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Sentencing of Poet Wang Zang and His Wife to Prison in China Shows “Repressive Environment” for Free Expression, as PEN America Calls For Their Release

Press ReleaseDecember 13, 2022

“We condemn the sentencing of Wang Zang for exercising his freedom to write, and of his wife Wang Liqin whose only apparent ‘crime’ was advocating for her husband’s rights,”… More

Xu Zhiyong Advocacy Page

China: PEN Centers Call for Xu Zhiyong’s Immediate Release

Open LetterJune 27, 2022

PEN America, PEN International, and the Independent Chinese PEN Center (ICPC) call on the Chinese government release Xu Zhiyong. More

Censored in China PEN graphic

Censored by China: Defending Creative Expression in a Global Market

Thursday, February 24, 2022 | 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm PT
 More Information
Xu Zhiyong

Chinese Authorities Poised to Put Activists Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi On Trial, PEN America and China Human Rights Defenders Warn

Press ReleaseDecember 20, 2021

Chinese authorities may use the lull around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays to subject prominent human rights defenders to unfair trials while much of the international community is… More

Peng Shuai

PEN America Applauds Women’s Tennis Association’s Strong Support for Tennis Star Peng Shuai

Press ReleaseDecember 1, 2021

"The contrast between the WTA's show of spine and the International Olympic Committee's readiness to play along with the Beijing government's campaign to deflect questions and blame is striking." More

peng shuai photo

PEN America Cheers Women’s Tennis Association’s Strong Support for Tennis Star Peng Shuai

Press ReleaseNovember 19, 2021

WTA's defense of Peng Shuai is a rare example of businesses standing up to Chinese censorship. More

Exterior of Tiananmen Square

China Must Release Ailing Journalist Who Covered COVID Outbreak

Press ReleaseNovember 5, 2021

Chinese authorities must immediately release citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, who is reportedly “close to death” while on hunger strike in protest of her imprisonment for documenting and reporting the… More

Exterior of Tiananmen Square

PEN America Decries Arrests of Chinese Social Media Users Who Critiqued Film

Press ReleaseOctober 14, 2021

PEN America today denounced the recent arrests of two Chinese social media users who made critical comments about The Battle of Changjin Lake, a state-sponsored blockbuster film set during… More

Xu Zhiyong headshot

Imprisoned Chinese Activist Xu Zhiyong Indicted for ‘Subversion’

Press ReleaseAugust 6, 2021

Lawyers for imprisoned Chinese activist and writer Xu Zhiyong—the 2020 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write honoree—indicated this week that he's now been indicted for “subversion,” alongside fellow human rights lawyer… More

Writers at Risk Database

Uyghur Professor Rahile Dawut Confirmed to Be Imprisoned by Chinese Authorities

Press ReleaseJuly 16, 2021

Former coworkers of Uyghur academic Rahile Dawut—who disappeared nearly four years ago and was believed to be in Chinese custody—confirmed this week that authorities have sentenced and imprisoned her. More

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  • What's New
Salman Rushdie’s New Novel Turns a Spotlight On the Enduring Power of Stories
PEN America: Arrest of Protesters in Georgia on Broad and Vaguely-Worded ‘Domestic Terrorism’ Charges Could Chill the Right to Protest
PEN America Speaks: How We Defended and Celebrated Free Expression This Week
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jonfreadom Jonathan Friedman 📚 @jonfreadom ·
14h

More book purging in FLORIDA https://twitter.com/FLFreedomRead/status/1620457139272814593

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penamerica PEN America @penamerica ·
11h

DeSantis' "disturbing pattern of silencing Black voices and aggressive attempts to erase Black history is one of the most visible examples of performative white supremacy since the presidency of Donald Trump"—@JNelsonLDF

#BlackHistoryMonth Read free: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/31/opinion/ron-desantis-black-history.html?unlocked_article_code=ihVqWDErMhDhg6k3c2neR43rmBDQJ-ZGYT0K4vIFW1656Ol0iuuZCoNguhERybhjjHxY_on_saXa1h9dkfw4PMDyAPhEB81Z2MpF4xFhXcbJwvM3ob4crJCqdCgSJqnNfCO6oS-22DixWt6x8kbeIm5sTyHf_GuWD9-Z0qQ1WQNc1xI8CWRh9RZWEiM_VppdwfREB89x9Hw6BWDN-Srt5ATsifYAGobICcqo3HRKlmhVrGEsAWrxXhQ-GJpCUKKAt5ClgarNNHZl6yQ8wQ26Y6UQ5HIuR4kR-0CMl0d3rx1RpK92k07qb6HFWf07qSe8morMKPioGBNgZFVkqtJA7AHGwro&smid=share-url

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penamerica PEN America @penamerica ·
12h

On Feb 14, 6-7 pm, Brooklyn Public Library @BKLYNlibrary will be screening "The Satanic Verses: 30 Years On", a documentary about the controversy surrounding @SalmanRushdie's 1988 novel and the freedom of speech debate it sparked. Sign up: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/calendar/litfilm-2023-satanic-central-library-dweck-20230214

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