to keep hope and to continue our efforts.

I thank you. Thank you for all the efforts you have undertaken for Hu Jia, for me and for our family. Thank you for your efforts on behalf of human rights activists and you contribution to the progress of Chinese society.

Thank you.

Thank you, thank you. And goodbye.

(based on subtitles of the videoed speech; source: China News Digest)

Amnesty International: Taiwan Police against Protesters

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PUBLIC STATEMENT
AI Index No: ASA 38/001/2008
3 December 2008

Taiwan: Police should avoid using excessive force at upcoming protests

Amnesty International has urged Taiwan's police force to comply with international guidelines on the use of force and crowd control at the planned student protests on Sunday 7 December. The organization also joins calls for the Control Yuan, the body mandated by the Taiwan Constitution with supervisory power over the Executive branch, to conduct an independent inquiry into alleged excessive police force during November's protests.

The Wild Strawberry Student Movement has staged sit-ins since 6 November to protest against what they consider the use of excessive force during the Taiwan visit of Chen Yunlin, chairman of the China-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait. Civil society groups in Taiwan are investigating multiple claims that individuals suffered head injuries and broken fingers at the hands of police during the protests.

According to police reports on 8 November, approximately 10,000 police officers had been deployed during Chen's visit; 149 police officers and 200-300 individuals were injured; 18 were arrested.

Taiwanese civil society groups claim that police have applied the Assembly and Parade Law arbitrarily to silence dissent. According to the students’ spokesperson, they will not seek police approval, as required by the law, but will only “report” their plans to law enforcement authorities, in line with amendments advocated by the Movement.

The Movement is organizing the protest on Sunday 7 December to criticize the government’s failure to amend the Assembly and Parade Law.

Amnesty International said Taiwan’s Control Yuan should address the serious concerns raised by civil society in Taiwan and the government should cease the practice of using the Assembly and Parade Law to deny freedom of assembly and allow individuals to protest peacefully. Amnesty International also called on Taiwanese police and judicial authorities to ensure that they investigate any protesters accused of engaging in violence in a fair, transparent, and timely manner in compliance with international standards.

Background

On 3-7 November 2008, Chen Yunlin, chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, led a 60-member delegation from the People’s Republic of China to visit Taiwan and meet with President Ma Ying-jeou.

The police barred protesters displaying Taiwanese and Tibetan flags and anti-China slogans along the routes taken by the envoy and confiscated or damaged some of these items. The police also closed a shop near the hotel where Chen Yunlin had dinner with Kuomintang honorary chairman Lien Chan when the shop loudly broadcast music from an album titled 'Songs of Taiwan'.

There were additional reports of arbitrary detention and police brutality, some of which, according to the police, were in response to the violence of protesters.

Following the visit, hundreds of students have staged sit-ins across Taiwan protesting the police’s handling of the protests and demanding amendments to the Assembly and Parade Law, which has been misused to prevent protests.

On 6 November the students started their sit-ins outside the offices of the Executive Yuan or (Executive branch), where they were eventually removed by police on the grounds of illegal assembly. They continued the sit-ins at the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall and organized a daily demonstration calling for immediate amendments to the Assembly and Parade Law, apologies from the president and head of government and the resignations of the heads of the police and national security.

On 18 November Taipei police announced a list of 66 “troublemakers”, who had allegedly thrown gas bombs and stones at the police and spat at the Taichung mayor. There were also reports that the police had pressured journalists and their supervisors to hand over video tapes to identify suspects who allegedly took part in the violence.

END/
Public Document
****************************************
For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20
7413 5566 or email: press@amnesty.org
International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW, UK
www.amnesty.org

Charter '08 Signatories: Liu Xiaobo Is Indivisible from Us

-- A Statement by Signatories of Charter 08

15 December 2008

On the night of 8 December 2008, Mr. Liu Xiaobo was taken away from his home by the police and he has not yet returned. We have learned that Mr. Liu Xiaobo is being detained for initiating and signing Charter 08. We are deeply concerned and worried about his detention and insistently call for his immediate release.

We co-signed Charter 08 with Xiaobo because we share the same understanding of the current reality in China and the same feeling of urgency, the same sense of responsibility for the future and destiny of our motherland, and the common ideals of freedom and equality which our nation has been fighting to pursue.

Because we share these views and values, we have got an indivisible relationship with Mr. Liu Xiaobo. The Charter 08 is regarded as our soul, and everyone of us is its body, which has made us as a whole. If Mr. Liu Xiaobo is hurt for his signing of the Charter, then it is hurting each of us. if Mr. Liu Xiaobo cannot be freed, then all of us are being imprisoned together.

Every one of us is an initiator of Charter 08. What we want to express has been reflected in this well-known public document, and we have nothing else to hide.

There is therefore no need for Mr. Liu Xiaobo to take responsibility for us. This case is different from anything that has come before. Every one of us is ready to take responsibility for the statement. Mr. Liu Xiaobo's current situation will not deter us. As long as each of the signatories adheres to this, our conviction will never die, and that the spirit of Charter 08 will never die.

Therefore, we strongly appeal for Mr. Liu Xiaobo to be able to return home as soon as possible. His freedom is our freedom.

Signatories of Charter 08:

SHA Yexin, ZHANG Zhuhua, XU Youyu,

HU Fayun, CUI Weiping, AI Xiaoming,

LIU Junning, HE Weifang, LIANG Xiaoyan,

ZHA Jianying, JIANG Qisheng, ZHAO Cheng,

LI Gongming, HAO Jian, Woeser (Tsering Woeser),

JIANG Danwen, LI Hai, FU Guoyong,

YU Shicun, LU Xuesong, ZHAO Dagong,

QIN Gen, FAN Yafeng, MA Shaofang,

WANG Xiaoshan, LI Jianhong, WANG Debang,

YE Du, TIAN Deyong, ZHANG Hui,

WANG Junxiu, ZAN Aizong, LIU Lu,

YAO Bo, TENG Biao, WEN Kejian,

ZHANG Dajun, GUO Yushan, ZOU Wei,

LIU Di, MO Zhixu
(more to sign)

Human Rights Watch: China: Retaliation for Signatories of Rights Charter

Source: Human Rights Watch (12/10/08):
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/12/10/china-retaliation-signatories-rights-charter

For Immediate Release

China: Retaliation for Signatories of Rights Charter
Critic Liu Xiaobo Remains in Police Custody

(New York, December 10, 2008) ­ The drafters and signatories of an historic public appeal for human rights and democracy in China are facing unprecedented retaliation by the government, Human Rights Watch said today. Several prominent signatories of the document, "Charter 08," have been detained by the police, and at least 10 other people have been questioned in connection with the document. The Charter was published on December 10 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"To commemorate human rights day by harassing signatories of a petition and arresting leading dissidents suggests that the Chinese government remains hostile to fundamental rights including expression and association," said Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. "Indeed, it calls into question the government¹s intention to draft a national human rights action plan, when the exercise of such basic rights is curtailed."

Concern is mounting over the case of Liu Xiaobo, one of China¹s most well-known dissidents, who remained in police custody 48 hours after he was taken away from his home on December 8. According to Zhang Zuhua, a co-signatory detained at the same time and released after 12 hours, Liu may have been placed under formal criminal detention on suspicion of "incitement to subvert state power." Liu, a writer, a former teacher at Beijing Normal University, and the director of the independent Chinese PEN Center, is a veteran of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. He has repeatedly been subject to various forms of incarceration, including house arrest.

The Charter, which urges putting human rights, democracy, and the rule of law at the core of the Chinese political system, was signed by more than 300 people from a cross-section of society, and by several prominent figures including retired party officials, former newspaper editors, members of the legal profession, and human rights defenders.

[Please read the Charter in English at New York Review of Books, translated by Perry Link]

Human Rights Watch called for the Chinese government to immediately and unconditionally release Liu Xiaobo and other signatories detained or questioned in connection with the Charter. Human Rights Watch urged foreign governments to convey to the Chinese government their expectation that none of the signatories would be punished for simply exercising their right to free expression, including in criticizing China¹s political system. Although China¹s Constitution recognizes the right to free expression, this right is vitiated by provisions that preclude criticisms of the Communist Party of China.

"By affixing their names to the Charter the signatories knew they would face official retribution," Richardson said. "Their courage must be recognized, and their actions defended."

For profiles of Chinese human rights advocates in jail, under house arrest, or under police surveillance, please visit:

http://china.hrw.org/hu_jia_and_chinas_rights_defenders

For more information, please contact:

In Hong Kong, Nicholas Bequelin (English, French, Mandarin): +852-8198-1040 (mobile)

In Washington, DC, Sophie Richardson (English, Mandarin): +1-202-612-4341; or +1-917-721-7473 (mobile)

In London, Brad Adams (English): +44-20-7713-2767; or +44-790-872-8333 (mobile)

Ran Yunfei: Liu Xiaobo Must be Freed

Source: The Guardian (12/12/08):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/12/human-rights-liu-xiaobo

Reclaiming China's Rights

Liu Xiaobo, an author of the '08 Charter calling for constitutional reform in China, has been detained. He must be freed

By Ran Yunfei

The 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights witnesses more human rights violations in China. A couple of days ago, police in Shanghai detained Liu Xiaobo, an intellectual and human rights activist, who had been in and out of prison in the last two decades because of his activism.

The reason this time is the '08 Charter, a document calling for constitutional reform in China, initiated by Liu Xiaobo and his colleagues, and signed by more than 300 people, including me. Hearing the news, I felt not only angry, but also pity towards the authorities whose fierce reaction can't disguise the fear underneath. One will always claim and protect one's rights. No authority can stop that.

As ordinary people, we just want to live a normal and peaceful life. But we want to live it with dignity. The coming economic crisis has made many people more alert to their rights, or lack of them. In China, the current crisis is not only the consequence of a global economic crisis, but also the result of a corrupt and authoritarian one-party system. Many people live a hard life not because of the downturn of the world economy, but because their rights have been taken away by the authorities. I know many intellectuals like Liu Xiabo who champion a peaceful and non-violence approach to achieve political reform. However, others may not be so patient. There have already been numerous instances of social unrest in China recently. To make things worse, the authorities seem to know only one response: to suppress any incident, which inevitably worsens the crisis.

This critical social situation is the circumstance under which Liu Xiaobo and his colleagues produced the '08 Charter. It is moderate, reasonable, pragmatic, dedicated to reaching reconciliation after revealing the truth. People's rights and society's interests are at its heart. It is not perfect. But among all the documents I have ever signed, it is the most important one.

For the last century, Chinese people have sacrificed life and blood in the hope of achieving a constitutional republic. What we eventually got was more brutal rule. We can't blame it all on tradition or culture. It also has something to do with the shortsightedness of many people, who ignored the bottom line to chase immediate gains, and sacrificed the future for short-term compromises. We understand that we have to compromise, which is part of democracy, but we must insist upon certain principles, such as respect for human beings and protection of basic rights.

The '08 Charter is a non-partisan document. Efforts were made to reach a compromise. Our aim is to save, not to destroy, the society we are in ­ a society that is highly volatile, increasingly divided and threatened by deepening economic crisis. But the authorities, who are so used to controlling society using inflexible and violent means, won't even tolerate the existence of a document that calls for sensible, moderate, pragmatic approaches. Arresting Liu Xiaobo and interrogating many other signatories shows that the authorities are now descending to the threat of violence. Such a threat will only ignite more resistance.

I am calling on the Chinese authorities to recognise the will of the people, to gradually implement political reforms, to give hope back to the people. We know hope will give people extraordinary motivation to live their life and to change their behavior. A community with no hope will only release destructive energy. People within the establishment can't detach themselves if the communities around them collapse. In other words, if the authorities fail to protect people's rights, they won't be able to protect themselves later on. Some may believe money and power can save them. They can't.

Chinese people still don't have the human rights they deserve. For 60 years, people of this land have been waiting for the day of freedom and democracy. In the last 20 years, people like Liu Xiaobo have fought for human rights on our behalf. Today in China, when we enjoy some freedom and rights, we shouldn't forget what people like him have done for us. I urge the authorities to release Liu Xiaobo as soon as possible. I also call on the government to start to reform the political system so that it can effectively protect people's rights.

This blog originally appeared in Chinese
http://www.bullog.cn/blogs/ranyunfei/archives/239385.aspx

The Times: Wei Jingsheng's cry for democracy in China echoes down 30 years

Jane Macartney in Beijing, December 5, 2008

On a bitterly cold winter night 30 years ago, an electrician from Beijing Zoo took the step that would cost him decades of freedom and create China's most defiant prisoner of conscience.

Wei Jingsheng was 28, invigorated by the tide of optimism and unprecedented freedom of expression that followed the death of Chairman Mao in 1976, but angry at signals that Deng Xiaoping wanted public discussion to end. He made his way to the focus of the debate, a brick wall dubbed "Democracy Wall", beside a bus station just west of Tiananmen Square on the Boulevard of Eternal Peace.

There he pasted up a paper demanding an addition to Deng's drive to bring Four Modernisations to China after the chaos of the Cultural Revolution. Mr Wei called for a "Fifth Modernisation": democracy.

Three decades later, speaking from Prague, where he is attending a ceremony to honour his action, Mr Wei has no regrets. "My years in prison were tough, but I was happy. It was worth it, and I would do it again."

In the winter of 1978 Democracy Wall had become the most exciting spot in Beijing. Hundreds of people would gather there each evening and into the night to read the latest essays posted by usually anonymous writers discussing freedom, democracy and the future of China as it broke free of the straitjacket of orthodox Marxism.

About 300 people were huddled against the cold on the night that Mr Wei went public with his ideas. A small square backed by a gleaming shopping centre now marks the spot.

China's most famous dissident told The Times: "At the time I was so determined that I was ready to die. To speak ill of the Communist Party then was to sign your own death warrant, so it was a surprise for me to remain alive. I felt it was essential for someone to speak out."

Mr Wei was arrested in March 1979, accused of selling military secrets to foreign journalists and sentenced to 15 years in prison, mostly in solitary confinement. He was released on medical parole in 1993 - just as China was applying to stage the 2000 Olympics - and vowed to revive the democracy movement. He was rearrested the next year and sentenced to 14 years for subversion. He was sent forcibly into exile in the United States in 1997.

Now an advocate for greater democracy and human rights in China, Mr Wei believes that the Communist Party has sown the seeds of its own demise by failing to implement political reforms as well as economic change. "This path will bring serious consequences," he said. "The Communist Party and the people are at a crossroads and there are only two choices: the Communist Party can push political reforms or the people will lose patience and overthrow the party."

He also predicted violence as a consequence of a rapidly widening gap between rich and poor. "This makes me very worried: worried about social chaos and that people are ready for revenge. So I think violence is getting closer and the chance of a will for peace is drawing further away."
__ __ __

Speaking out

- Hu Jia, a prominent dissident serving a three-year jail sentence for subversion, won the EU Sakharov prize for human rights this year.

- Shi Tao, was jailed for ten years after being convicted in 2005 for divulging state secrets by posting on the internet a Chinese government order banning media groups marking the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

- Bao Tong, a former member of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, fell out of favour in 1989 and spent seven years in solitary confinement. He is now under house arrest in Beijing.

original link:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5289472.ece

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Charter 08 - 303 Chinese citizens

Translated from the Chinese by Perry Link

The document below, signed by over three hundred prominent Chinese citizens, was conceived and written in conscious admiration of the founding of Charter 77 in Czechoslovakia, where, in January 1977, more than two hundred Czech and Slovak intellectuals formed a loose, informal, and open association of people... united by the will to strive individually and collectively for respect for human and civil rights in our country and throughout the world.

The Chinese document calls not for ameliorative reform of the current political system but for an end to some of its essential features, including one-party rule, and their replacement with a system based on human rights and democracy.

The prominent citizens who have signed the document are from both outside and inside the government, and include not only well-known dissidents and intellectuals, but also middle-level officials and rural leaders. They have chosen December 10, the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as the day on which to express their political ideas and to outline
their vision of a constitutional, democratic China. They intend "Charter 08" to serve as a blueprint for fundamental political change in China in the years to come. The signers of the document will form an informal group, open-ended in size but united by a determination to promote democratization and protection of human rights in China and beyond.

On December 8 two prominent signers of the Charter, Zhang Zuhua and Liu Xiaobo, were detained by the police. Zhang Zuhua has since been released; as of December 9, Liu Xiabo remains in custody.

---Perry Link

Charter 08

I. Foreword

A hundred years have passed since the writing of China¹s first constitution. 2008 also marks the sixtieth anniversary of the promulgation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the thirtieth anniversary of the appearance of Democracy Wall in Beijing, and the tenth of China¹s signing of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We are approaching the twentieth anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre of pro-democracy student protesters. The Chinese people, who have endured human rights disasters and uncountable struggles across these same years, now include many who see clearly that freedom, equality, and human rights are universal values of humankind and that democracy and constitutional government are the fundamental framework for protecting these values.

By departing from these values, the Chinese government's approach to "modernization" has proven disastrous. It has stripped people of their rights, destroyed their dignity, and corrupted normal human intercourse. So we ask: Where is China headed in the twenty-first century? Will it continue with "modernization" under authoritarian rule, or will it embrace universal human values, join the mainstream of civilized nations, and build a democratic system? There can be no avoiding these questions.

The shock of the Western impact upon China in the nineteenth century laid bare a decadent authoritarian system and marked the beginning of what is often called "the greatest changes in thousands of years" for China. A "self-strengthening movement" followed, but this aimed simply at appropriating the technology to build gunboats and other Western material objects. China¹s humiliating naval defeat at the hands of Japan in 1895 only confirmed the obsolescence of China¹s system of government. The first attempts at modern political change came with the ill-fated summer of reforms in 1898, but these were cruelly crushed by ultraconservatives at China¹s imperial court. With the revolution of 1911, which inaugurated Asia¹s first republic, the authoritarian imperial system that had lasted for centuries was finally supposed to have been laid to rest. But social conflict inside our country and external pressures were to prevent it; China fell into a patchwork of warlord fiefdoms and the new republic became a fleeting dream.

The failure of both "self-strengthening" and political renovation caused many of our forebears to reflect deeply on whether a "cultural illness" was afflicting our country. This mood gave rise, during the May Fourth Movement of the late 1910s, to the championing of "science and democracy." Yet that effort, too, foundered as warlord chaos persisted and the Japanese invasion [beginning in Manchuria in 1931] brought national crisis.

Victory over Japan in 1945 offered one more chance for China to move toward modern government, but the Communist defeat of the Nationalists in the civil war thrust the nation into the abyss of totalitarianism. The "new China" that emerged in 1949 proclaimed that "the people are sovereign" but in fact set up a system in which "the Party is all-powerful." The Communist Party of China seized control of all organs of the state and all political, economic, and social resources, and, using these, has produced a long trail of human rights disasters, including, among many others, the Anti-Rightist Campaign (1957), the Great Leap Forward (1958­1960), the Cultural Revolution (1966­1969), the June Fourth (Tiananmen Square) Massacre (1989), and the current repression of all unauthorized religions and the suppression of the weiquan rights movement [a movement that aims to defend citizens' rights promulgated in the Chinese Constitution and to fight for human rights recognized by international conventions that the Chinese government has signed]. During all this, the Chinese people have paid a gargantuan price. Tens of millions have lost their lives, and several generations have seen their freedom, their happiness, and their human dignity cruelly trampled.

During the last two decades of the twentieth century the government policy of "Reform and Opening" gave the Chinese people relief from the pervasive poverty and totalitarianism of the Mao Zedong era and brought substantial increases in the wealth and living standards of many Chinese as well as a partial restoration of economic freedom and economic rights. Civil society
began to grow, and popular calls for more rights and more political freedom have grown apace. As the ruling elite itself moved toward private ownership and the market economy, it began to shift from an outright rejection of "rights" to a partial acknowledgment of them.

In 1998 the Chinese government signed two important international human rights conventions; in 2004 it amended its constitution to include the phrase "respect and protect human rights"; and this year, 2008, it has promised to promote a "national human rights action plan." Unfortunately most of this political progress has extended no further than the paper on which it is written. The political reality, which is plain for anyone to see, is that China has many laws but no rule of law; it has a constitution but no constitutional government. The ruling elite continues to cling to its authoritarian power and fights off any move toward political change.

The stultifying results are endemic official corruption, an undermining of the rule of law, weak human rights, decay in public ethics, crony capitalism, growing inequality between the wealthy and the poor, pillage of the natural environment as well as of the human and historical environments, and the exacerbation of a long list of social conflicts, especially, in recent times, a sharpening animosity between officials and ordinary people.

As these conflicts and crises grow ever more intense, and as the ruling elite continues with impunity to crush and to strip away the rights of citizens to freedom, to property, and to the pursuit of happiness, we see the powerless in our society‹the vulnerable groups, the people who have been suppressed and monitored, who have suffered cruelty and even torture, and who have had no adequate avenues for their protests, no courts to hear their pleas‹becoming more militant and raising the possibility of a violent conflict of disastrous proportions. The decline of the current system has reached the point where change is no longer optional.


II. Our Fundamental Principles

This is a historic moment for China, and our future hangs in the balance. In reviewing the political modernization process of the past hundred years or more, we reiterate and endorse basic universal values as follows:

Freedom. Freedom is at the core of universal human values. Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, freedom in where to live, and the freedoms to strike, to demonstrate, and to protest, among others, are the forms that freedom takes. Without freedom, China will always remain far from civilized ideals.

Human rights. Human rights are not bestowed by a state. Every person is born with inherent rights to dignity and freedom. The government exists for the protection of the human rights of its citizens. The exercise of state power must be authorized by the people. The succession of political disasters in China's recent history is a direct consequence of the ruling regime's
disregard for human rights.

Equality. The integrity, dignity, and freedom of every person‹regardless of social station, occupation, sex, economic condition, ethnicity, skin color, religion, or political belief‹are the same as those of any other. Principles of equality before the law and equality of social, economic, cultural, civil, and political rights must be upheld.

Republicanism. Republicanism, which holds that power should be balanced among different branches of government and competing interests should be served, resembles the traditional Chinese political ideal of ³fairness in all under heaven.² It allows different interest groups and social assemblies, and people with a variety of cultures and beliefs, to exercise democratic self-government and to deliberate in order to reach peaceful resolution of public questions on a basis of equal access to government and free and fair competition.

Democracy. The most fundamental principles of democracy are that the people are sovereign and the people select their government. Democracy has these characteristics: (1) Political power begins with the people and the legitimacy of a regime derives from the people. (2) Political power is exercised through choices that the people make. (3) The holders of major official posts in government at all levels are determined through periodic competitive elections. (4) While honoring the will of the majority, the fundamental dignity, freedom, and human rights of minorities are protected.

In short, democracy is a modern means for achieving government truly "of the people, by the people, and for the people."

Constitutional rule. Constitutional rule is rule through a legal system and legal regulations to implement principles that are spelled out in a constitution. It means protecting the freedom and the rights of citizens, limiting and defining the scope of legitimate government power, and providing the administrative apparatus necessary to serve these ends.


III. What We Advocate

Authoritarianism is in general decline throughout the world; in China, too, the era of emperors and overlords is on the way out. The time is arriving everywhere for citizens to be masters of states. For China the path that leads out of our current predicament is to divest ourselves of the authoritarian notion of reliance on an "enlightened overlord" or an "honest official" and to turn instead toward a system of liberties, democracy, and the rule of law, and toward fostering the consciousness of modern citizens who see rights as fundamental and participation as a duty. Accordingly, and in a spirit of this duty as responsible and constructive citizens, we offer the following recommendations on national governance, citizens' rights, and social development:

1. A New Constitution. We should recast our present constitution, rescinding its provisions that contradict the principle that sovereignty resides with the people and turning it into a document that genuinely guarantees human rights, authorizes the exercise of public power, and serves as the legal underpinning of China¹s democratization. The constitution must be the highest law in the land, beyond violation by any individual, group, or political party.

2. Separation of powers. We should construct a modern government in which the separation of legislative, judicial, and executive power is guaranteed. We need an Administrative Law that defines the scope of government responsibility and prevents abuse of administrative power. Government should be responsible to taxpayers. Division of power between provincial governments and the central government should adhere to the principle that central powers are only those specifically granted by the constitution and all other powers belong to the local governments.

3. Legislative democracy. Members of legislative bodies at all levels should be chosen by direct election, and legislative democracy should observe just and impartial principles.

4. An Independent Judiciary. The rule of law must be above the interests of any particular political party and judges must be independent. We need to establish a constitutional supreme court and institute procedures for constitutional review. As soon as possible, we should abolish all of the Committees on Political and Legal Affairs that now allow Communist Party officials at every level to decide politically-sensitive cases in advance and out of court. We should strictly forbid the use of public offices for private purposes.

5. Public Control of Public Servants. The military should be made answerable to the national government, not to a political party, and should be made more professional. Military personnel should swear allegiance to the constitution and remain nonpartisan. Political party organizations shall be prohibited in the military. All public officials including police should serve as nonpartisans, and the current practice of favoring one political party in the hiring of public servants must end.

6. Guarantee of Human Rights. There shall be strict guarantees of human rights and respect for human dignity. There should be a Human Rights Committee, responsible to the highest legislative body, that will prevent the government from abusing public power in violation of human rights. A democratic and constitutional China especially must guarantee the personal
freedom of citizens. No one shall suffer illegal arrest, detention, arraignment, interrogation, or punishment. The system of "Reeducation through Labor" must be abolished.

7. Election of Public Officials. There shall be a comprehensive system of democratic elections based on "one person, one vote." The direct election of administrative heads at the levels of county, city, province, and nation should be systematically implemented. The rights to hold periodic free elections and to participate in them as a citizen are inalienable.

8. Rural­-Urban Equality. The two-tier household registry system must be abolished. This system favors urban residents and harms rural residents. We should establish instead a system that gives every citizen the same constitutional rights and the same freedom to choose where to live.

9. Freedom to Form Groups. The right of citizens to form groups must be guaranteed. The current system for registering nongovernment groups, which requires a group to be "approved," should be replaced by a system in which a group simply registers itself. The formation of political parties should be governed by the constitution and the laws, which means that we must abolish the special privilege of one party to monopolize power and must guarantee principles of free and fair competition among political parties.

10. Freedom to Assemble. The constitution provides that peaceful assembly, demonstration, protest, and freedom of expression are fundamental rights of a citizen. The ruling party and the government must not be permitted to subject these to illegal interference or unconstitutional obstruction.

11. Freedom of Expression. We should make freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and academic freedom universal, thereby guaranteeing that citizens can be informed and can exercise their right of political supervision. These freedoms should be upheld by a Press Law that abolishes political restrictions on the press. The provision in the current Criminal Law that refers to "the crime of incitement to subvert state power" must be abolished. We should end the practice of viewing words as crimes.

12. Freedom of Religion. We must guarantee freedom of religion and belief and institute a separation of religion and state. There must be no governmental interference in peaceful religious activities. We should abolish any laws, regulations, or local rules that limit or suppress the religious freedom of citizens. We should abolish the current system that requires religious groups (and their places of worship) to get official approval in advance and substitute for it a system in which registry is optional and, for those who choose to register, automatic.

13. Civic Education. In our schools we should abolish political curriculums and examinations that are designed to indoctrinate students in state ideology and to instill support for the rule of one party. We should replace them with civic education that advances universal values and citizens' rights, fosters civic consciousness, and promotes civic virtues that serve society.

14. Protection of Private Property. We should establish and protect the right to private property and promote an economic system of free and fair markets. We should do away with government monopolies in commerce and industry and guarantee the freedom to start new enterprises. We should establish a Committee on State-Owned Property, reporting to the national legislature, that will monitor the transfer of state-owned enterprises to private ownership in a fair, competitive, and orderly manner. We should institute a land reform that promotes private ownership of land, guarantees the right to buy and sell land, and allows the true value of private property to be adequately reflected in the market.

15. Financial and Tax Reform. We should establish a democratically regulated and accountable system of public finance that ensures the protection of taxpayer rights and that operates through legal procedures. We need a system by which public revenues that belong to a certain level of government‹central, provincial, county or local‹are controlled at that level. We need major tax reform that will abolish any unfair taxes, simplify the tax system, and spread the tax burden fairly. Government officials should not be able to raise taxes, or institute new ones, without public deliberation and the approval of a democratic assembly. We should reform the ownership system in order to encourage competition among a wider variety of market participants.

16. Social Security. We should establish a fair and adequate social security system that covers all citizens and ensures basic access to education, health care, retirement security, and employment.

17. Protection of the Environment. We need to protect the natural environment and to promote development in a way that is sustainable and responsible to our descendents and to the rest of humanity. This means insisting that the state and its officials at all levels not only do what they must do to achieve these goals, but also accept the supervision and participation of non-governmental organizations.

18. A Federated Republic. A democratic China should seek to act as a responsible major power contributing toward peace and development in the Asian Pacific region by approaching others in a spirit of equality and fairness. In Hong Kong and Macao, we should support the freedoms that already exist. With respect to Taiwan, we should declare our commitment to the principles of freedom and democracy and then, negotiating as equals, and ready to compromise, seek a formula for peaceful unification. We should approach disputes in the national-minority areas of China with an open mind, seeking ways to find a workable framework within which all ethnic and religious groups can flourish. We should aim ultimately at a federation of democratic communities of China.

19. Truth in Reconciliation. We should restore the reputations of all people, including their family members, who suffered political stigma in the political campaigns of the past or who have been labeled as criminals because of their thought, speech, or faith. The state should pay reparations to these people. All political prisoners and prisoners of conscience must be released. There should be a Truth Investigation Commission charged with finding the facts about past injustices and atrocities, determining responsibility for them, upholding justice, and, on these bases, seeking social reconciliation.

China, as a major nation of the world, as one of five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, and as a member of the UN Council on Human Rights, should be contributing to peace for humankind and progress toward human rights. Unfortunately, we stand today as the only country among the major nations that remains mired in authoritarian politics. Our political system continues to produce human rights disasters and social crises, thereby not only constricting China¹s own development but also limiting the progress of all of human civilization. This must change, truly it must. The democratization of Chinese politics can be put off no longer.

Accordingly, we dare to put civic spirit into practice by announcing Charter 08. We hope that our fellow citizens who feel a similar sense of crisis, responsibility, and mission, whether they are inside the government or not, and regardless of their social status, will set aside small differences to embrace the broad goals of this citizens¹ movement. Together we can work for major changes in Chinese society and for the rapid establishment of a free, democratic, and constitutional country. We can bring to reality the goals and ideals that our people have incessantly been seeking for more than a hundred years, and can bring a brilliant new chapter to Chinese civilization.

Initiated and signed by 303 Chinese citizens, officially released on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the 10th of December, 2008.

Source: NY Review of Books (v. 56, no. 1 · January 15, 2009):
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22210


Signed by:

于浩成（北京，法学家）Yu Haocheng （Beijing， Jurist）

张思之（北京，律师）Zhang Sizhi （Beijing， Lawyer）

茅于轼（北京，经济学家）Mao Yushi （Beijing， Economist）

杜光（北京，政治学家）Du Guang （Beijing， Political Scientist）

李普（北京，老记者）Li Pu （Beijing， Senior Journalist）

沙叶新（上海，剧作家）Sha Yexin （Shanghai， Dramatist）

流沙河（四川，诗人）Liu Shahe （Sichuan， Poet）

吴茂华（四川，作家）Wu Maohua （Sichuan， Writer）

张显扬（北京，思想家）Zhang Xianyang （Beijing， Thinker）

孙文广（山东，教授）Sun Wenguang （Shandong， Professor）

鲍彤（北京，公民）Bao Tong （Beijing， Citizen）

丁子霖（北京，教授）Ding Zilin （Beijing， Professor）

张先玲（北京，工程师）Zhang Xianling （Beijing， Engineer）

徐珏（北京，研究员）Xu Jue （Beijing， Researcher）

蒋培坤（北京，教授）Jiang Peikun （ Beijing， Professor）

刘晓波（北京，作家）Liu Xiaobo （Beijing， Writer）

张祖桦（北京，宪政学者）Zhang Zuhua （Beijing， Scholar）

高瑜（北京，记者）Gao Yu （Beijing， Journalist）

戴晴（北京，作家）Dai Qing （Beijing， Writer）

江棋生（北京，学者）Jiang Qisheng （Beijing， Scholar）

艾晓明（广东，教授）Ai Xiaoming （Guangzhou， Professor）

刘军宁（北京，政治学家）Liu Junning （Beijing， Political Scientist）

张旭昆（浙江，教授）Zhang Xukun （Zhejiang， Professor）

徐友渔（北京，哲学家）Xu Youyu （Beijing， Philosopher）

贺卫方（北京，法学家）He Weifang （ Beijing， Jurist）

莫少平（北京，律师）Mo Shaoping （Beijing， Lawyer）

陈子明（北京，学者）Chen Ziming （Beijing， Scholar）

张博树（北京，政治学家）Zhang Boshu （Beijing， Political Scientist）

崔卫平（北京，学者）Cui Weiping （Beijing， Scholar）

何光沪（宗教学专家）He Guanghu （Beijing， Religion Scholar）

郝建（北京，学者）Hao Jian （Beijing， Scholar）

沈敏骅（浙江，教授）Shen Minhua （ Zhejiang， Professor）

李大同（北京，记者）Li Datong （Beijing， Journalist）

栗宪庭（北京，艺术评论家）Su Xianting （Beijing， Art Critic）

张鸣（北京，教授）Zhang Ming （Beijing， Professor）

余杰（北京，作家）Yu Jie （Beijing， Writer）

余世存（北京，作家）Yu Shicun （Beijing， Writer）

秦耕（海南，作家）Qin Geng （Hainan， Writer）

周舵（北京，学者）Zhou Duo （Beijing， Scholar）

浦志强（北京，律师）Pu Zhiqiang （Beijing， Lawyer）

赵达功（深圳，作家）Zhao Dagong （Beijing， Writer）

姚立法（湖北，选举专家）Yao Lifa （ Hubei， Election expert）

冯正虎（上海，学者）Feng Zhenghu （Shanghai， Scholar）

周勍（北京，作家）Zhou Qing （Beijing， Writer）

杨恒均（广州，作家）Yang Hengjun （Guangzhou， Writer）

滕彪（北京，法学博士）Teng Biao （ Beijing， LLD）

蒋亶文（上海，作家）Jiang Danwen （Shanghai， Writer）

唯色（西藏，作家）Wei Se（Tibet， Writer）

马波（北京，作家）Ma Bo （ Beijing， Writer）

查建英（北京，作家）Cha Jianying （Beijing， Writer）

胡发云（湖北，作家）Hu Fayun （Hubei， Writer）

焦国标（北京，学者）Jiao Guobiao （Beijing， Scholar）

李公明（广东，教授）Li Gongming （Guangdong， Professor）

赵晖（北京，评论家）Zhao Hui （Beijing， Critic）

李柏光（北京，法学博士）Li Baiguang （Beijing， LLD）

傅国涌（浙江，作家）Fu Guoyong （Zhejiang， Writer）

马少方（广东，商人）Ma Shaofang （Guangdong， Businessman）

张闳（上海，教授）Zhang Hong （Shanghai， Professor）

夏业良（北京，经济学家）Xia Yeliang （Beijing， Economist）

冉云飞（四川，学者）Ran Yunfei （Sichuan， Scholar）

廖亦武（四川，作家）Liao Yiwu （Sichuan， Writer）

王怡（四川，学者）Wang Yi （ Sichuan， Scholar）

王晓渔（上海，学者）Wang Xiaoyu （Shanghai， Scholar）

苏元真（浙江，教授）Su Yuanzhen （Zhejiang， Professor）

强剑衷（南京，老报人）Qiang Jianzhong （Nanjing， Senior Journalist）

欧阳小戎（云南，诗人）Ouyang Xiaorong （Yunnan， Poet）

刘荻（北京，自由职业者）Liu Di （Beijing， Self-empolyed）

昝爱宗（浙江，记者）Zan Aizong （Zhejiang， Journalist）

周鸿陵（北京，社会活动家）Zhou Hongling （Beijing， Social Activist）

冯刚（浙江教授）Feng Gang （Zhejiang， Professor）

陈林（广州学者）Chen Lin （Guangzhou， Scholar）

尹贤（甘肃，诗人）Yin Xian （Gansu， Poet）

周明（浙江，教授）Zhou Ming （Zhejiang， Professor）

凌沧洲（北京，新闻人）Ling Cangzhou （Beijing， Journalist）

铁流（北京，作家）Tie Liu （Beijing， Writer）

陈奉孝（山东，北大右派学生）Chen Fengxiao （Shandong， Rightist ）

姚博（北京，评论家）Yao Bo （ Beijing， Critic）

张津郡（广东，职业经理人）Zhang Jinjun （Guangdong， Professional manager）

李剑虹（上海，作家）Li Jianhong （Shanghai， Writer）

张善光（湖南，人权捍卫者）Zhang Shanguang （Hunan， Human rights Defender）

李德铭（湖南，新闻工作者）Li Deming （Hunan， Media Worker）

刘建安（湖南，教师）Liu Jian'an （Hunan， Teacher）

王小山（北京，媒体人）Wang Xiaoshan （Beijing， Media worker）

范亚峰（北京，法学博士）Fan Yafeng （Beijing， Scholar）

周明初（浙江，教授）Zhou Mingchu （Zhejiang， Professor）

梁晓燕（北京，环保志愿者）Liang Xiaoyan （Beijing， Enviromental Volunteer）

徐晓（北京，作家）、Xu Xiao （Beijing， Writer）

陈西（贵州，人权捍卫者）Chen Xi （Guizhou， Human rights Defender）

赵诚（山西，学者）Zhao Cheng （Shanxi， Scholar）

李元龙（贵州，自由撰稿人）Li Yuanlong （Guizhou， Freelance Writer）

申有连（贵州，人权捍卫者）Shen Youlian （Guizhou， Human rights Defender）

蒋绥敏（北京，工程师）Jiang Suimin （Beijing， Engineer）

陆中明（陕西，学者）Lu Zhongming （Shan'xi， Scholar）

孟煌（北京，画家）Meng Huang （Beijing， Painter）

林福武（福建，人权捍卫者）Lin Fuwu （Fujian， Human rights defender）

廖双元（贵州，人权捍卫者）Liao Shuangyuan （Guizhou， Human rights defender）

卢雪松（吉林，教师）Lu Xuesong （Jilin， Teacher）

郭玉闪（北京，学者）Guo Yushan （Beijing， Scholar）

陈焕辉（福建，人权捍卫者）Chen Huanhui （Fujian， Human rights defender）

朱久虎（北京，律师）Zhu Jiuhu （Beijing， Lawyer）

金光鸿（北京，律师）Jin GuangHong （Beijing， Lawyer）

高超群（北京，编辑）Gao Chaoqun （Beijing， Editor）

柏风（吉林，诗人）Bai Feng （Jilin， Poet）

郑旭光（北京，学者）Zheng Xuguang （Beijing， Scholar）

曾金燕（北京维权人士）Zeng Jinyan （Beijing， Human rights defender）

吴玉琴（贵州，人权捍卫者）Wu Yuqin （Guizhou， Human rights defender）

杜义龙（陕西，作家）Du Yilong （Shan'xi， Writer）

李海（北京，人权捍卫者）Li Hai （Beijing， Human rights defender）

张辉（山西，民主人士）Zhang Hui （Shanxi， Democratic Activist）

江山（广东，业主维权者）Jiangshan （Guangdong， Rights Defender）

徐国庆（贵州，民主人士）Xu Guoqing （Guizhou， Democratic Activist）

吴郁（贵州，民主人士）Wu Yu （Guizhou， Democratic Activist）

张明珍（贵州，民主人士）Zhang Mingzhen （Guizhou， Democratic Activist）

曾宁（贵州，民主人士）Zeng Ning （Guizhou， Democratic Activist）

全林志（贵州，民主人士）Quan Linzhi （Guizhou， Democratic Activist）

叶航（浙江，教授）Ye Hang （Zhejiang， Professor）

马云龙（河南，资深媒体人）Ma Yunlong（Henan， Scholar）

朱健国（广东，自由撰稿人）Zhu Jianguo （Guangdong， Writer）

李铁（广东，社会活动人士）Li Tie （Guangdong， Democratic Activist）

莫建刚（贵州，自由撰稿人）Mo Jiangang （Guizhou， Freelance writer）

张耀杰（北京，学者）Zhang Yaojie （Beijing， Scholar）

吴报建（浙江，律师）Wu Baojian （Zhejiang， Lawyer）

杨光（广西，学者）Yang Guang （Guangxi， Scholar）

俞梅荪（北京，法律人）Yu Meisun （Beijing，Legal worker）

行健（北京，法律人）Xing Jian （Beijing， Legal Worker）

王光泽（北京，社会活动家）Wang Guangze （Beijing， Social Activist）

陈绍华（广东，设计师）Chen Shaohua （Guangdong， Designer）

刘逸明（湖北，自由撰稿人）Liu Yiming （Hubei， Freelance Writer）

吴祚来（北京，研究员）Wu Zuolai （Beijing， Researcher）

高兟（山东，艺术家）Gao Zhen （Shandong， Artist）

高强（山东，艺术家）Gao Qiang （Shandong， Artist）

唐荆陵（广东，律师）Tang Jingling （Guangdong， Lawyer）

黎小龙（广西，维权人士）Li Xiaolong （Guangxi， Rights Defender）

荆楚（广西，自由撰稿人）Jing Chu （Guangxi， Freelance Writer）

李彪（安徽，商人）Li Biao （Anhui， Businessman）

郭艳（广东，律师）Guo Yan （Guangdong， Lawyer）

杨世元（浙江，退休人员）Yang Shiyuan（Zhejiang， Rightist）

杨宽兴（山东，作家）Yang Kuanxing（Shandong， Writer）

李金芳（河北，民主人士）Li Jinfang（Hebei， Democratic Activist）

王玉文（贵州，诗人）Wang Yuwen（Guizhou， Poet）

杨中义（安徽，工人）Yang Zhongyi（Anhui， Worker）

武辛源（河北农民）Wu Xinyuan （Hebei， Farmer）

杜和平（贵州，民主人士）Du Heping（Guizhou， Democratic Activist）

冯玲（湖北，宪政义工）Feng Ling（Hubei， Democratic Activist）

张先忠（湖北，企业家）Zhang Xianzhong（Hubei， Entrepreneur）

蔡敬忠（广东农民） Cai Jingzhong（Guangdong， Farmer）

王典斌（湖北，企业主）Wang Dianbin（Hubei， Entrepreneur）

蔡金才（广东农民） Cai Jincai（Guangdong， Farmer）

高爱国（湖北，企业主）Gao Aiguo（Hubei， Entrepreneur）

陈湛尧（广东农民）Chen Zhanyao（Guangdong，Farmer）

何文凯（湖北，企业主）He Wenkai（Hubei， Entrepreneur）

吴党英（上海，维权人士）Wu Dangying（Shanghai， Rights Defender）

曾庆彬（广东工人）Zeng Qingbin（Guangdong，Worker）

毛海秀（上海，维权人士）Mao Haixiu（Shanghai， Rights Defender）

庄道鹤（杭州，律师）Zhuang Daohe（Hangzhou， Lawyer）

黎雄兵（北京，律师）Li Xiongbing （Beijing， Lawyer）

李任科（贵州，民主人士）Li Renke（Guizhou， Democratic Activist）

左力（河北律师）Zuo Li （Hebei， Lawyer）

董德筑（贵州，民主人士）Dong Dez（Guizhou， Democratic Activist）

陶玉平（贵州，民主人士）Tao Yuping（Guizhou， Democratic Activist）

王俊秀（北京，IT从业者）Wang Junxiu（Beijing， IT Professional）

黄晓敏（四川，维权人士）Huang Xiaomin（Sichuan， Rights Defender）

郑恩宠（上海，法律人）Zheng Enchong（Shanghai，Lawyer）

张君令（上海，维权人士）Zhang Junling（Shanghai， Rights Defender）

杨海（陕西，学者）Yang Hai（ Shan'xi， Scholar）

艾福荣（上海，维权人士）Ai Furong（Shanghai， Rights Defender）

杨华仁（湖北，法律工作者）Yang Huaren（Hubei， Legal Worker）

魏勤（上海，维权人士）Wei Qin（Shanghai， Rights Defender）

苏祖祥（湖北，教师）Su Zuxiang（Hubei， Teacher）

沈玉莲（上海，维权人士）Shen Yulian（Shanghai， Rights Defender）

关洪山（湖北，人权捍卫者）Guan Hongshan（Hubei， Human Rights Defender）

宋先科（广东，商人）Song Xianke（Guangdong， Businessman）

汪国强（湖北，人权捍卫者）Wang Guoqiang（Hubei， Human Rights Defender）

陈恩娟（上海，维权人士）Chen Enjuan（Shanghai， Rights Defender）

李勇（北京，媒体人）Li Yong（Beijing， Media worker）

常雄发（上海，维权人士）Chang Xiongfa（Shanghai， Rights Defender）

王京龙（北京，管理学者）Wang Jinglong（Beijing， Scholar）

许正清（上海，维权人士）Xu Zhengqing（Shanghai， Rights Defender）

高军生（陕西，编辑）、Gao Junsheng（Shan'xi， Editor）

郑蓓蓓（上海，维权人士）Zheng Beibei（Shanghai， Rights Defender）

王定华（湖北，律师）Wang Dinghua（Hubei， Lawyer）

谈兰英（上海，维权人士）Tan Lanying（Shanghai， Rights Defender）

范燕琼（福建，人权捍卫者）Fan Yanqiong（Fujian， Human Rights Defender）

林辉（浙江，诗人）Lin Hui（Zhejiang， Poet）

吴华英（福建，人权捍卫者）Wu Huaying（Fujian， Human Rights Defender）

薛振标（浙江，民主人士）Xue Zhenbiao（Zhejiang， Democratic Activist）

董国菁（上海，人权捍卫者）Dong Guoqing（Shanghai， Human Rights Defender）

陈玉峰（湖北，法律工作者）Chen Yufeng（Hubei， Legal Worker）

段若飞（上海，人权捍卫者）Duan Ruofei（Shanghai， Human Rights Defender）

王中陵（陕西，教师）Wang Zhongling（Shan'xi， Teacher）

董春华（上海，人权捍卫者）Dong Chunhua（Shanghai， Human Rights Defender）

陈修琴（上海，人权捍卫者）Chen Xiuqin（Shanghai， Human Rights Defender）

刘正有（四川，人权捍卫者）Liu Zhengyou（Shanghai， Human Rights Defender）

马萧（北京，作家）Ma Xiao（Beijing， Writer）

万延海（北京，公共卫生专家）Wan Yanhai（Beijing， Public Health Expert）

沈佩兰（上海，维权人士）Shen Peilan（Shanghai， Rights Defender）

叶孝刚（浙江，大学退休教师）Ye Xiaogang（Zhejiang， retired Lecturer）

张劲松（安徽，工人）Zhang Jingsong（Anhui， Worker）

章锦发（浙江，退休人员）Zhang Jinfa（Zhejiang， Rightist）

王丽卿（上海，维权人士）Wang liqing（Shanghai， Rights Defender）

赵常青（陕西，作家）Zhao Changqing（ Shan'xi， Writer）

金月花（上海，维权人士）Jin Yuehua（Shanghai， Rights Defender）

余樟法（广西，作家）Yu Zhangfa（Guangxi， Writer）

陈启勇（上海，维权人士）Chen Qiyong（Shanghai， Rights Defender）

刘贤斌（四川，民主人士）Liu Xianbin（Sichuan， Democratic Activist）

欧阳懿（四川，人权捍卫者）Ouyang Yi （Sichuan， Human Rights Defender）

邓焕武（重庆，商人）Deng Huanwu（Chongqing， Businessman）

贺伟华（湖南，民主人士）He Weihua（Hunan， Democratic Activist）

李东卓（湖南，IT从业者）Li Dongzhuo（Hunan， IT professional）

田永德（内蒙，人权捍卫者）Tian Yongde（Inner Mongolia， Human Rights Defender）

智效民（山西，学者）Zhi Xiaomin（Shanxi， Scholar）

李昌玉（山东，教师）Li Changyu（Shandong， Teacher）

郭卫东（浙江，职员）Guo Weidong（Zhejiang， Clerk）

陈卫（四川，民主人士）Chen Wei（Sichuan， Democratic Activist）

王金安（湖北，企业主）Wang Jin'an（Hubei， Entrepreneur）

察文君（上海，维权人士）Cha Wenjun（Shanghai， Rights Defender）

侯述明（湖北，企业主）Hou Shuming（Hubei， Entrepreneur）

刘汉南（湖北，人权捍卫者）Liu Hannan（Hubei， Human Rights Defender）

史若平（山东，教授）Shi Ruoping（Shandong， Professor）

张忍祥（湖北，人权捍卫者）Zhang renxiang（Hubei， Human Rights Defender）

野渡（广东，编辑）Ye Du（Guangdong， Editor）

夏刚（湖北，人权捍卫者）Xia Gang（Hubei， Human Rights Defender）

赵国良（湖南，民主人士）Zhao Guoliang（Hunan，Democratic Activist）

李智英（北京，学者）Li Zhiying（Beijing， Scholar）

张重发（贵州，民主人士）Zhang Chongfa（Guizhou， Democratic Activist）

陈永苗（北京，学者）Chen Yongmiao（Beijing， Scholar）

江婴（天津，诗人）Jiang Ying（Tianjin， Poet）

田祖湘（贵州，民主人士）Tian Zuxiang（Guizhou， Democratic Activist）

黄志佳（湖北，公务员）Huang Zhijia（Hubei，Public Servant）

关业波（湖北，公务员）Guan Yebo（Hubei， Public Servant）

王望明（湖北，企业主）Wang Wangming（Hubei， Entrepreneur）

高新瑞（湖北，企业家）Gao Xinrui（Hubei， Entrepreneur）

宋水泉（湖北，法律工作者）Song Shuiquan（Hubei， Legal Worker）

赵景洲（黑龙江，人权捍卫者）Zhao Jingzhou（Heilongjiang， Human Rights Defender）

温克坚（浙江，学者）Wen Kejian（Zhejiang， Scholar）

魏文英（云南，教师）Wei Wenying（Yunan， Teacher）

陈惠娟（黑龙江，人权捍卫者）Chen Huijuan（Heilongjiang， Human Rights Defender）

陈炎雄（湖北，教师）Chen Yanxiong（Hubei， Teacher）

段春芳（上海，人权捍卫者）Duan Chunfang（Shanghai， Human Rights Defender）

刘正善（云南，工程师）Liu Zhengshan（Yunnan， Engineer）

关敏（湖北，大学教师）Guan Min（Hubei， Lecturer）

戴元龙（福建，企业主）Dai Yuanlong（Fujian， Entrepreneur）

余以为（广东，自由撰稿人）Yu Yiwei（Guangdong， Freelance Writer）

韩祖荣（福建，企业主） Han Zurong（Fujian， Entrepreneur）

汪定亮（湖北，律师）Wang Dingliang（ Hubei， Lawyer）

陈青林（北京，人权捍卫者）Chen Qinglin（Beijing， Human Rights Defender）

钱世顺（广东，企业主）Qian Shishun（Guangdong， Entrepreneur）

曾伯炎（四川，作家）Zeng Boyan（Sichuan， Writer）

马亚莲（上海，人权捍卫者）Ma Yalian（Shanghai， Human Rights Defender）

车宏年（山东，自由撰稿人）Che Hongnian（Shandong， Freelance Writer）

秦志刚（山东，电子工程师）Qin Zhigang（Shandong， Engineer）

宋翔峰（湖北，教师）Song Xiangfeng（Hubei， Teacher）

邓复华（湖北，作家）Deng Fuhua（Hubei， Writer）

徐康（湖北，公务员）Xu Kang（Hubei， Public servant）

李建强（山东，律师）Li Jianqiang（ Shandong， Lawyer）

李仁兵（北京，律师）Li Renbing（Beijing， Lawyer）

裘美丽（上海，维权人士）Qiu Meili（Shanghai， Rights Defender）

兰志学（北京，律师）Lan Zhixue（Beijing， Lawyer）

周锦昌（浙江，退休人员）Zhou Jinchang（Zhejiang， Rightist）

黄燕明（贵州，民主人士）Huang Yanming（Guizhou， Democratic Activist）

刘巍（北京，律师）Liu Wei（Beijing， Lawyer）

鄢烈汉（湖北，企业主）Yan Liehan（Hubei， Entrepreneur）

陈德富（贵州，民主人士）Chen Defu（Guizhou， Democratic Activist）

郭用新（湖北，医生）Guo Yongxin（Hubei， Doctor）

郭永丰（广东，中国公民监政会发起人）Guo Yongfeng（Guangdong，Rights Defender）

袁新亭（广州，编辑）Yuan Xinting（Guangzhou， Editor）

戚惠民（浙江，民主人士）Qi Huimin（Zhejiang， Democratic Activist）

李宇（四川，采编）Li Yu（Sichuan， Editor）

谢福林（湖南，人权捍卫者）Xie Fulin（Hunan， Human Rights Defender）

徐光（浙江，企业主）Xu Guang（Zhejiang， Entrepreneur）

野火（广东，自由撰稿人）Ye Huo（Guangdong， Freelance Writer）

邹巍（浙江，维权人士）Zou Wei（Zhejiang， Rights Defender）

萧利彬（浙江，工程师）Xiao Linbin（Zhejiang， Engineer）

高海兵（浙江，民主人士）Gao Haibing（Zhejiang， Democratic Activist）

田奇庄（河北，作家）Tian Qizhuang （Hebei， Writer）

邓太清（山西，民主人士）Deng Taiqing（Shanxi， Democratic Activist）

裴鸿信（河北，教师）Pei Hongxin（Hebei， Teacher）

徐民（吉林，法律工作者）Xu Min（Jilin， Legal worker）

李喜阁（河南，维权人士）Li Xige（Henan， Rights Defender）

王德邦（北京，作家）Wang Debang（Beijing， Writer）

冯秋盛（广东，农民）Feng QiuSheng（Guangdong， Farmer）

侯文豹（安徽，维权人士）Hou Wenbao（ Anhui， Rights Defender）

唐吉田（北京，律师）Tang Jitian（Beijing， Lawyer）

刘荣超（安徽，农民）Liu Rongchao（ Anhui， Farmer）

李天翔（河南，工人）Li Tianxiang（Henan，worker）

崔玉振（河北，律师）Cui Yuzhen（Hebei， Lawyer）

许茂连（安徽，农民）Xu Maolian（Anhui， Farmer）

翟林华（安徽，教师）Zhai Linhua（Anhui， Teacher）

陶晓霞（安徽，农民）Tao Xiaoxia（Anhui， Farmer）

张望（福建，工人）Zhang Wang（Fujian， Worker）

黄大川（辽宁，职员）Huang Dachuan（Liaoning， Clerk）

陈啸原（海南，职员）Chen Xiaoyuan （Hainan， Clerk）

张鉴康（陕西，法律工作者）Zhang Jiankang （ Sha'nxi，Legal Worker）

张星水（北京，律师）Zhang Xingshui（Beijing， Lawyer）

马纲权（北京，律师）Ma Gangquan（Beijing， Lawyer）

王金祥（湖北，维权人士）Wang Jinxiang（Hubei， Rights Defender）

王家英（湖北，企业主）Wang Jiaying（Hubei， Entrepreneur）

鄢来云（湖北，企业主）Yan Laiyun （Hubei， Entrepreneur）

李小明（湖北，维权人士）Li Xiaoming（Hubei， Rights Defender）

肖水祥（湖北，维权人士）Xiao Shuixiang（Hubei， Rights Defender）

鄢裕祥（湖北，维权人士）Yan Yuxiang （Hubei， Rights Defender）

刘毅（北京，画家）Liu Yi（Beijing， Painter）

张正祥（云南，环保人士）Zhang Zhengxiang（Yunnan， Environmentalist）

Cyber Activist Sentenced to 3-Years for Expressing Support to Tibetan Protesters

CHRD: China Human Rights Defenders
2008-12-4 16:44:26
http://crd-net.org/Article/Class9/Class10/200812/20081204164426_12184.html

(Chinese Human Rights Defenders, November 21, 2008) - Today, Chen Daojun (陈道军), a cyber activist and freelance writer based in the Southwestern province Sichuan, was convicted of "inciting subversion of state power" and sentenced to three years of imprisonment and deprivation of political rights for three years for posting articles on the Internet to express views supporting the March 2008 Tibetan protesters.

Chen's verdict was announced at 11 a.m. this morning by Chendu Intermediate People's Court in Sichuan. Chen's family and his lawyer, Zhu Jiuhu (朱久虎), were present at the hearing. Chen is dissatisfied with the verdict but it is considering whether he is going to appeal.

On November 5, Chen was tried for "inciting secession" by the same court. It is unclear why the court dropped the charge of "inciting secession" and convicted Chen of "inciting subversion". The court clearly rejected the lawyer's "not guilty" defense on the basis that Mr. Chen has the right to free expression of his political views.

Recommendations

CHRD calls on Chen's immediate and unconditional release.

CHRD believes that Chen has been imprisoned solely for the peaceful activities of expressing his opinions. The authorities have abused Chen's rights to freedom of expression guaranteed in Articles 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which China has signed (but not yet ratified). This right is also enshrined in Article 35 of the Chinese Constitution.

Background

Chen, 40, is a cyber activist and freelance writer from Jintang Township, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province.

Chen was apprehended on May 9 and officially detained on suspicion of "inciting subversion of state power" on May 10. At some point during Chen's detention, the charge "inciting subversion" was dropped and replaced by "inciting secession". The reason for this change was not known. On June 13, Chen was formally arrested by Chengdu City Procuratorate for "inciting secession". However, the charge of "inciting succession" was dropped and Chen was convicted of "inciting subversion of state power" today.

Following the March 14, 2008 riots/demonstrations in the Tibetan Autonomous Region, Chen published online several articles that supported the Tibetans who protested against the Chinese government. Chengdu City Procuratorate prosecuted Chen on the basis of one of the articles, "the Government Forces the People to Rebel--a Tribute to the Tibetans who Staged a Heroic Struggle", in addition to two others he authored --"What to Do after the 17th Party Congress" and "The Background of Those People Who are Against Westernization". The Procuratorate alleged that certain words and sentences in these articles "incited secession".

For more information, please visit http://crd-net.org/ and see:

Detained Sichuan Activists Denied Access to Legal Counsel (June 25, 2008)

Cyber Activists Detained for "Inciting" Anti-Pollution March in Chengdu (May
12, 2008)

Wei Jingsheng: Speaking about the Current Financial Crisis

Wei Jingsheng Attended the Festival of Modernity: Democracy, in Milan, Italy and Spoke about the Current Financial Crisis

On November 29 and 30th of 2008, Mr. Wei Jingsheng was invited to attend the Festival of Modernity: Democracy, organized by the publisher Spirali in Milan, Italy. The festival was also attended by other well-known Chinese, including Lu Decheng and author Zhou Qing. Other attendees include the former Russian Minister of Energy, dissident writers and well-known painters, as well as authors and philosophers from various European countries.

In Wei Jingsheng's speech, he pointed out that, although the current hottest topic is the financial crisis, very few people noticed that the Western democratic system is running into trouble itself. The main reason that makes this a widespread and in-depth crisis is due to the adjustment of the global manufacturing sector in the last 20 to 30 years. The difference between these current adjustments in comparison to any previous adjustment of the manufacturing sector is that this adjustment was not produced by large-scale technical progress. Instead, without any major technical progress, this adjustment was produced by the availability of large amounts of cheap labor that attracted the investment and thus caused the transfer of capital. The characteristic of this type of capital transfer is that, on one side, multi-national companies win high profit; while on the other side, there is large-scale unemployment in the developed countries. Or to put it in a different way, while the capital was transferred to the undeveloped countries and areas, the global economy was going backwards instead of forward. The displayed feature is the huge trade deficit; the developed countries were eating their own future away, living hand to mouth.

Wei said: "this time I was in Germany participating a dispute, which exposed the infiltration of the Chinese Communist Party to the democratic countries. By infiltrating the Western news media and political circle, the Chinese Communists tried to paint a pretty picture of its system that made high profit through cruel exploitation. While the Chinese bureaucratic capitalists and Western big business share this huge profit, the Chinese workers are living miserably and the Western workers lost their jobs.

Wei further pointed out that: "Why didn't the governments of these developed countries notice this problem, and instead used the unfair trade policies to push the situation further? Why for a long time, would they accept a trade policy that is not beneficial to their own countries? We all know that the lobbying of big business had the determining effect on this, an effect that almost nothing can resist. The democratic system ran into a boulder in the river. This current financial crisis did not accumulate in a short time; nor was it due to purely economic reasons. The deeper layers of reasons include that the democratic system has been off of its original tracks; that money manipulated or influenced politics. Now, this democracy has been discounted. As we resolve the economic crisis, we should make a time table to reform the political system in the Western countries themselves."

[For more information, please visit www.WeiJingSheng.org]