Category Archives: Tienchi Martin-Liao

Tienchi Martin-Liao has been the president of the Independent Chinese PEN Center in 2009-2013 and since February 2016. Previously she worked at the Institute for Asian Affairs in Hamburg, Germany, and lectured at the Ruhr-University Bochum from 1985 to 1991. She became head of the Richard-Wilhelm Research Center for Translation in 1991 until she took a job in 2001 as director of the Laogai Research Foundation (LRF) to work on human rights issues. She was at LRF until 2009. Martin-Liao has served as deputy director of the affiliated China Information Center and was responsible for updating the Laogai Handbook and working on the Black Series, autobiographies of Chinese political prisoners and other human rights books.

Tienchi Martin-Liao: The 228 Incident is the Legacy of the Taiwanese People

The February 28 Incident, or “228,” was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan against the Kuomintang (KMT) that resulted in a number of deaths, estimated anywhere from 10,000-50,000. Taiwan’s process of historical reflection and apology for the 1947 incident highlights tension between the ways in which both China and Taiwan deal with their individual and shared histories. Continue reading

Tienchi Martin-Liao : Two Forgotten Spies: Bianca Tam and Antonio Riva

Foreigners in China, in the mid-twentieth century, were active in the resistance against the burgeoning Communist regime. The stories of two Italian spies have been largely lost in history. Tienchi Martin-Liao seeks to shine light on the pair’s forgotten histories by retelling the story their opposite fates.

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Tienchi Martin-Liao: Brave Man, Gao Zhisheng, Stands Up Against Chinese State Power

The censorship of human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng’s new prison memoir shows that the Chinese authorities are aware of the human rights atrocities that are being committed within the justice system.

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Tienchi Martin-Liao: Elegy of a Chinese Peasant Woman

while-their-parents-go-to-work-in-the-cities-children-in-rural-china-are-left-behind

While their parents go to work in the cities, children in rural China are left behind and inherit generational poverty. Image via: Wikimedia Commons.

A tragedy in rural China highlights the socioeconomic divides that have left rural peasant women behind.

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Tienchi Liao: An empty chair for Liu xiaobo on the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony

liu-xiaobo-nobel-prizeTo Chair Woman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee
Mrs. Kaci Kullmann

Former Chairman
Mr. Thorbjorn Jagland

Dear Mrs. Kullmann,
Dear Mr. Jagland,

The 2010 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mr. Liu Xiaobo is still kept in prison in China, he is serving his 11 years imprisonment and will not be released till 2020. Continue reading

Tienchi Martin-Liao: The Unwelcome Chinese

chinese-tourists-in-edinburgh

Chinese tourists in Edinburgh. Image via Wikimedia Commons

Although insulting, Chen Pokong’s book is accurate in portraying a China that indulges in capitalistic consumption.

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Tienchi Martin-Liao: The Muppet Show in Court

gao-yu-on-tv

Image via YouTube user: Hong Kong Free Press

Human rights lawyers and journalists are being intimidated by the Chinese government into public confession and denunciation of human rights efforts.

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The Old Man and His Magazine

Tienchi Martin-Liao-Yanhuang ChunqiuThe shutdown of an esteemed liberal Chinese newspaper by government affiliates reveals the Chinese Revolution devouring its own. Continue reading