We, the undersigned members and friends of PEN American Center, are writing to ask you to join PEN’s efforts to free dozens of writers currently held in prisons in the People’s Republic of China and to end US involvement in internet censorship and the suppression of freedom of expression in China.

There are at least 39 writers and journalists imprisoned in China for exercising their right to speak and write freely, as guaranteed under Chinese and international law. Chinese authorities continue to harass and detain our colleagues in violation of their right to freedom of expression despite official promises to respect essential rights in this Olympic year.

Many of our imprisoned colleagues were detained for writings they disseminated on the internet. We are deeply troubled that American companies have been complicit in China’s efforts to suppress the free flow of information and ideas over the internet, and we deplore the fact that user information provided by an American internet service provider led to the imprisonment of four Chinese cyber-dissidents, among them our colleague Shi Tao, who is currently serving a ten-year sentence for “illegally divulging state secrets abroad.”

As the Beijing Olympics approach, we believe the United States has both an obligation and an important opportunity to advance human rights and freedom of expression in China. We ask you, as our elected representatives, to show your concern for our Chinese colleagues and your commitment to expanding the rights of all China’s citizens to express themselves freely by:

• Appealing for the release of any of the 39 imprisoned writers and journalists in any communications you have with Chinese representatives and officials this year; and

• Sponsoring and working to assure the passage of the Global Online Freedom Act of 2007 (H.R. 275), a bill that would bar American internet service providers from assisting China and other governments in censoring the internet and persecuting cyber-dissidents.


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