Tag Archives: Wang Lixiong

RAN 15/15

23 December 2015

 PEN International is deeply concerned at the news that prominent Chinese author Wang Lixiong was barred from traveling to Japan  on 16 December 2015 apparently due to concerns that his visit would “damage national security.” The Japanese translation of his 1991 novel “Yellow Peril” about an apocalyptic civil war in China went on sale in Japan in November 2015. Wang is known for his critical views of the Chinese authorities’ treatment of minorities. Arrested in 1999, he spent 42 days in prison, and has been placed under house arrest several times, including most recently in July 2014 with his wife, Tibetan writer Tsering Woeser during the visit to China of US Secretary of State John Kerry.  PEN International is calling for the travel ban to be lifted, as it is a violation of the right to freedom of movement and to freedom of expression, as provided under Articles 12 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory.   Continue reading →