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Liu Jingsheng is a peaceful opposition activist and a former co-editor of Tansuo (Explorations), a journal he founded in the late 1970s along with Wei Jingsheng. He was born around 1950, and played a leading role in the Democracy Wall movement of the late 1970s; this involvement led to a theft charge and his arrest, along with Wei, for producing and distributing their journal. Upon his release he resumed his job as a bus driver, and nothing was heard of him outside of China until 1992, when he was arrested for his associations with "counter-revolutionary organizations."
Case history:
On May 28, 1992, Liu was arrested as one of the "Beijing Fifteen," the
largest group of Chinese labor and democracy activists to be tried since
the prosecutions of the 1989 protestors came to be known. Liu and the
others were detained incommunicado for two years until their trial in
July 1994, at which he was found guilty of membership in counter-
revolutionary organizations, most notably the Chinese Progressive
Alliance, Liberal Democratic Party of China, and Free Labor Union of
China (a group which calls for increased workers' rights). The
accusations also included playing a leading role in the Liberal Party
and in the drafting and distribution of documents concerning the
Preparatory Committee of Free Labor Union; the dissemination of pro-
democracy leaflets around June 4, 1992; and involvement in the
production of the Freedom Forum journal and a statement on China's
human rights situation. On December 16, 1994, Liu was sentenced to
eight years' imprisonment for leading a "counter-revolutionary group"
and a second eight years for "counter-revolutionary propaganda." These
were combined into a 15-year prison sentence and four years' deprivation
of political rights.
Current status:
Liu's prison term, which he is believed to be serving in Banbuqiao
Detention Center, was originally set to expire on May 27, 2007.
Liu's sentence was reduced by one year and three months in 2000
and 2001 for "good behavior,"
and now it is believed he will be released on February 27, 2007.
According to a Reporters
Sans Frontières report in February 1998, Liu has become seriously ill
and his wife is prohibited from her monthly visitation rights in
retaliation for her protests against his being held in isolation since
1996. The U.S. Department of State reported that Liu remained in prison
at the close of 1999.
Liu Jingsheng is also an Honorary Member of the English, German, New
Zealand, Netherlands, and Swedish PEN Centers. In 1998 he was a recipient
of a PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. He is married to Jin
Yanming, and has one child.
PEN considers Liu Jingsheng to be detained in violation of his right
to freedom of expression and association as guaranteed by Articles 19 and
22 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and is
calling for his immediate and unconditional release.