New York City—PEN American Center released the following statement:
PEN is extremely troubled by the disappearance of veteran journalist Gao Yu, 70, who has not been heard from since last Thursday and whose current whereabouts are unknown. Her disappearance came on the eve of commemorations to mark the 25th anniversary of the student-led Tiananmen Square protests, for which Gao Yu was jailed for more than a year. A member of our sister center, the Independent Chinese PEN Center, whose membership of writers is based both inside and outside China, Gao Yu contributed an essay to PEN’s 2013 report “Creativity and Constraint in Today’s China.” She is our colleague and friend and we hope to hear news that she is safe and unharmed very soon, and that she will be free to continue her work with Deutsche-Welle and her commentary on Twitter.
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Founded in 1922, PEN American Center is a community of 3,500 writers working to bring down barriers to free expression worldwide. Its distinguished members carry on the achievements in literature and advancement of human rights of such past members as Langston Hughes, Arthur Miller, and Susan Sontag. To learn more, visit www.pen.org