Protesters demand Obama calls for release of jailed writers in China
Friday, 13 November 2009.
Free speech campaigners march outside U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong
chinaworker.info reporters
Rights groups are demanding that U.S. President Obama raise the issue of political prisoners during his four-day visit to China starting Sunday 15 November. A group of human rights campaigners gathered at the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong on Friday to press their case. The action, which called for the release of all imprisoned writers and prisoners of conscience, was organised by the Chinese Independent PEN Centre (ICPC) and was supported by more than 50 PEN affiliates from around the world. PEN is the global association of writers dedicated to freedom of expression and the defense of writers suffering governmental repression. They drew attention to President Obama's receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize and called upon him to take up specific cases of imprisoned writers and regime critics in China including Liu Xiaobo, Tan Zuoren and Huang Qi.
Liu Xiaobo was an insprirer of the Charter 08 manifesto for democratic rights in China. He was detained on suspicion of "inciting subversion of state power" eleven months ago and formally arrested in June 2009, but has not yet been formally charged or brought to trial. Tan Zuoren is an environmental activist from Sichuan province who took up the case of collapsed school buildings and mass fatalities among school children after the May 2008 earthquake. Tan was arrested in March of this year and put on trial in August for "inciting subversion of state power". No verdict has yet been delivered. Huang Qi is a dissident writer also based in Sichuan and also critical of the government's handling of the earthquake rescue operation. He was arrested in July 2008 and charged with "illegally possessing state secrets". This year he faced a closed trial and no verdict has yet been delivered. In addition to these men, the Independent PEN Centre highlighted the cases of Xie Changfa, Guo Quan, Jin Haike, Zheng Yichun, Hu Jia, Gao Zhisheng, Chen Guangcheng, Guo Feixiong, Shi Tao, Yang Tianshui and Lu Gengsong.
Hopes have been raised ahead of Obama's first China visit that he will break from the past tradition of U.S. and other world leaders who rarely criticise the Chinese dictatorship over the lack of basic democratic rights, preferring to focus on economic and geopolitical deal-making. Experience shows, however, that capitalist politicians such as Obama are increasingly reluctant to do this as China's economic importance grows, but are also vulnerable to counter-arguments over the human rights record of U.S. imperialism in Afghanistan, Iraq and at home. What is needed is grassroots solidarity from working people around the world in support of China's oppressed masses and the struggle against dictatorship and state repression.
chinaworker.info reporters
Rights groups are demanding that U.S. President Obama raise the issue of political prisoners during his four-day visit to China starting Sunday 15 November. A group of human rights campaigners gathered at the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong on Friday to press their case. The action, which called for the release of all imprisoned writers and prisoners of conscience, was organised by the Chinese Independent PEN Centre (ICPC) and was supported by more than 50 PEN affiliates from around the world. PEN is the global association of writers dedicated to freedom of expression and the defense of writers suffering governmental repression. They drew attention to President Obama's receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize and called upon him to take up specific cases of imprisoned writers and regime critics in China including Liu Xiaobo, Tan Zuoren and Huang Qi.
Liu Xiaobo was an insprirer of the Charter 08 manifesto for democratic rights in China. He was detained on suspicion of "inciting subversion of state power" eleven months ago and formally arrested in June 2009, but has not yet been formally charged or brought to trial. Tan Zuoren is an environmental activist from Sichuan province who took up the case of collapsed school buildings and mass fatalities among school children after the May 2008 earthquake. Tan was arrested in March of this year and put on trial in August for "inciting subversion of state power". No verdict has yet been delivered. Huang Qi is a dissident writer also based in Sichuan and also critical of the government's handling of the earthquake rescue operation. He was arrested in July 2008 and charged with "illegally possessing state secrets". This year he faced a closed trial and no verdict has yet been delivered. In addition to these men, the Independent PEN Centre highlighted the cases of Xie Changfa, Guo Quan, Jin Haike, Zheng Yichun, Hu Jia, Gao Zhisheng, Chen Guangcheng, Guo Feixiong, Shi Tao, Yang Tianshui and Lu Gengsong.
Hopes have been raised ahead of Obama's first China visit that he will break from the past tradition of U.S. and other world leaders who rarely criticise the Chinese dictatorship over the lack of basic democratic rights, preferring to focus on economic and geopolitical deal-making. Experience shows, however, that capitalist politicians such as Obama are increasingly reluctant to do this as China's economic importance grows, but are also vulnerable to counter-arguments over the human rights record of U.S. imperialism in Afghanistan, Iraq and at home. What is needed is grassroots solidarity from working people around the world in support of China's oppressed masses and the struggle against dictatorship and state repression.
| Speaking for releasing political prisoner |
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