Yang Tongyan to Receive 2008 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award
PEN American Center today named Chinese dissident writer Yang Tongyan, who is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence, as recipient of its 2008 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. More
Jailed Chinese Writer to Receive PEN/Goldsmith Award
Yang Tongyan, a Chinese writer serving a 12-year prison term for posting anti-government articles on the Internet, will receive this year's PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. More
Zhu Yufu Receives Tougher Sentence After Re-Trial
Nine months after trying and sentencing internet writer and activist Zhu Yufu to two years in prison for “obstructing the police from carrying out their public duty,” a Chinese… More
Billy Collins Reads Shi Tao’s “June” as Part of Free Expression Poem Relay
As the Olympic torch reached the U.S., PEN American Center today released a recording of former U.S. Poet Laureate and PEN American Center Vice President Billy Collins reading imprisoned… More
Tracking Olympic Torch Relay, PEN Poem Relay lands in North America
Raising awareness of rights violations in China through poetry, the PEN Poem Relay is crossing the globe, touching down in North America on April 9. More
Protest poem “relay” tackles China on human rights
Canada will take part in a virtual demonstration against China's human rights policies on Wednesday via a poem "relay" organized by an international writers' association as tensions brew worldwide… More
‘If the Games Fail, Human Rights Will Suffer’
With the Olympic Games rapidly approaching, more attention than ever is being focused on China's handling of protests in Tibet and on the state of human rights in the… More
Hu Jia Sentenced to 3 1/2 Years for “Inciting Subversion”
Calling today’s sentencing hearing for dissident writer and human rights defender Hu Jia “a discouraging sign of China’s indifference both to the basic rights of its citizens and to… More
Will Chinese Regime Silence Media’s Coverage?
The Chinese regime sought first to silence the protest of the monks in Lhasa with a violent crackdown on March 14 that reminded the world of Tiananmen Square in… More
Trial Reinforces Fears Hu Jia Is Being Silenced for His Writings
PEN American Center today called reports of the trial of prominent activist and writer Hu Jia “extremely troubling and discouraging,” saying the proceedings apparently did nothing but underscore the… More
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