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Writers for Freedom of Expression in China
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When China was bidding for the Olympics in 2001, the Chinese government made explicit promises to improve its human rights record. But the Olympics have come and gone, with little or no progress for freedom of expression in China. Chinese writers continue to be censored, harassed, and imprisoned throughout the country. More writers are imprisoned now than ever before.
In December 2008, authorities arrested prominent PEN Member Liu Xiaobo after he co-authored a manifesto calling for greater freedoms and democracy in China, which was signed by hundreds citizens from all walks of life. Liu is being held on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power.” If convicted, he faces at least three years in prison. His case illustrates the lengths the Chinese government will still go to stifle free expression, and the determination of Chinese writers to fight for this most basic right. We stand with them in their struggle. |
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RECENT NEWS
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February 3, 2012:
PEN Abhors Free Expression Violations in Tibet >> More
January 18, 2012:
PEN Protests Charges Against Zhu Yufu, Insisting “Poetry Is Not a Crime” >> More
December 27, 2011:
PEN Condemns Year-End Convictions of Two Chinese Writers >> More
December 9, 2011:
PEN to Liu Xiaobo: You Are Not Forgotten >> More
August 5, 2011:
PEN, Citing U.N. Ruling, Urges China to Release Liu Xiaobo Immediately >> More
July 23, 2011:
Independent Chinese PEN Center Celebrates Tenth Anniversary in Shadow of Escalating Repression >> More
>> Complete News Archive
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PRESS
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 Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo
Interview with Kwame Anthony Appiah
from The Brian Lehrer Show, WNYC
Nobel winner Liu Xiaobo's wife under house arrest after prison visit
By Tom Lasseter
from McClatchy Newspapers
Intellectuals held in China crackdown after Liu Xiaobo gets Nobel peace prize
By Jonathan Watts
from The Guardian
>> Complete Press Archive
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RECENT EVENTS
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On New Year’s Eve 2009, E.L. Doctorow, Don DeLillo, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Edward Albee, A.M. Homes, Honor Moore, and other PEN Members gathered on the steps of the New York Public Library to demand the release of writer Liu Xiaobo. >> More
On the eve of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, PEN honored the more than 40 writers imprisoned in China. >> More
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RESOURCES
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Kwame Anthony Appiah's Nomination of Liu Xiaobo for the Nobel Peace Prize
PEN American Center president's official letter of nomination to the Nobel Committee. >> More
Beyond the Olympics: The Freedom to Write in China, After the Spotlight
An assessment on the state of freedom of expression in China before, during, and after the Olympic Games. >> More
Failing to Deliver: An Olympic-Year Report Card on Free Expression in China
a progress report on the state of freedom of expression in China. >> More
PEN's letter to the Chinese government
We are writing on behalf of our members and the entire community of International PEN . . . to urge you to release 40 of our colleagues who are in prison in your country in violation of their right to freedom of expression. >> More
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