RAPID ACTION NETWORK
24 July 2006

Update #1 to RAN 12/06

CHINA: Journalist Li Yuanlong sentenced to two years in prison on subversion charges for articles posted online; health concerns.

The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN protests the two-year prison sentence handed down to journalist Li Yuanlong on 13 July 2006 for 'inciting subversion of state authority'. Li has been detained since 9 September 2005 for articles he posted online. International PEN demands the immediate and unconditional release of Li Yuanlong and all other writers currently detained in the People's Republic of China solely for expressing their views, in accordance with Article 19 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory.

According to PEN's information, Li Yuanlong, a reporter for the daily Bijie Ribao, was arrested on 9 September 2005 by members of the security bureau in Guizhou province in south-west China, after posting articles online critical of local living standards and calling for democracy. The prosecution cited recent articles he had written under the pen-name Ye Lang (Night Wolf) for U.S.-based Chinese language Web sites banned in China, including Boxun News, Epoch Times, ChinaEWeekly and New Century Net. Two articles entitled "In my mind, I am an American" and "Common birth, tragic death" were said to be viewed by the Chinese authorities as particularly "serious". Li was formally charged with 'incitement to subversion' on 9 February 2006, and was convicted and sentenced by Bijie Intermediate People's Court on 13 July 2006. He is appealing the sentence. Li Yuanlong is known for his reporting on rural poverty in his native Guizhou Province.

Li is held in Bijie Detention Centre without access to family visits, and is said to be in very poor health.

Please send appeals to the Chinese authorities:

- Protesting the detention of journalist Li Yuanlong for allegedly 'subversive' articles, and demanding that he receive access to family visits and any necessary medical treatment;

- Calling upon the Chinese authorities to release unconditionally Li Yuanlong and all other writers and journalists currently imprisoned for their writings, in accordance with Article 19 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory;

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.

For further information, please contact Cathy McCann at International PEN WiPC, 9/10 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London EC1M 7AT, U.K. Tel: +44 (0)207 253 3226, fax: +44 (0)207 253 5711, email: cmccann@wipcpen.org

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