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International Community Calls for Release of Chinese Dissident
December 22, 2009
By: Randi Zung | Printer Friendly

On December 15, the Chinese government warned Western countries to stop calling for the release of detained Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo.  According to Reuters, Liu was formally charged on December 10 with “inciting subversion of state power” for publishing essays that critiqued the ruling Communist Party and for attempting to organize a pro-democracy petition called Charter 08 that called for democratic reform.  Liu, 53, who has been active in the Chinese dissident community since Tiananmen Square in 1989, could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

According to the BBC, the European Union called for Liu’s release while the United States urged China to respect all of its citizens’ universally recognized freedoms.  Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said that Western interference was disrespectful to China’s judicial policies, stating: “We oppose any external forces using this case to meddle in China's internal affairs or judicial sovereignty.”

Voice of America reports that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke out against the imprisonment of Liu a day after being warned by the Chinese government not to meddle in its internal affairs.  In a statement written by Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P.J. Crowley, it stated that the US’s position on Liu will remain static by continuing to call for the dissident’s release.  In her address, Clinton asserted that the tactic of public criticism was sometimes the only way to influence countries to change their repressive tactics. 

Liu, who was detained on December 8, 2008, was sentenced to 11 years in prison on December 25, 2009 on charges of "inciting subversion of state power," according to the network Chinese Human Rights Defenders. CHRD sees this as further efforts by the Chinese government to quell any dissent or public calls for greater democratization.

K. Anthony Appiah, president of PEN - American Center, wrote, "If you care about the fate of free expression in China and around the world, and you would like to support this courageous man, I hope you will consider helping in PEN's campaign for his release... Liu's "crime" was to have published 224 Chinese characters since 2005, whose translations you will find at:

http://www.pen.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/4452/prmID/172

More up to date information on this case may be found on PEN's website: http://www.pen.org/page.php/prmID/1527

Sources:
Voice of America - US Reiterates Call for Release of Chinese Dissident
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/asia/US-Reiterates-Call-for-Release-of-Chinese-Dissident-79347772.html

BBC News - China rejects calls to free dissident Liu Xiaobo
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8413144.stm

Reuters - China warns West from taking up dissident case
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BE12C2009121

Chinese Human Rights Defenders - Liu Xiaobo Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison
http://crd-net.org/Article/Class9/Class10/200912/20091225123444_19092.html