WIPC in English

20 December 2007

CHINA: Dissident writer Wang Dejia detained for comments on Olympic Games.

The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN is seriously concerned about the detention of dissident writer Wang Dejia (aka Jing Chu), who was arrested on 14 December 2007 on suspicion of ‘inciting subversion of state power’. International PEN fears that Wang Dejia may be held in violation of Article 19 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory, and if so calls for his immediate and unconditional release.

According to PEN’s information, Guangxi-based dissident writer Wang Dejia was arrested from his home in Guilin, in China’s southern Guangxi Province, on 13 December 2007 and taken to the Quanzhou Chengbei police Station, where he was detained on suspicion of ‘inciting subversion of state power’. His family believe his detention is directly related to his articles published on-line on the Minzhu Luntan website (Democracy Forum, http://asiademo.org), including ‘Illegal Possession of State Secrets – an important Chinese Communist Party Invention that Persecutes Prisoners of Conscience’, ‘Handcuffed Olympics Will Bing Only Disasters to the People’, and ‘Yi Yuanlong Jailed for Two Years for Four articles; How Many Will I be Jailed For?’ His wife also reports that in October 2007 he met with U.S. Embassy officials to discuss human rights in China.

Please send appeals:

Expressing serious concerns about the detention of dissident writer Wang Dejia, and calling for his immediate and unconditional release if held in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China became a signatory in 1998.

Please note that there are no fax numbers for the Chinese authorities. WiPC recommends that you copy your appeal to the Chinese embassy in your country asking them to forward it and welcoming any comments.

Government addresses:

His Excellency Hu Jintao

President of the People’s Republic of China

State Council

Beijing 100032

P.R.China.

Procurator General Mr. Jia Chunwang

Supreme People's Procuratorate

Beiheyan Street 147

100726 Beijing

P.R.China

Please note that fax numbers are no longer available for the Chinese authorities, so you may wish to ask the diplomatic representative for China in your country to forward your appeals.

Please copy appeals to the diplomatic representative for China in your country if possible.

**Please contact the PEN WiPC office in London if sending appeals after 31 December 2007**

For further information please contact Cathy McCann at International PEN Writers in Prison Committee, Brownlow House, 50/51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER, Tel.+ 44 (0) 20 7405 0338, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7405 0339, email: cathy.mccann@internationalpen.org.uk

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