In Letter, Writer Liao Yiwu Seeks Help from Angela Merkel
February 8, 2010
After being denied permission by Chinese authorities to attend an upcoming literary festival in Cologne, writer Liao Yiwu (廖亦武) has written a letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel seeking intervention. Liao is the author of The Corpse Walker: Real Life Stories: China from the Bottom Up and other books. He has been closely monitored by the Chinese government for many years and has been repeatedly denied permission to leave China. In fall 2009, Liao made headlines around the world when the Chinese government prohibited him from attending a symposium in Berlin, which was part of the Frankfurt Book Fair. More »
Letter from Liao Yiwu to German Chancellor Angela Merkel
I write this letter to you, Madam Merkel, for the sake of the little that remains of my hopes and dignity after being violated. I implore that you pay close attention to my being blocked from coming to your country, and implore that the German government under your leadership use its diplomatic channels and influence, so that I will not repeat my absence from the Frankfurt Book Fair, this time from lit.Cologne. More »
Letter from Liu Xiaobo to Liao Yiwu
We live by feeling of heartache still left in life. Heartache is a symptom of extreme blindness but also of extreme clarity. Blindness, because when everyone is numb, you still ignore the current situation and cry out in pain; clarity, because when everyone has forgotten, you still remember the bloody knife. More »
Liu Xiaobo Appeal Charges Court with Abuse of Public Power
January 29, 2010
In the appeal defense statement filed on behalf of Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波), Liu’s lawyers charged that the trial court abused its public power in finding Liu guilty of “inciting subversion of state power” and sentencing him to 11 years’ imprisonment. Human Rights in China has translated the statement into English. More »
Vaclav Havel, in HRIC Interview, Sends Message of Solidarity to Liu Xiaobo and Family
January 27, 2010
Vaclav Havel, playwright, former dissident, and first president of the Czech Republic (1993–2003), expressed strong solidarity and sympathy with jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波) and his family in a recent interview with Sharon Hom, executive director of Human Rights in China. On December 25, 2009, Liu was sentenced to 11 years in prison on conviction of “inciting subversion of state power,” for six of his essays and for co-authoring Charter 08, an online petition released in early December 2008 calling for human rights and democracy and an end to one-party rule in China. More »
Google Attacked from China: Wake-up Call to International Business
January 12, 2010
Google today issued a statement that it will reconsider the company's operations in China, following an investigation bringing to light a “sophisticated and targeted attack on [Google’s] infrastructure originating from China.” Human Rights in China (HRIC) has translated the Google statement into Chinese. More »
