Grave Concern for Poet Zhang Guiqi, Sentenced to Six Years in Prison, for Calling on Xi Jinping to Step Down
PEN America and the Independent Chinese PEN Centre condemn the conviction of poet Zhang Guiqi and calls for his immediate release. More
China: PEN Centers Call for Xu Zhiyong’s Immediate Release
PEN America, PEN International, and the Independent Chinese PEN Center (ICPC) call on the Chinese government release Xu Zhiyong. More
Proceeding with Trial of Xu Zhiyong is a “Grave and Shameful” Mistake by China
Xu faces a potential punishment of life in prison if convicted. His lawyer will reportedly plead his innocence of the crimes at trial. Trials involving government critics in China—including… More
Truth-Telling And Its Dire Consequences: PEN America Hosts Conversation with Writers Targeted by Authoritarians Around the Globe
The difficult plight of writers living under authoritarian rule has been well-documented over decades, with some enduring impossibly harsh treatment for their truth-telling and resistance to repression. More
PEN America 2021 Freedom to Write Index: Myanmar Joins China and Saudi Arabia as World’s Top Jailers of Writers
During 2021, Myanmar accounted for the single-largest increase of writers and public intellectuals newly jailed for exercising free expression, due to the military junta’s crackdown on influential voices. More
Li Liqun Li Huizi
Li Liqun was an esteemed blogger and writer well-known by his pen name Li Huizi who blogged about fairness and justice and wrote poetry. Li took his own life… More
Luo Changping
Author, blogger, and former investigative reporter Luo Changping was arrested in October 2021 for “defaming martyrs” after posting on Weibo a critical review of a film depicting a battle… More
Ou Biaofeng
Activist and online commentator Ou Biaofeng was detained on December 3, 2020 in relation to his tweets about an activist who splashed ink on a poster of President Xi… More
Qiu Ziming La Bi Xiao Qiu
In February 2021, author and blogger Qiu was detained for questioning on Weibo the Chinese government-reported casualty numbers in an India-China border dispute. In May 2021, he was sentenced… More
Wang Yuwen Wang Zang
Poet Wang Zang was taken by police from his home in Chuxiong City in May 2020 and charged in July with “incitement to subvert state power.” Evidence against him… More
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PEN America On 
"There need to be spaces for Americans to learn about Blackness outside of an American context," writes @KeishelNOTKesha in reaction to @ChimamandaReal's novel Half of a Yellow Sun being challenged and banned from a classroom in Michigan. #BannedBooks https://pen.org/chimamanda-ngozie-adichies-half-of-a-yellow-sun-the-danger-of-a-single-untold-story/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-pug
PEN America Calls for Spurious Charges to be Dropped Against Writer, Playwright, and Filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga (@EfieZethu) in Zimbabwe. #TsitsiDangarembga https://pen.org/press-release/pen-america-calls-for-spurious-charges-to-be-dropped-against-writer-playwright-and-filmmaker-tsitsi-dangarembgaon-in-zimbabwe/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-pug
PEN America Calls for Release of Imprisoned Iranian Writers and Artists as Anti-Government Protests Land Dissident Voices in Jail. #Iran #RezaKhandanMahabadi https://pen.org/press-release/pen-america-calls-for-release-of-imprisoned-iranian-writers-and-artists-as-anti-government-protests-land-dissident-voices-in-jail/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-pug