Statement from US Senate Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Statement from US Senate Speaker Nancy Pelosi

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the
following statement today on the European Parliament’s decision to award the
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Hu Jia, a Chinese human rights
activist currently imprisoned by the Chinese government.

Since 1988, the Sakharov Prize has been awarded to individuals or
organizations for their efforts on behalf of human rights and fundamental
freedoms and against oppression and injustice. Past recipients of the prize
have included Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma.

“The announcement that Hu Jia has been awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom
of Thought is welcome news for all those who fight for freedom and human
rights in China and Tibet. In addition to advancing human rights, Hu has
diligently worked to raise awareness of the needs of AIDS patients and
environmental protection – issues the Chinese government must acknowledge. The
European Parliament is to be commended for its bold decision.

“Hu Jia is in prison for criticizing the Chinese government’s record on human
rights, most recently, his call on the international community to hold Beijing
responsible for its promises to improve these rights before the 2008 Summer
Olympics. He is risking his life, family and freedom so he can speak the
truth. I call on the Chinese government to immediately and unconditionally
release Hu Jia from prison and to respect the fundamental freedoms of all the
people in China.”
SOURCE Office of the Speaker of the House

Chinese Bloggers Win Big at Best of Blogs Awards

Chinese bloggers made a strong showing at this year’s The Best of Blogs awards (aka “The BOBs”), an international blog competition organized by German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle. According to the BOBs’ Web site, it claims to be the world’s largest international blog contest, with awards offered in 11 different language categories by both expert juries and public voting online.

Beijing lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan was awarded the jury prize for best Chinese blog. Liu, who was featured in an earlier WSJ story here, writes a widely read blog on legal and social issues of interest.

Zeng Jinyan, the wife of jailed human rights activist Hu Jia, shared the special jury award from Reporters Without Borders with 4equality, a Persian women’s rights blog from Iran. Zeng, who lives under house arrest in Beijing along with her one-year-old daughter, uses her blog to communicate her experiences of life under surveillance and to share information about her husband’s status.

A Chinese blog also took the people’s choice award for best overall blog. Science Guru, a popular group blog, covers scientific topics for a general audience. According to Xinhua (in Chinese), the blog was started by Ph.D. student Ji Xiaohua and about 20 friends earlier this year. By late July, Science Guru boasted over 80 frequent contributors

We sought out responses from Zeng Jinyan and Liu Xiaoyuan on their awards.

We were unable to reach Zeng by phone today, but on her blog, she touched on the award and her blogging within a post titled “Thanksgiving.” Below are some excerpts.

On receiving news of the award:

“Tonight [Nov. 27] at dusk, as I brought the baby in from the cold, I got a call from a Deutsche Welle staffer who said my blog had won this year’s special prize and asked how I felt. At the time my exhausted and slow brain didn’t respond, and I said I didn’t have any special feeling, but in fact I’m very happy.”

On her blogging beginnings:

“When I first started blogging in 2005, I never even considered the questions, ‘What is a blog? What is the purpose of a blog? What sort of impact can blogging have on my life?’ I just thought it would be fun after seeing a friend’s blog. So I started keeping an online diary, restricted to friends, where I could share my daily life and thinking, and we could comment and discuss with one another. I’ve been in the habit of keeping a diary since I was young. I didn’t write every day, but when I had some thoughts I’d write them down, or I’d write poetry, essays and strange stories. When I was in a bad mood, confiding in my diary would help me to relax and recover.”

On the development of her blog:

[After Hu Jia disappeared in February 2006], I began to feel very anxious, looking for Hu Jia everywhere, I recorded this experience on the blog. After about two months, I realized that by making the blog public, it would draw the attention of more people who could help in the search for Hu Jia. But at that time, I still didn’t understand the function of blogging, it was mainly like sticking to the old methods of writing a daily email to friends to tell them about the progress of the search for Hu Jia.

After Hu Jia returned from his 41-day disappearance, for a while I was at a loss about what to do with my blog… So I consulted with some elders, who gave me some very good ideas and encouraged me to continue writing.

In 2007, a friend told me that he didn’t want to read my blog anymore because it was full of depressing content… For a time, I also felt a heavy sense of weariness and took a pessimistic view of China’s human rights situation. But every time I see the suffering of rights defenders, petitioners and their families, every time I hear their appeals and pleas for help, I want the world to be able to hear their stories and [I want to] do my small part for the domestic rights movement.. In environments where the freedom of speech is restricted, blogs play an important and meaningful role.

…

Up to now, my views haven’t changed, in fact I am even more optimistic. Blogs can entirely become an independent media, as long as you persevere in speaking the truth, persevere in reporting the events that occur around you, and persevere in independent thinking.

from here

Zeng Jinyan: a Confession from the Prisoner at Freedom City

A Confession from the Prisoner at Freedom City

by Zeng Jinyan

The 22^nd letter from Hu Jia has arrived. But the 19^th and 21^st letters have both been confiscated. Hu Jia finally received the diary that I wrote on behalf of our daughter Baobao, even though two of the pages had been torn off and confiscated. Hu Jia had almost refrained from talking about things that had happened in the prison. He mentioned briefly that he had influenza and a temperature, and therefore could only sit for one examination. During my visits and in our letters, we mostly talked about small details of our everyday lives, including the way in which our child is growing up. As soon as we started to talk about something else, our conversation would be terminated, or our letters confiscated.

Today I took Baobao to Grandma and Grandpa. In the afternoon, the state security wanted to have a chat with me. As soon as we met, I told them that I was tired and was on the verge of a breakdown. So if it was good news, they could go ahead and tell me. Otherwise they should not bother.

But the state security insisted on talking to me…

On the way home at the Si Hui Bus Station, I burst into tears over some trivial matters. I can’t remember the last time I cried. Perhaps it was on the day when Hu Jia was sentenced.

I was back at Freedom City in the evening. When I entered the courtyard, I caught sight of some plain-clothed police; they were watching me from a well-illuminated spot. There was also an ordinary infrared camera on the roof above the gate. Every time I raised my head I could feel the blood red colour of the light blinding my sight.

What I’m writing now can be used as a confession to the state security police. It’s also a confession I made to myself and to Hu Jia. When Hu Jia has a chance to read it in future, he will understand.

I will object to any plan to extend Hu Jia’s prison terms or to impose harsher penalties on him, even though I am aware that there is little I can do to reverse the decision. I would be most delighted if he would be released ahead of schedule, because I so much look forward to his return. We may not have carefully thought through the way we handle our work on environmental protection, on AIDS, and on human rights. We therefore welcome criticisms and suggestions. But we are not members of any military establishment or political party. And we are definitely not a part of any conspiracy. We are simply a couple of naive, unsophisticated and powerless individuals who are trying our best to give a hand to those who need help. We are not too concerned about whether we are making a huge impact; we are only helping one person at a time.

You want me to persuade Hu Jia to correct his thoughts, as a way to speed up his release and his return to society. How would I not want him to come home soon? It is just that I don’t have a chance to do so. Whenever I write to Hu Jia about what happens in society, my letter will be confiscated. What else can I do? I don’t have much to live for. I only struggle to stay alive for my child. If what you want is my life, then go ahead and take it, but leave me with my independent spirit and my free will. You are wrong if you think that you can solve your problems by taking away my independence and my will. For me, the simplest solution would be for you to end my life. I have no right to abandon my life; only the Divine can do that. Not all evil and wrongdoings in the world involve one life form taking away its own life or the lives of others; it is also wrong and evil to enslave others, be it physical or spiritual enslavement.

I am exhausted. I am far too busy looking after my child. She seems to have developed a deep sense of insecurity and is clinging to me so closely as if she is afraid that she may lose me if she let go. It is so bad that sometimes I can’t even enjoy a proper hot meal. I am suffering from severe back pain. My arms have no strength. I am not sleeping well and have become absent-minded … I can’t find the strength to respond to many things happening around me. So those of you with grievances against an organization, a person, or someone’s opinion, would have to go directly to them to have things sorted out. I have neither the power nor the right to demand others to say something or not to say something. Those who do good deeds; they will get praise. Those who do evil; they will sooner or later be condemned. This is a common practice everywhere in the world, including China. It goes without saying.

I have just read from Xinhua News that the Chinese government has decided to establish a national human rights action plan to map out the development of human rights in China for the next two years…

China will take United Nations Human Rights Council’s universal periodic review

Foreign ministry: Chinese government will continue to work for human rights

[Links in Ms Zeng's post are all in Chinese.  China Digital Times has more details about China's human rights action plan.]

There is nothing more basic than to respect human rights, to show concern for humanity and to honour the dignity of mankind. Do you dare to look on what you have done? What you have done to us – the misery and sufferings you have brought to us – has been done on the foundations of human rights abuse.

I’m invoking the Almighty Buddha to give me faith, to guide my trembling hands, to give me his mercy, to end my tears and sorrow, and to keep my feeble heart from losing hope.

from: zengjinyan