Press release (ICPC-4-ENGS003)
23 October 2009
Liu Xiaobo formally arrested for four months: US President Obama Visits China Next Month;
Call on the Nobel Peace Prize Recipient to Demand the Chinese Government Release all Prisoners of Conscience
Dr. Liu Xiaobo, prominent Beijing writer and honorary president of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre, has been formally arrested for four months. He has been detained for ten months and accused of inciting subversion of state power simply because in December last year he took part in drafting Charter 08, which demands that the Chinese government improve its political system and human rights situation, and because he penned several articles critical of government officials. He is one of many writers and human rights defenders to be imprisoned and prosecuted for this offence.
US President Obama received this years Nobel Peace Prize on 9 October. He will visit Beijing and Shanghai on 15-18 November to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao. On 1 October 2009, the 60th anniversary of the Peoples Republic of China, the US House of Representatives passed a resolution with a majority vote of 410 votes in favour, 21 abstentions and 1 vote opposed, to demand for the immediate release of Liu Xiaobo. Therefore, we call on President Obama
to live up to the objective of the Nobel Peace Prize and the duties it entails. When he meets with Chinese leaders, he should ask the Chinese government to release all prisoners of conscience, including writers and human rights defenders who were imprisoned and prosecuted for their human rights work.
We, therefore, demand that President Obama:
1) Realize the mission of the Nobel Peace Prize and demand the Chinese Government release all imprisoned writers and prisoners of conscience
2) Respond to the resolution passed by the US House of Representatives demanding the immediate release of Liu Xiaobo
We also call on all other heads of state to use their influence to persuade the Chinese government to release Liu Xiaobo and all imprisoned writers and prisoners of conscience.
Co-signed by
Independent Chinese PEN Centre
PEN American Center
Austrian PEN
PEN Canada
German PEN
French PEN
Justice and Peace Commission of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese
China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group
Scottish PEN
German Writers Abroad PEN
Karin Clark, former chairperson of Writers-in-Prison Committee of the
International PEN
Marian Botsford Fraser, current chairperson of Writers-in-Prison
Committee of the International PEN
Edwood Kovac, Committee member of Writers-in-Prison Committee of the
International PEN
Pakistani PEN
Serbian PEN
Slovenian PEN
Russian PEN
Vietnamese WritersAbroad PEN
Uighur PEN
Tartar PEN
Hungarian PEN
Taipei Chinese PEN
Swiss Romand PEN
Tibetan Writers Abroad
Zambian PEN
Basque PEN
Dutch PEN
Turkish PEN
Mongolian PEN
Swiss Italian PEN
Italian Trieste PEN
Swiss German PEN
Swedish PEN
Polish PEN
Portuguese PEN
Slovakian PEN
New Zealand PEN
Norwegian PEN
Kurdish PEN
Kazakh PEN
Egyptian PEN
Moroccan PEN
Japanese PEN
Korean PEN
Belarus PEN
Haitian PEN
Galician PEN
Italian PEN
Lithuanian PEN
Belgian PEN
Algerian PEN
Croatian PEN
Sierra Leone PEN
Danish PEN
Czech PEN
Nepal PEN
Sydney PEN
Melbourne PEN
Bulgarian PEN
Colombian PEN
Cuban PEN
English PEN
Iran PEN
Hong Kong Journalist Association
Hong Kong Christian Institute
Beijing Spring
Qis Cultural Foundation
Princeton China Initiative
Christians For Hong Kong Society
Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee
Laogai Research Foundation
Deng Liberty Foundation
Taipei Society