Independent Chinese PEN Center

 
   


 

 

  

 

 

独立中文作家笔会章程

(二零零三年十月三十一日通过)

 

第一章 原则

1．本笔会正式名称为"独立中文作家笔会"（英文为 INDEPENDENT CHINESE PEN CENTER），中文简称"独立笔会"（英文简称 ICPC）。

2．本笔会为非政府非赢利组织，在美国注册。

3．本笔会是国际笔会的下属成员，认同国际笔会宪章所有内容，本章程若与之有冲突处以国际笔会宪章为准。

4．本笔会特别强调，不论中文作家的政治倾向和其它观点如何，不论在哪一国家和社区，不论以何种形式，都有写作、出版或发表作品和言论之自由，而不因此受到权力机关特别是极左或极右当局的政治迫害和监禁。

5．本笔会特别强调，中文文学超越国界，原创的中文文学不论发表在何处必具备中文文学特性。不论政治或国家局势如何，中文文学在任何国家和地区的流通都不应受到干扰。

6．本笔会特别强调，在任何情况下，即使在战争等非常时期，都不能以政治、民族、国家、宗教、意识观念等理由破坏文学艺朮作品这一人类共同资源。

7．本笔会支持新闻自由、出版自由，反对在和平和正常状态下实行新闻、出版控制和检查。本笔会认为任何国家与地区的公民都有批评政府机构的权利和自由。

8．本笔会特别强调，要反对滥用写作自由与新闻自由，如为了政治和个人目的造假、撒谎或诽谤，因为真正的自由也意味着自律。

9．本笔会将努力发挥促进人与人之间相互理解和尊重的作用，竭力消除社群、种族、阶级和民族之间的仇恨，并提倡人类在同一世界和平共处的理想。

10．本笔会只代表其会员而不代表任何国家或地区。

第二章　会员

1．凡赞成上述原则并愿意履行会员义务的作家、文学编辑、文学翻译、记者和人文学者，不论其民族、种族、肤色或信仰，只要用中文写作或从事中文文学编辑、翻译和研究工作（已有相关著作或杂志出版和发表），都可成为本笔会的会员。

2．凡有上述资格并认同本章程的个人，填写本笔会申请表并经本笔会两名会员签名推荐、附交简历、经过本笔会理事会半数以上理事同意接受，即成为正式会员。

3．本笔会会员可同时参加其它国际笔会分会，即具有双重或多重国际笔会会籍。本笔会会员亦可参加其它作家组织和作家协会。

4．本笔会会员应遵守本章程、每年缴纳会费、积极参与本笔会会员大会并尽其所能参加笔会各个项目的工作。每年会费金额除国际笔会规定所交部分外，本笔会加收之会费金额由理事会半数以上通过决定。有经济困难的会员可向理事会提出申请，经批准即可减免会费。

5．本笔会会员在任何时候都有权利宣布退会。本笔会会员如在一年内不缴纳会费，即视为自行退会。

6．本笔会会员如果进行违反本笔会章程或有损笔会声誉的活动，经过理事会警告而不停止其活动，理事会有权终止其会籍。

第三章　会员大会

1．会员大会为本笔会最高权力机构。由于本笔会会员分布世界各地，会员大会一般用通讯方式进行。

2．会员大会每两年召开一次，由在任会长召集并责成秘书处负责筹备。每次年会的召开日期应定在上次年会后二十个月至二十四个月之间。

3．会员大会的任务是审查通过在任会长代表理事会和秘书处所做的工作报告和财务报告、选举下任会长和理事、表决通过章程修正提案和其它提案等。提交大会讨论和表决的提案必须有会员五人以上联署。

4．会员大会闭会期间如发生重大事件，经过理事会半数以上理事同意，或有三分之一以上会员提出紧急提案，会长可召集紧急会员大会，采用“会员通信投票”方式做出紧急会员大会决议。

5．会员大会决议（包括选举正副会长、理事和通过章程及其修正提案）在有全体会员半数以上参加投票并获总投票额半数以上赞成即为通过。

第四章　会长、副会长和理事会

1．本笔会由会长一人、副会长两人（第一与第二副会长）和理事四人共七人组成理事会，为决策机构。理事会另设候补理事两人，在有理事缺位时增补为理事。

2．会长、副会长、理事和候补理事均由会员大会直接通过差额和不记名投票方法选举产生。（有关选举方法、参选人名单产生和不记名投票方法等请见后附说明）

3．会长副会长每届任期两年（即从是次会员大会当选到下次会员大会卸任为一届），最多可连任两届即四年。理事每届任期亦为两年，最多可连任三届即六年。

4．理事会日常工作由会长主持。会长因故不能履行职责时，由第一副会长主持。第一副会长因故不能主持时由第二副会长主持。正副会长均缺位时，可由理事会召集紧急会员大会补选会长副会长。

5．理事会每年至少应该召开两次全体会议，由会长负责召集，表决有关工作决议，如财务的动用、会费金额的决定、新会员的审批、发表笔会名义的公开信或声明、向国际笔会大会提出议案等。每次理事会会议后必须对会员通报会议记录和决议。由于理事分处全球各地，一般可用通讯方式进行，在笔会有经济条件时可集中某地开会。

6．理事会的决议必须有理事会半数以上（即四人或四人以上）通过方可有效。候补理事不具备理事会决议的表决权。

第五章　秘书处和工作委员会

1．秘书处和工作委员会是由会长聘任并经过理事会决议批准的日常工作机构，人数不限。理事亦可出任秘书处和工作委员会的秘书长、秘书和工作委员会的工作。

2．工作委员会是和国际笔会下属工作委员会对口工作机构，如“狱中作家委员会”、“妇女作家委员会” 、“和平委员会” “语言工作委员会”等，各工作委员会委员亦由会长聘任并经过理事会决议批准。其工作任务按照国际笔会各工作委员会的指示进行。

3．秘书处设秘书长一人，其职责是执行理事会的工作决议、协调各秘书和工作委员的工作、筹备会员大会和选举工作以及负责向会长和理事会报告工作情况等。秘书长非理事时，有权列席理事会。

4．秘书处设财务秘书（司库）一人，负责本笔会的财务管理、收取会费以及制订经费申请报告等。任何财务的动用必须按照理事会决议进行。

5．秘书处设国际秘书一人，负责与国际笔会与其它国家或地区笔会的联络，并负责将国际笔会的来信翻译成中文通报会员。国际秘书同时负责协调和国际笔会各工作委员会对口的本笔会工作委员会的国际联络。

6．秘书处设内务秘书一人，负责会员登记、会员申请表和简历等资料的保存以及会员的通讯联络等。

7．秘书处设网页秘书一人，负责在本笔会网页收存会员文文件资料、建立会员文集、管理本笔会社区等。

8．秘书处设会员权益秘书一人，负责为本笔会会员争取有关作家津贴、奖金、城市作家名额等，所提出申请人名单须报由会长和理事会表决。

9．会长和理事会可根据情况增设其它项目秘书和工作委员会。

10．接受聘任的各秘书和工作委员委员应服从会长和理事会的领导，配合秘书长的协调，各负其责，彼此配合、不可越权或干预其它秘书的工作。

第六章　其它说明

1．本笔会创设写作自由奖，以表彰在艰难情境下从事创作并获得成就，或为捍卫出版自由和创作自由付出代价、作出贡献的中文或其它语种作家。本奖原则上每两年颁发一次，获奖人选推荐公开，由理事会审核通过并以笔会名义颁发。

2．对本章程条文的具体意义出现争议时，本章程条文的解释权在理事会。

3．本笔会不是工会性质的组织，也不是文学代理商，不负责作家作品的出版与发行。

Independent Chinese PEN Center

Charter

(Approved by the assembly internet meeting in October 2003)

Chapter One: Principles

  1. The name of this PEN center is Independent Chinese PEN Center (in Chinese 独立中文作家笔会), the English abbreviation is ICPC (in Chinese 独立笔会);
  2. This PEN center is a non-profit, non-governmental organization registered in the U.S.A.;
  3. It is an organization under the International PEN and recognizes the International PEN’s charter. Should the charter of the ICPC contravene the principles of the International PEN’s charter, the International PEN’s charter should have precedence;
  4. This PEN center emphasizes that, no matter what kind of political standpoint a writer who writes in Chinese has, and in which country or region s/he publishes her/his work, and in which form or genre, s/he has the right and freedom to write, publish and express herself. S/he should never be persecuted or imprisoned for her/his writing or publication;
  5. This PEN center emphasizes that, literature in Chinese overcomes all borders, and literature originally written in the Chinese language, no matter where it is written and published, bears the characteristics of Chinese language literature. No matter what the political situation in a particular country is, the circulation of literary works in Chinese language should never be obstacled in any country or region;
  6. This PEN center particularly emphasizes that, in any situation, even in periods of war, literature belongs to mankind and should never be exploited for political, national, state, religion or ideological aims;
  7. This PEN center supports freedom of mass media and publication, and opposes all arbitrary control and censorship in times of peace, and believes all nationalities and citizens of all regions have the right and freedom to criticize any government institution and public authority.
  8. This PEN center particularly emphasizes that misusing literary and press freedom, deliberately fabricate or distort facts for political or personal ends violate the principles of real personal freedom and responsibility, because freedom also implies voluntary self-restraint.
  9. This PEN center shall diligently strive towards enhancing the understanding and respect between people, and eradicate hatreds between social groups, nationalities, races or classes, in order to realize the ideal of a peaceful common existence for mankind.
  10. The center represents its members only and does not represent any state or region.

Chapter Two: Members

  1. Membership is open to all writers, literary editors, translators, journalists or researchers who use the Chinese language in a professional setting (and have published relevant works or magazines), regardless of nationality, race, colour or religion, and who recognize the principles of ICPC and wish to fulfill their membership duties.
  2. Any individual who fulfills the above qualifications and recognizes this charter may hand in an application form to this PEN center. Enclosed should also be a letter of recommendation by two members, and a short CV. Membership is approved after a majority of the board has accepted the application.
  3. Members of the ICPC can participate in other PEN centres, and may register as members of any other PEN centre. They can also participate in other writers’ organizations, associations or clubs.
  4. All members should respect the charter, pay the annual membership fee, and actively participate in the ICPC assembly meetings as well as all other related work. Apart from the annual International PEN (IP) membership fee, which is stipulated by the IP board, the membership fee of the center is decided by more than half of the board members. A member with economic difficulties can hand in an application for remission of payment to the board, which can decide to exonerate him from payment.
  5. Members have the right to announce their resignation at any time. Members who have not paid their membership fee for one year are automatically dispelled.
  6. The board has the right to expel members whose actions violate the charter or harm the reputation of the ICPC, and who do not stop their actions after warnings from the board.

Chapter Three: The Assembly

  1. The member assembly is the highest decision-making organ of the ICPC. Since members of this center are spread around the world, the assembly meeting will normally be carried out via internet or telematic technology.
  2. The assembly meeting is held every second year; the chair, who is in charge of organizing it together with the secretariat, convenes it. Next meeting should be held between twenty and twenty-four months from the previous.
  3. The tasks of the assembly meeting are to investigate the working report produced by the acting chair representing the board, the report of the secretariat, as well as the economic report produced by the treasurer, to elect new chair, vice-chair and members of the board, to vote for amendments of the charter and other resolutions. To propose a resolution to the assembly needs the joint signature of five members.
  4. Should important matters arise between two assembly meetings, the chair of the center can, with the approval of at least half of the board members, or from a motion signed by at least one third of the members of the assembly, convene an urgency assembly meeting at which resolutions are adopted after an special election using the urgency ballots has been held.
  5. Resolutions of the assembly meeting (including election of chair, vice-chair, the board members, approval of the charter as well as amendments of the charter) are passed when they have received at least half of the ballots from the assembly meeting at which more than half of the members hand in their ballots.

Chapter Four: Chair, Vice-Chair and the Board

  1. This PEN center has one chair, two vice chairs (first and second) and four members of the board, all together seven persons to form the board. This board has also two substitute board members, to fill the vacant member positions if required.
  2. The Chair, Vice-Chair, members of the board and substitute board members are elected directly by the assembly through multiple candidate choice and secret ballots.
  3. The Chair and Vice-Chair hold one mandate each of two years (which runs from the time of election to the next assembly meeting), and they sit for a maximum of two mandate periods, i.e. four years. Members of the board also hold one mandate of two years, but the maximum are three mandates, i.e. six years.
  4. The Chair is in charge of the routine work of the board. If the Chair is temporarily unable to be in charge of the work, the first Vice-Chair should act in his place. If the first Vice-Chair cannot be in charge, the work falls on the second Vice-Chair. If the Chair and both the Vice-Chair are unable to take charge of the daily work, the board should call for an emergence assembly to elect new Chair and Vice-Chairs.
  5. The board should convene at least two board meetings every year, which should be arranged by the Chair. The board decides about resolutions on e.g. financial issues, the membership fee, the approval of new members, publication of petitions and statements in the name of the ICPC, to put forward resolution to assembly of the International PEN, etc. After every board meeting the board should inform all members about the meeting’s decisions in a report. Since members of the board live in different parts of the world, the meeting can be carried out via the internet or other communication measures. When, in the future, economical conditions allow, it will be possible to instead convene the board meeting in a specific location.
  6. Resolutions are valid only after approval of the majority of the board (four members and above). Substitute members do not have voting rights at the board meeting though they may be present at the meeting.

Chapter Five: The Secretariat and Working Committees

  1. The Secretariat is the routine or daily working organ of ICPC, and it is appointed by the chair and approved by the board meeting. The number of the personals in the secretariat is not limited. Members of the board can also be appointed as secretariat staff.
  2. Working committees correspond to those established under the International PEN, such as “Writers in Prison Committee”, “Women Writers Committee”, “Peace Committee”, “Linguistic and Translation Committee”, etc. Commissars of the working committees are appointed by the chair and approved by the board meeting. Members of the board can also be appointed as commissars of the working committees. The work of the committees should be carried out according to the instructions of the International PEN’s committees.
  3. The secretariat is led by a General Secretary, who is in charge of carrying out the resolutions of the board, coordinating the work of the secretaries and commissars of the committees. The General Secretary should also prepare the assembly meeting and election work and report to the chair and the board. If the general secretary is not a member of the board, he/she should have the right to attend the board meetings.
  4. In the secretariat there will be a treasurer, who is in charge of the financial administrative work, collects the membership fees and reports the financial result to the board. The chair and the board, however, make the financial decisions.
  5. In the secretariat there will be an international secretary who is in charge of the contact with the International PEN and other PEN centres, translating their letters into Chinese and vice versa. The International Secretary should also coordinate the communication between the ICPC committees and the International PEN’s committees.
  6. In the secretariat there will be an organization secretary, who is in charge of members registration work, keeping the files of the members and also in charge of the communication with members and between members.
  7. In the secretariat there will be an internet homepage secretary, who is in charge of the homepage of the ICPC, establishing members files on the internet, and administrate the group communication.
  8. In the secretariat there will be a writers’ rights secretary, who is in charge of applying for scholarships, stipends, and resident writerships in different countries. The chair and the board should approve the proposed list of candidates.
  9. The chair and the board can appoint other secretaries and working committees if required.
  10. All secretaries and commissars of the working committees should accept the leadership of the chair and the board, and they should cooperate with the General Secretary. While they should be responsible for all their tasks, they should also cooperate with each other and not interfere in the work of other secretaries or commissars.

Chapter Six: Other statements

  1. ICPC sets up a prize for the freedom of writing, in order to honor those writers who write in Chinese or other languages, and carry out their writing under difficult circumstances and nevertheless achieve excellent results, or devote themselves to the freedom of writing and expression. This prize will be issued every two years and the recommendation of candidates is open to all PEN centres. The board chooses the winner and the prize will be handed out in the name of ICPC.
  2. If there are conflicting interpretations about the implications of the charter, the board has the right to give the final interpretation of the charter.
  3. This center is not a writers’ work union, neither is it a literary agent. It is not in charge of any writers’ personal publications, translations or distributions, except that it is included in the PEN’s own publications.