International PEN Resolution on China passed at 70th International Congress

The Assembly of Delegates of International PEN, meeting at its 70th International Congress in Troms?, Norway, 6th – 12th September 2004,

Considering the on-going and widespread crackdown of free expression rights of Chinese writers and those in the autonomous regions of Tibet and Xinjiang;

Alarmed by the detention of some 40 journalists in Chinese prisons, making the country one of the the largest jailer of writers and journalists in the world;

Opposing the escalation of state-ordered assaults on independent-minded media in China, in which editors are arrested, publications closed and news blackouts imposed on politically sensitive events;

Concerned by evidence of growing threats to press freedom in Hong Kong;

Further concerned by the Chinese government’s continued imposition of repressive measures in the Tibet Autonomous Region that limit any display of support for independence, human rights or religious and cultural expression of Tibetan identity;

Fearing a growing trend in which state authorities particularly target on-line writers (‘cyber-dissidents’) who speak freely and critically on the Internet;

Urges the government to:

Release all imprisoned journalists and writers in China, including:

·Yu Dongyue, Guo Qinghai, Jiang Weiping, Gao Qinrong, and Liu Jingsheng and

·Release all prisoners in autonomous Tibet who are detained in violation of their right to freedom of expression, including:

·The Drepung Monastery group of imprisoned monks, which includes Jampel Changchup, Jampel Chunjor, Ngawang Gyaltsen, and Ven. Ngawang Phulchung;

Release all writers imprisoned in the autonomous region of Xinjiang who are detained in violation of their right to freedom of expression, including:

· Historian and writer Tohti Tunyaz;

Cease its efforts to censor cyberspace and to release immediately all writers jailed for peacefully expressing their opinions over the Internet;

Engage in a complete and meaningful reform of the Chinese legal system so that it guarantees fair trials, the full right of defence and appeal and a prison system that ensures the health and safety of inmates in accordance with international standards.

For further information please contact intpen@gn.apc.org

Last Updated: October 7, 2004