Writers in Prison (3)

Today we are featuring Zhu Yufu (朱虞夫), a veteran Democracy Wall activist in the late 1970s and an editor of the Opposition Party (在野党) magazine which carried articles about the China Democratic Party in 1998-99. Zhu was convicted of “subversion of state power” in 1999 and served seven years in prison.  Zhu was taken away by police in March of 2011, criminally detained on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power.” He wrote and shared a poem, “It’s Time!,” during online calls for “Jasmine Rallies” in early 2011. The poem by Zhu was cited as evidence and used to convict him. Zhu was again sentenced to seven years in prison in February 2012.

“It’s Time!,”

English translation by A. E. Clark:

It’s time, people of China! It’s time.
The Square belongs to everyone.
With your own two feet
It’s time to head to the Square and make your choice.
It’s time, people of China! It’s time.
A song belongs to everyone.
From your own throat
It’s time to voice the song in your heart.
It’s time, people of China! It’s time.
China belongs to everyone.
Of your own will
It’s time to choose what China shall be.

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More:

CHRD: Prisoner of Conscience – Zhu Yufu

http://chrdnet.com/2011/09/08/prisoner-of-conscience-zhu-yufu/

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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?