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Appeal for freedom of speech in China Fifty-four Chinese
citizens have received prison sentences of between two and twelve years for expressing
and exchanging opinions on the Internet. The true figure is believed to be very
much higher. JUST
Response urgently invites Hu Jintao (top left), President of the People's Republic of
China, Premier Wen Jiabao (lower left)
and Jiang Zemin, former
President and now Head of
the Central Military Commission, to order the immediate release of
prisoners and recognise the basic human right of freedom of expression
for all who live in China. Mr. Hu
Jintao Mr. Wen
Jiabao Mr. Jiang
Zemin The good people of China RE: Request for: 1) the unconditional release of at least fifty-four Chinese citizens who have been imprisoned for expressing and exchanging opinions on the Internet; 2) full observation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) signed by China in 1998; 3) the immediate recognition and establishment of the basic human right of freedom of expression for all who live in China JUST Response is an international human rights journal concerned with the worldwide monitoring and promotion of the basic principles of truth, justice, freedom and democracy. We wish to express our full support for the 54 Chinese citizens who have been jailed for expressing and disseminating their opinions on the Internet, as reported by Amnesty International. We believe that they could well represent only a fraction of a much larger number. We respectfully request that you order the swift release of these 54 prisoners and all others who are being held on similar charges. We invite you to desist from persecuting the free expression, exchange and dissemination of opinions by courageous thinking men and women from a broad cross-section of Chinese society. They represent both the future of your country and its intimate soul, both of which you are attempting to destroy. We remind you that on October 5 1998, the People's Republic of China became signatories to the ICCPR. Article 19 of that Covenant states: "1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference. 2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice." Why did you sign the Covenant if you do not intend to abide by it? How much honour do you think this wiil bring upon the Chinese government and its people? Your country is estimated to have over fifty million Internet users and is poised to overtake the USA, the current world leader. Do you really think you can hold back this ocean of opinion or contain this fire of energy? Do you want to "wrap fire in paper" or stop the sun from rising? The
Editor and Staff of JUST Response NOTE: JUST Response published this appeal on 1 February 2004.
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