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| PEN Protests Crackdown on ICPC |
On December 27, 2007, PEN American Center
issued the following letter of protest to Chinese President Hu Jintao.
December 27, 2007
His Excellency Hu Jintao
President of the People’s Republic of China
State Council
Beijing 100032
People’s Republic of China
Your Excellency:
We are writing on behalf of the 3,400 members of PEN American Center, an international organization of writers dedicated to protecting freedom of expression wherever it is threatened, to protest actions taken by Chinese authorities in Beijing and elsewhere that prevented our colleagues at the Independent Chinese PEN Center (ICPC) from gathering for their annual dinner in Beijing on December 22, 2007.
According to our information, Chinese police detained at least two writers, Li Jianhong and Liao Yiwu, and issued warnings and posted guards outside the homes of several others to prevent the ICPC from holding an informal awards dinner that was scheduled to take place in the Xin Kai Yuan Hotel on the evening of December 22, 2007. Li, a Shanghai-based poet and prominent ICPC member who was to receive this year’s Lin Zhao Memorial Award, was reportedly placed under house arrest on December 14, and then detained at a hotel in Shanghai, where she was held until December 23. She was reportedly informed that she had been arrested at the request of the Beijing Police Security Bureau’s National Security Unit, and told that police were determined to prevent the dinner from taking place.
We further understand that the evening’s other scheduled honoree, renowned poet and 2007 Freedom to Write Award honoree Liao Yiwu, was detained on December 21 and interrogated until police officers from his home city of Chengdu arrived to assume custody. They reportedly escorted him back to Chengdu the following day. Meanwhile, police guards began appearing at the homes of several other dinner organizers and invitees on the afternoon of December 21, many of whom also received phone calls warning them not to attend the program. The police did not disperse until after 7:00 p.m. on December 22.
These actions clearly violate guarantees of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, and contribute to increasing concerns over the direction of human rights in China in advance of the 2007 Olympic Games. The reports of the crackdown on the Independent Chinese PEN Center followed reports earlier this month that authorities have jailed writer Wang Dejia (pen name Jing Chu), bringing the number of writers and journalists PEN believes are being held in Chinese prisons in violation of the right to freedom of expression to 41.
PEN vigorously protests the detentions of our ICPC colleagues and the forced cancellation of their annual gathering. We respectfully request that Chinese authorities stop monitoring and interfering with the movements of ICPC members and cease attempts to restrict ICPC activities. We furthermore entreat you to guarantee the right of ICPC members and all our colleagues in China to communicate with one another, to gather peacefully, and to carry out their literary and free-expression related activities as guaranteed by international and Chinese law.
Sincerely,
Francine Prose
President
Larry Siems
Director, Freedom to Write and International Programs
Cc: H. E. Mr. Zhou Wenzhong
Ambassador of the People's Republic of China in the U.S.
2201 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.
Washington D.C. 20007
Fax: (202) 588-9760
Email: chinaembassy_us@fmprc.gov.cn
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