HRIC Action Bulletin: Activist Hu Jia Arrested

Human Rights in China (HRIC) website has a very good post regarding Hu Jia and Jinyan with a little information on what’s happened to them, key facts and a easily readable chronology. It also includes press work, appeals and other useful information. It’s worth checking the bulletin occasionally. I will add it to the links page for future reference.

Links of 02 02 2008

1) A letter written to by Amnesty International to the Peoples Republic of China - The Olympics countdown – one year left to fulfil human rights promises.

Introduction – rights in the balance

With just one year to go before the Olympics take place in Beijing, many in China and abroad are beginning to look ahead to assess the likely legacy of the Games for human rights in China. In this update, Amnesty International summarizes recent developments on four key human rights issues the organization is monitoring ahead of August 2008 and assesses how far these meet promises made by Chinese officials to improve human rights in the run-up to the Olympics.[continues...]

2) China arrests prominent dissident

By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer. December 30, 2007

The Internet activist and his wife were already under house arrest for criticizing the government online. As the Olympics approach, such detentions are on the rise.[continues...]

3) An open letter was sent to Gordon Brown on the 20th January 2008. Here is the “link” to the site.

4) HOW CYBER-CENSORS BLOCKED DISSEMINATION OF REPORT ON INTERNET CENSORSHIP - 01 February 2008

How not to fight HIV/Aids

The charity founded by Bill Gates is pouring millions into combating HIV in China. But it’s repeating old mistakes.

By Joe Amon - Guardian Unlimited

Read Article

Prisoners in Freedom City

I’ve been wondering when someone would post Prisoners in Freedom City on Youtube. Now someone finally has. It’s Hu Jia and Zeng Jinyan’s documentary, filmed in 2006, about his house arrest and her being constantly tailed. They turned the tables on the state, filming the very people who were watching over them.

Here’s Part 1.

The rest is here. It’s best played full-screen if you want to read the subtitles.

I’ve known about the film since early last year, but hadn’t seen more than a short clip until today. Would it be on Youtube now if Hu Jia had not been arrested in December? No. So who is to blame for making Hu Jia and Zeng Jinyan even more famous and state security seem all the more absurd? Is this what the state wants right now, this year? If Hu Jia hadn’t been under house arrest, this film would never have been made. If he hadn’t been arrested, there wouldn’t be a growing campaign to free him. Terrible publicity in a year when good publicity is more important than ever for the government. Hu Jia would be an annoyance to the state if he were free. He’s more than that in prison. It all would have been so much simpler if he had just been left alone - left to do what Hu Jia does. Hardly anyone would have heard about him or his wife.

I met Hu Jia five years ago. I don’t know him, but that day was enough for me to like him a lot. He was gentle, caring and deeply committed. I saw him again a couple of years later at a small fundraising event for AIDS orphans. He was happily snapping away with his camera and chatting with Gao Yaojie. Doing what Hu Jia does.

Every country has people like Hu Jia. Every country needs people like Hu Jia. They might be irritating to governments, but dangerous? Hu Jia used to be known in China for his environmental work. He was as passionate about that as he is about every issue he campaigns tirelessly for. No one knew about him outside of China. Why on Earth would the state want to make this tiny little guy into something so big? The more it cracks down on him, the bigger he gets.

There are a number of appeals people can sign or write if they want to do something for Hu Jia. Here’s one. Another I’ve just seen is by English PEN. And Amnesty International have an Urgent Action (PDF).

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This was written by rob. Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2008, at 7:11 am. Filed under China. Bookmark the permalink. Follow comments here with the RSS feed. Post a comment or leave a trackback.

from http://www.blackandwhitecat.org/2008/01/19/prisoners-in-freedom-city/

Is it related to you in the world?

narrate how this case related to the humanistic Olympic.

And list which people or group have support or appeal for them?(Such as the secritory European Union Committee, USA State Paliament)

The links of petition for Hujia on the website:

http://g0tbored.com/browse.php?u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5nb3BldGl0aW9uLmNvbS9wZXRpdGlvbnMvZGVtYW5kLWltbWVkaWF0ZS1yZWxlYXNlLW9mLWJlaWppbmctaHVtYW4tcmlnaHRzLWFjdGl2aXN0LWh1LWppYS9zaWduLmh0bWw%3D&b=31

Urgent! Save Hujia&Jinyan, now!

Statement on the Criminal Detention of Hu Jia
 
2008-1-7
 
At 3:00 on the afternoon of December 27, the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau placed well-known Beijing-based rights defender Hu Jia under criminal detention on “suspicion of incitement to subvert state power.”
 
Hu Jia has long contributed great effort to the causes of environmental protection, AIDS prevention and rights protection, and more recently has come under political pressure for his rights defense activities, as a result of which he was forced to discontinue his work in the AIDS field and lost his source of regular income.
Although as a human rights activist and freelance writer Hu Jia has been subjected to long-term house arrest because of his repeated issuing of statements and reports regarding China’s human rights situation and his criticism of the government and its officials, all of his statements and his actions have remained within the boundaries of the rights protected under the PRC Constitution, and have not in any instance constituted an incitement to subvert state power. For this reason, we feel that the Beijing Public Security Bureau’s criminal detention of Hu Jia is unacceptable.
 
2008 marks the first year that China will act as host to the Olympic Games, and it is also the 30th anniversary of China’s launching of the reform and opening policy. It is at this very time that China’s human rights situation has become a matter of particular concern domestically and in the international community, especially in regards to whether the Chinese government will honor the promises to improve human rights that it made at the time it submitted its bid to host the Olympics, and whether it will produce substantial concrete measures to prove that it has made practical efforts to improve human rights, in order to open the door to social reconciliation within China and dispel misgivings in the international community regarding China’s rise. The best way to seize the critical juncture of the Olympics to promote political advancement and improvement of human rights is for the Chinese government to cherish the tradition of ideological liberation under reform and opening, stand by its promises and implement these promises in practice, be true to the basic tenets of the PRC Constitution in regard to human rights and rule of law, and with sincerity and courage implement the International Covenant on Human Rights and the related international agreements and provisions regarding the protection of human rights, to demonstrate a posture of political enlightenment to the people of China and the world.
 
We therefore first of all urge the executive authorities to immediately release Hu Jia and restore his personal liberty as a citizen. Until Hu Jia’s freedom is restored, all of his rights in detention must be protected in accordance with law, including his right to physical care, his right to legal appeal, his right to engage legal counsel and his right to receive family visits.
 
Secondly, we call on everyone within China and in the international community to closely monitor Hu Jia’s physical well-being. Hu Jia suffers from cirrhosis of the liver, and life in custody has taken a heavy toll on his health; long-term custody could result in a health crisis.
 
We also call on all concerned persons within China and abroad to pay close attention to the predicament of Hu Jia’s family. When Hu Jia lost his freedom, he left behind an infant barely a month old and a family subjected to frequent house arrest. We urge the executive authorities to remove all restriction on the movements of Hu Jia’s family members, and to allow his wife and child to resume a normal living environment.
As the Beijing Olympics approach, whether it is from the angle of universal concepts of morality and justice and China’s own laws, or from the angle of basic humanitarianism, the Chinese government has no reason to disregard justice, trample the law, abandon its promises, and violate human decency by depriving Mr. Hu Jia of his basic human rights and limiting the basic rights of his family members.
 
Finally, we call on the governments of the free world, international human rights organizations and international public opinion to take an interest in the fate of Mr. Hu Jia, and at the same time we urge the Chinese government to return to the path of respecting human rights, abiding by law and honoring its promises.
 
Signatories (62):
 
Liu Xiaobo (Beijing, Freelance writer)
Zhang Zuhua (Beijing, political theorist)
Yu Haocheng, (Beijing, law scholar )
Zhang Xianyang (Bejing, research fellow of China Academy of Social Science)
Gao Yu (Beijing, journalist)
Liu Di (Bejing, freelance writer)
Chen Ziming (Beijing, scholar)
Zhao Dagong (Shenzhen, freelance writer)
Liao Yiwu (Chengdu, writer)
Xu Xiao (Bejing, writer)
Worse (Tibet, Writer)
Wang Lixiong (Beijing, Writer)
Jiang Danwen (Shanghai, writer)
Qin Geng (Hainan, writer)
Yu Jie (Beijing, Writer)
Zhang Yaojie (Bejing, historian, writer)
Ai Xiaoming (Guangzhou, professor)
Sun Wenguang (Jinan, professor)
Xia Yeliang (Beijing, economist)
Lu Xuesong (Jilin, scholar)
Wang Yi (Chengdu, Political theorist )
Jiao Guobiao (Beijing, writer)
Liang Xiaoyan (Bejing, editor)
Wang Xiaoping (Beijing, editor)
Xu Yinong (Beijing, Editor)
Liu Feiyue (Hubei, civil rights campaigner)
Liu Yiming (Hubei, freelance writer)
Zan Aizong (Hangzhou, journalist)
Li Yuanlong (Guizhou, freelance writer)
Wang Debang (Beijing, freelance writer)
Li Jian (Beijing, civil rights campaigner)
Teng Biao (Beijing, lawyer)
Jiang Tianyong (Bejing, lawyer)
Li Xiongbing (Beijing, lawyer)
Han Yicun (Beijing, lawyer)
Wen haibo (Beijing, lawyer)
Li Subin (Beijing, lawyer)
Li Heping (Beijing, lawyer)
Sun Jianfeng (Henan, civil rights campaigner)
Li Xige (Henan, civil rights campaigner)
Miaojue Cizhi (Guangdong, Buddhist)
Li Hai (Beijing, freelance writer)
Jiang Lijun (Liaoning, independent writer)
Wen Kejian (Hangzhou, self-employed)
Liu Jingsheng (Bejing, self-employed)
Wang Fei (Beijing, self-employed)
Ouyang Xiaorong (Yunnan, freelance writer)
Liu Ning (Beijing, writer)
Du Daobin (Hubei, freelance writer)
Li Jianhong (Shanghai, freelance writer)
Zhao Cheng (Shanxi, scholar)
Yang Kuanxing (Jinan, freelance writer)
Wang Zhijing (Wang Debang) (Beijing, freelance writer)
He Yongqin (Wen Kejian) (Hangzhou)
Jiang Fuzhen (Qingdao, self-employed)
Chen Xi (Guizhou, freelance writer)
Xing Jianshen (Shandong, peasant rights defender)
Heng Jiang (Hebei, peasant rights defender)
Hu Junxiong (Hubei, civil rights campaigner)
Tian Yongde (Inner Mogolia, civil rights campaigner)
Liu Dejun  (Hubei, jobless)
Wu Wei (Guangzhou, civil rights campaigner)
Zhzang Boshu(Beijing, scholar)
Mo Zhixu(Beijing, freelance writer)
 
Rules for signing this petition:
1) No anonymous signings
2) Sign with real name, or if using a pen name, include your real name after it
3) Following the name, provide your location and occupation
4) Send your name to the following email addresses: forhujia@gmail.com； forhujia2008@gmail.com
Translation by China Information Center

Dissidents, dams and Top Chinese

Well, another newspaper, and one which I often much admire for its eccentricity, yesterday decided to devote its front page to how this was going to be China’s year, the moment when, at last, China would bestride the world, like Caesar of old. Well, other journalists have said much the same, but not with the grandiloquence of this author.

“Here comes the world’s newest superpower,” he began. “China is set to make 2008 the year it asserts its status as a global colossus by flexing frightening economic muscle on international markets, enjoying unprecedented levels of domestic consumption and showcasing itself to a watching world with a glittering 20bn Olympic Games.” [continues...]

By Richard Spencer, Telegraph

Who will guard the guardians?

The following is a translation of a note by activist Hu Jia, after he and a group of activists took photos of the plainclothes officers assigned to follow them.“When you left [writing to lawyer Gao Zhisheng], Wang Guoqi looked out the window and watched the black Audis without license plates down below. After half an hour [after meeting with lawyer Gao Zhisheng], our group of over ten people went out of the restaurant. No sooner had we left the Jiutouwu restaurant that we noticed a Nissan Bluebird with two people in the back seat taking our picture. We immediately took out our own cameras and rushed over. When we approached, we saw that it was one of the cars that had kept us under surveillance during the visit of the United Nations Special Commisioner on Torture (I took a similar picture at that time as well).” [continues…]

This article is from China Digital Times.