WiPC 2009 Resolution: China

The Assembly of Delegates of International PEN, meeting at its 75th International Congress in Linz, Austria, 19-25 October 2009

Welcomes the releases of PEN members YAN Zhengxue and ZHANG Lin due to the respective reductions of their sentences, since the last Congress of International PEN in October 2008.

Considering the continuous suppression of the right to freedom of expression throughout China since the closing of Beijing Olympics in September 2008, from its capital city of Beijing on its 20th anniversary of Tiananmen Massacre to the inland province of Sichuan on its anniversary of the 12 May 2008 earthquake disaster, to the coastal province of Zejiang which has the most frequent imprisonments based on writings, to the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao, the Autonomous Regions of Tibet, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia;

Alarmed by the relentless harassment of and attacks against Chinese intellectuals, particularly the arbitrary arrests of Internet writers and journalists of whom over 40 are currently imprisoned, thus maintaining China's position as the country holding the largest number of writers and journalists in the world;

Disturbed by the continued use of administrative detention, including the infamous "Re-education Through Labour" (RTL) system, to jail dissident writers for up to 3 years without the due process guaranteed under its own laws;

Further Disturbed by the increasing abuse of China's Criminal Law by arbitrarily charging dissident writers, outspoken journalists and independent publishers with criminal offences to suppress freedom of expression and the press, in particular "endangering the social/national security", "(inciting) subversion of state power", "illegally holding/leaking state secrets" and "illegal business practices"; also disturbed by the rise of criminal defamation charges to imprison those who expose official corruption;

Worried about growing Internet censorship throughout the country, in which thousands of websites are blocked, popular Chinese Internet forums discussing sensitive issues closed, and online writers and journalists harassed and imprisoned for their allegedly ‘subversive' publication of critical reports and commentaries on overseas websites, including the sentences against including the sentences against CHEN Daojun (3 years), YUAN Xianchen (4 years), ZHANG Qi (4 years) and GUO Quan (10 years) on the charge of "subversion", as well as the prosecutions and trials of HUANG Qi, TAN Zuoren and FAN Yanqiong.

Shocked by the increasing persecution of Independent Chinese PEN Centre (ICPC) members, including the imprisonment of SHI Tao (10 years), ZHANG Lin (5 years), YANG Tongyan (12 years), ZHANG Jianhong (6 years), YAN Zhengxue (3 years), DU Daobin (3 years), and particularly LIU Xiaobo, Board member and former President who was detained on 8 December 2008 for launching Charter 08; the
interrogation, harassment, threatening, attacking, brief detention, travel restrictions, and surveillance of
more than 40 members, including its Vice-president JIANG Qisheng, Board Members YU Jie, ZHAO Shiying and WANG Yi, Secretary-general ZHANG Xiaogang ad his Deputy JIANG Bo, Writers in Prison Committee Coordinator ZHANG Yu, Network Committee Cordinaror WU Wei, and members WEN Kejian, ZAN Aizong, TENG Biao, LI Jianhong, LIAO Yiwu, SUN Wenguang, LI Changyu, QIN Geng, LIU Di, LIU Shui, XIONG Zhongjun, LI Jianqiang, ZHOU Yuanzhi, HE Weifang, ZHOU Duo, WANG Guangze, WANG Debang, ZHAO Hui, XU Xiang and LIU Jianyong;

Further shocked by the increasing threats, attacks and imprisonment of human rights lawyers representing the cases of dissident writers and rights defenders, increasingly targeted for the practice of their profession and critical writings.;

Outraged by the violent crackdown on the largely peaceful protests in Lhasa on 14 March 2008 in many other areas since then, and China's continued imposition of repressive measures in the autonomous regions of Tibet, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang Uighur. Particularly concerned about the crackdown on originally peaceful protests in Urumchi on 5 July 2009, which has resulted in the blocking of many Uyghur language websites and the arrest of hundreds of Uyghur internet writers and bloggers, including Iham Tohti, a Beijing-based university professor and the webmaster of the Uyghur Online website;

Urges the government of the People's Republic of China to:

Stop the harassment and persecution of ICPC members, and lift all restrictions on their freedom to exit and enter mainland China, particularly to attend International PEN and other international conferences;
Cease its efforts to censor cyberspace and to immediately release all Internet writers jailed for peacefully expressing their opinions
Release all prisoners in the autonomous regions of Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia who have been detained in violation of their right to freedom of expression, including Tibetan writers and journalists Dawa Gyaltsen, Jampel Gyatso, Dolma Kyab and, Uighur writers Abdulghani Memetemin, Nurmuhemmet Yasin, and Iham Tohti, and Mongolian writer Hada;
Release all imprisoned writers and journalists in China, including
LIU Xiaobo, SHI Tao, ZHANG Lin, YANG Tianshui, ZHANG Jianhong, YAN Zhengxue, DU Daobing, HUANG Jinqiu, ZHENG Yichun, KONG Youping, XU Zerong, XU Wei, JIN Haitao, LI Zhi, LU Jianhua, WANG Xiaoning, GUO Qizhen, YANG Maodong, CHEN Shuqing, LU Gengsong, HU Jia, QI Chonghai, CHEN Daojun, YUAN Xianchen, ZHANG Qi, ZENG Hongling, and HUANG Qi,;
Ratify its signature of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in October 1998;
Engage in a complete and meaningful reform of the Chinese legal system in accordance with international standards and its own Constitution to guarantee fair trials, the full rights of defence and appeal, the legal practices of attorneys, and a prison system that ensures the health and safety of inmates; particularly to cease the practice of using the charge of "subversion" against writers and of "holding/leaking state secrets" against journalists; and to abandon the infamous Re-education Through Labour system.