Hujia&jinyan’s spirit

By Erik Kirschbaum - Reuters

BERLIN, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Under the slogan “We are all Chinese”, nine German Olympians have posed in their sports kit for a Munich magazine while holding pictures of Chinese dissidents in front of their faces.
The pictures were published on Friday in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung magazine under a headline recalling the famous 1963 “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech by U.S. President John F. Kennedy that paid tribute to West Berlin’s freedom after the Wall was built.
Swimmer Petra Dallmann was depicted holding a photograph in front of her face of Hu Jia, who the magazine said has often criticised human rights in China.[continues...]

From a number of sources, unfortunately all in chinese (google translate isn’t fantastic) as well as jinyan’s blog, a few activists who are asking for the release of Hu Jia are wanted by the police and are currently in hiding. The chinese link is “here” so you may read it using whatever translation tool you prefer.

From AI Australia

Amnesty International’s Secretary General Irene Khan has written an open letter to China’s President Hu Jintao.

8 July 2008
Your Excellency

With one month remaining until the much-anticipated start of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing, I ask you to take five steps toward the “development of human rights” pledged by the Beijing Olympics Bid Committee in 2001. Over the last year Amnesty International has collected hundreds of thousands of voices from around the world echoing this call. I join them in urging you to take this historic opportunity to act.

Amnesty International recognises the Chinese Government’s efforts to address some longstanding human rights concerns. I am particularly encouraged by the apparent progress made in reducing the use of the death penalty through the Supreme Peoples Court review process. [continues...]

AI Australia

Zeng Jinyan has received the letters that many supporters from around the world have written to her.

She and her husband, Hu Jia, are peaceful human rights activists in Beijing. Their activism included being advocates for human rights in China, blogging and making documentaries.

Following months of intimidation, Hu Jia was detained in December 2007 on suspicion of’inciting subversion of state power’. Zeng Jinyan has been under tight police surveillance since her husband’s arrest.

She has recently written to Amnesty International to thank all those who have sent letters encouraging her to remain hopeful, and informing her that international efforts continue to demand the release of her husband. [continues...]

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States is taking seriously reports that Chinese activists were subjected to a clampdown ahead of US-China talks this week on a range of human rights issues, a spokesman said Tuesday.
“We take these reports seriously. And we’re going to look into them,” said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

McCormack was responding to reporters’ questions about information from the Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD), relayed to Washington through the US-based AIDS victim group Critical Path.

CHRD reportedly said that Chinese authorities placed numerous activists under increased surveillance ahead of talks in Beijing this week between US and Chinese officials, the first such dialogue on human rights since 2002.

Among the cases cited by Chinese activists was Zeng Jinyan, who is a blogger, activist and wife of jailed dissident Hu Jia. She reportedly was visited on Friday and Saturday by authorities who barred her from leaving the house.[continues...]

Shanghai’s petitioners went on a hunger strike to call for Hu Jia’s release once more. 
 
The tenth hunger strike day, on March 15, 2008, Saturday, sunny 
During the eleventh CPPCC and NPC, the news that Hu Jia will be charged on March 18, was spread silently. 

Hu Jia is one more Chinese who retains a consciousness and a high morality and who defends human rights after Gao Zhisheng and Guo Feixiong who have already lost their freedom. This is also one more case to help the world realise the truth in China. He is a human rights defender who will be charged as five-year prisoner.   

Due to his advocating the truth in China through media, Hu Jia has been kidnapped, placed under house and detained by secret policemen many times, and even got hepatocirrhosis; which reminds us that the petitioner Duan Huiming, who has a strong body was beaten to death, Chen Xiaoming who was kidnapped and put into prison and then died due to lack of medicine and cure for his hepatitis B. Also we remember Gao Zhisheng and Guo Feixiong who were mistreated by a horrendous and cruel penalty. 

We are very worried about Hu Jia and his life, and therefore called for the national leaders, Hu Jintao, Wen Jiabao, Wu Bangguo to help and show their consciousness in releasing Hu Jia: 

Hu Jia loves his country and the Chinese people, without any motivation to incite and subvert the national power: for he has no capacity to do this, he just has a deep sympathy for Chinese bitter people and upright consciousness, and is brave enough to face and tell the truth.   

For the excellent Chinese human right defender, for his health and life, for his little daughter, for the social justice; 

We, Shanghais’ petitioners appeal for releasing Hu Jia once again, please release Hu Jia without requirement, and keep your word — one world, one dream. Don’t make another wrong case and neglect the legal responsibility.  

Hu Jia is a proud Chinese!

RFA 04 March 2008

HONG KONG-Authorities in the Chinese capital have detained around 1,000 people with grievances against the government ahead of the country’s annual parliament which opens in Beijing Wednesday, petitioners told RFA’s Mandarin service.

…Meanwhile, petitioners who tried to deliver calcium-enriched baby milk formula to Zeng Jinyan, the wife of detained AIDS and civil rights activist Hu Jia, were turned away at the door by national security police… [continues...]

Beijing Should Release Hu Jia and Drop Charges of Subversion(New York, February 26, 200 - The Chinese authorities should release leading human rights activist Hu Jia and drop charges of subversion against him, Human Rights Watch said today. The case of Hu Jia, who will as of February 27 have been detained for two months, has become emblematic of Beijing’s broad attempt to suppress dissent ahead of the Olympic Games.

“The longer Hu Jia is in detention, the worse China’s image will be,” said Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “With fewer than six months to go before the Olympics, the Chinese government has everything to gain and nothing to lose by releasing him.”

Human Rights Watch is concerned that Hu is being prosecuted simply for exercising his rights to freedom of opinion and expression as guaranteed by the Chinese constitution and international human rights law. The crime of “incitement to subvert state power” as defined under Chinese law criminalizes criticism of the government and the Communist Party of China in violation of human rights law. [continues...]

RSF China 26 February 2008

Government urged to heed appeals for release of Hu Jia, who begins third month in detention

Reporters Without Borders reiterates its call for the release of human rights activist Hu Jia, who will tomorrow begin his third month of detention by the Beijing public security bureau on a charge of inciting subversion of state authority, while his wife, Zeng Jinyan, and their baby girl, now three and a half months old, continue to be closely watched by the political police.

“Hu Jia’s arrest and indictment just a few months before the start of the Beijing Olympic Games was a blatant provocation that prompted a series of protests in China and abroad”, the press freedom organisation said.

“The Beijing authorities continue for the time being to turn a deaf ear to the calls for his release, but we hope the government will be forced to intercede on his behalf, as it already did for Ching Cheong and Yu Huafeng”, Reporters Without Borders added. “The release of all journalists and cyber-dissidents before the start of the Games is one of our demands”.

More than one thousand Internet users have already signed the petition for Hu’s release on the Reporters Without Borders website: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=25197 [continues...]

Human rights defender,the petitioner Zheng Mingfang, who is from Tianjin, is almost blinded due to brutal beaten by the authority. In January she started to support Hu Jia using all kinds of methods, including introducing Hu Jia’s endeavors to people in the street. Up to now she has collected hundreds of signatures to call for the release Hu Jia, even from one communist cadre who wanted to grant 100RMB to her and said, he is very sorry and didn’t know these political prisoners were in such a difficult situation; “This government is so dark and always uses hoodlum approaches. I’m very angry and want to stand with you.”

Zheng Mingfang is also one who has accepted the help from Hu Jua. Several months ago, Hu Jia drove to Tianjin and sent a lot milk and instant noodles to her and her husband; they spent two days without rice to cook.Hu Jia actually was placed under house in that time and broke through the blockade but was followed by two cars with policemen all the time. Zheng Mingfang condemned the current authority and wrote a public letter To Hu Jia in Prison on internet, this letter declaimed that she will stand with him and use her life to protect human rights.

At the same time, many netizens called for and support this couple although they haven’t seen them, using indirect or brunt words to condemn the persecution.

One active netizen (it is inconvenient to publish his name) said he had been interviewed by the security policeman recently. He had called for the Beijing government to release Hu Jia immediately in his blog, and attached this couple’s picture and wrote: Chinese citizen are welcoming Olympic with handcuffs under the post.

This blogger said, at beginning he was curious about why this couple’s information was blocked by the authority. Through proxy he found out the truth and started to support this couple, not only from a humaine perspective, but also because he realized that in this country, without just human rights, the same thing will happen on him on some day: “Many people didn’t know this couple initially, but after saw the video “Prisoners in Freedom City”were moved. Young people are curious and want to know the truth. This couple are honesty, upright citizens with love and consciousness, they are mistreated and intruded one by the government use of public rights, wrongly charged, if you don’t take any action, tomorrow, you, as honesty, upright citizen with love and consciousness also will be treated like this couple by the authority.” I built the blog to spread this information and later these words were deleted artificially.

Right now the current authority has banned any information of Hu Jia and Zeng Jinyan, while the voice of support has surpassed the Chinese group on internet. There are more than 25000 clicks on their video “Prisoners in Freedom City”on youtube, and more than two hundred people entered the facebook website page which also supports Hu Jia.

Please see The public letter to Hu Jia in prison from Zheng Mingfang, and pictures of Zheng Mingfang and signatures.

See a copy of the translated version “here“