Writers in Prison (1)

Protesting against the organizers of the London Book Fair 2012 who have not featured in their programme any writers imprisoned by the Chinese regime, this blog will be highlighting one such writer every day leading to the book fair. Although this will only show the tip of the iceberg of today’s ‘literary persecution’ under the rule of the CCP, I hope it will make more people realize the necessity of our daily question: Why haven’t British Council and London Book Fair invited Liu Xiaobo and other writers imprisoned by the CCP?

Today we are featuring Liu Xiaobo, the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Liu’s conviction was based entirely on his writings, nonviolent expressions of his own opinions. Along with Charter 08, six articles written by Liu between October 2005 and July 2007 were cited as evidence and used to convict him. These articles include:

    - “CCP’s Dictatorial Patriotism,” in which Liu points out that the CCP government has no democratic legitimacy to represent the Chinese people, nor does its ideology, including “officially-promoted patriotism,” speak for Chinese culture;

    - “Who Said Chinese People Only Deserve Accepting ‘Party-Rule Democracy?’” In this article, Liu criticizes a white paper issued by the Information Office of the State Council, entitled “China’s Construction of Democratic Democracy,” for rejecting the universality of democratic rights;

    - “Political Reform through Social Change,” in which Liu advocates non-violent disobedience, calling on citizens to stand up against repression.

    - “Many Facets of CCP Dictatorship,” in which Liu tries to explain that widespread corruption is a symptom of the growing illegitimacy of the CCP’s dictatorial rule.

    - “Negative Impact of Rising Dictatorship on Democratization,” in which Liu criticizes President Hu Jintao’s foreign policy of “promising China’s commitment to peaceful rise;”

    - “Follow-up Questions about the Case of Illegal Child Labor Brick Factories”, denouncing the government’s cover-up and disregard for the lives of young children.

His other works: http://www.liuxiaobo.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layo…

The arrest and conviction of Liu Xiaobo have been marred by violations of Liu’s legal, constitutional, and human rights. His wife, Liu Xia, herself a poet, has been under house arrest since 10 October 2010. By the way, today is Liu Xia’s birthday. Happy birthday to Liu Xia!