NEW YORK—Reports today announced that imprisoned essayist Xu Zhiyong is on day 20 of a hunger strike to protest his ill-treatment in prison. PEN America calls on the international community to speak out in support of Xu and urge the Chinese government to release him from prison and end the harsh restrictions on his human rights.
“As he enters the third week of his hunger strike, it is essential that governments state their unequivocal support for Xu Zhiyong and other writers and dissidents unjustly imprisoned in China,” said Liesl Gerntholtz, managing director of the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Center. “Prison authorities continue to deny Xu communication with family and even access to reading and writing materials. Now, 20 days into his hunger strike in protest of these harsh restrictions, we are particularly concerned about the critical condition of Xu’s health. The time is now to urge the Chinese government to release Xu Zhiyong.”
Xu Zhiyong is an essayist, legal scholar, and longtime civil rights leader in China. He was detained in 2020 after writing an essay criticizing President Xi Jinping’s leadership, including his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and calling on Xi to resign. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison for “subversion of state power” in June 2023. Prison authorities have cut him off from communicating with his family, isolated him in prison, and denied him reading and writing materials. There are credible accusations from Xu that he was tortured in pre-trial detention.
Xu has a significant body of work as an essayist, using his writings to advocate for social change. Xu was made an honorary member of the Independent Chinese PEN Center in 2013 on November 15, PEN International’s Day of the Imprisoned Writer. He was also honored with the PEN America 2020 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award. China is the top jailer of writers in the world, according to PEN America’s latest Freedom to Write Index report. At least 107 writers were detained or imprisoned in China during 2023.