Misblog

Originally Published December 11, 2008; Last Updated July 06, 2010; Last Republished July 06, 2010:

How will China (中) change if its political dissidents (持不同政见) are silenced¹, locked up, and drugged—how will they it compete if they it does not change—by turning their country into an international toilet (厕) and selling the world Chinese (中国) slave (奴隶) labor (工夫)?

Twit:

• UPDATED 12/25/2009, Christmas Day

  #liuxiaobo #freeliuxiaobo #Liu Xiaobo

Res:

• UPDATED 12/26/2009 CECC, The Trial of Liu Xiaobo - Joint Statement by CECC Chairman Byron Dorgan and Cochairman Sander Levin.

  Congressional Executive Commission on China (CECC):

  "...We call on the Chinese government to release Mr. Liu, and to respect the rights of all Chinese citizens to peacefully express their political views and desires for universally-recognized fundamental freedoms....Instead of signaling its intent to uphold international standards, the Chinese government thus far in its treatment of Liu Xiaobo has demonstrated callous disregard for those standards...."--CECC--

• UPDATED 12/15/2009 U.S. Department of State, Remarks on the Human Rights Agenda for the 21st Century. Remarks by Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Georgetown University's Gaston Hall Washington, DC, December 14, 2009

  "The United States seeks positive relationships with China and Russia, and that means candid discussions of divergent views. In China, we call for protection of rights of minorities in Tibet and Xinxiang; for the rights to express oneself and worship freely; and for civil society and religious organizations to advocate their positions within a framework of the rule of law. And we believe strongly that those who advocate peacefully for reform within the constitution, such as Charter 2008 signatories, should not be prosecuted."--Hillary Clinton, December 14, 2009--

• NYR Books, China's Charter 08 - Translation from Chinese by Perry Link
• 独立中文笔会 ° 转发:零八宪章.

Wiki:

• enWikipedia, Charter 08
• zhWikipedia, 零八宪章

Blog:

• UPDATED 12/25/2009 釋放劉曉波, Release Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波)

• UPDATED 12/10/2009 Under The Jacaranda Tree, Charter 08 Signatories Called for the Release of Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波).

  Catherine Yeung translates Sun Wenguang's description of a one-year-anniversary seminar commemorating Charter 08.

  A group of original Charter 08 signatories attending the seminar called on the state to end Liu Xiaobo's latest cycle of arbitrary detention which has continued for a year.

  Notwithstanding history's treatment of authoritarian regimes, China's Communist Party leaders have elected to continue running a repressive race against the Charter 08 and its demands for a democratic and civil society.

  Sadly, Liu Xiaobo's "subversion case" has and stupidly been transferred to a protectorate for a determination on whether to proceed with prosecution.

  Liu Xia, wife of Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波) is hoping for a determination not to prosecute, but is prepared for Liu Xiaobo's likely false imprisonment, asking that the world not forget her husband (see CDT, Wife of Chinese Dissident Liu Xiaobo Losing Hope for His Release).

  Who can forget...we behold daily the beauty of a democracy and civil society...the dreamy dance with dollars notwithstanding.

  • UPDATED 12/10/2009 PEN, PEN Renews Calls for Liu Xiaobo’s Release
  • UPDATED 12/10/2009 Amnesty International, Li Xiaobo and Charter 08
  • UPDATED 12/10/2009 NYT On the Ground, A Great Chinese Writer, Behind Bars for One Year
  • UPDATED 12/10/2009 CSM, Leading Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo faces subversion case
  • UPDATED 12/10/2009 Gurardian, Case against Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo sent to prosecutors
  • UPDATED 12/10/2009 Telegraph, Top Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo faces subversion charge

• UPDATED 12/02/2009 CBSNews Blog, Feng Zhenghu: Changing China from Terminal 1.

  Wonder if Chinese officials are saying privately, "We should have kept him home". (Flickr photos of Feng's Terminal 1 abode-in-exile)

  When China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Qin Gang was ask yesterday about Feng Zhenghu he dodged the question, but implied China has complied with its exit-entry laws:

  "Q: Chinese citizen Feng Zhenghu has been stuck at Tokyo airport since Chinese authorities won't let him come back to China. Why is he being denied access to China? If he got back in, how would China deal with him?

  A: China's competent authorities handle such cases in accordance with laws and regulations such as the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Control of the Exit and Entry of Citizens. If you want more specifics, I'll leave them to relevant authorities."

  Can't wait to hear from the "relevant authorities".

• UPDATED 11/28/2009 Reuters, Chinese activist in Narita holding pattern
• CDT, 'Charter 08' Stories
• UPDATED 12/20/2008 CDT, 'Liu Xiaobo' Stories

Web:

• UPDATED 07/06/2010 NYT, China Seeks to Halt Book That Faults Its Prime Minister.

• UPDATED 05/15/2010 CEG, New thinking on stability maintenance: long-term social stability via institutionalised expression of interests.

  Tsinghua University published a report on the social cost and financial burden of China’s efforts to maintain social stability. Translation courtesy of Dr. David Kelly, Professor of China Studies at the China Research Centre, University of Technology Sydney.

  Among the report's interesting heading-recommendations is, "Establishing mechanisms for balancing interests; Key to this new thinking is":

  1. transform government functions, set up limited government which acts as the setter of rules and procedures and plays the role of regulator and arbiter in them, and avoid placing government in the position of bearing the brunt of social conflicts;
  2. make effective use of the rule of law for long-term resolution of conflicts;
  3. establish mechanisms for balancing interests and provide institutionalised channels for venting for social discontents;
  4. promote the development of civil society organisations, forming social mechanisms for conflict resolution.

  Those living in well developed and advancing civil societies often under appreciate its crucial benefits and role in furthering yesterday’s advances.

• UPDATED 04/24/2010 CSM, Web, religious freedom on agenda as US-China rights dialogue resumes.

• UPDATED 04/15/2010 NYT, Chinese Premier Offers a Tribute to a Reformer.

  If China's communist party leadership stops repressing China's courageous civil society reformers today, then it will not be required to rehabilitate them tomorrow!

  And as a big bonus China's rate of transition toward a colossal competing civil society will significantly increase.

• UPDATED 02/11/2010 CSM, China dissident Liu Xiaobo loses appeal, US urges release.

• UPDATED 01/16/2010 CSM, How exile Feng Zhenghu is taking on China's bullying -- from an airport.

  Imagine how many people see Zhenghu's message each day—changing China one passenger at a time!

  • UPDATED 02/01/2010 UPI, Chinese airport protester to go home.

• UPDATED 12/28/2009 UPIAsia, Chinese activists support Liu Xiaobo.

  "...Since Friday dozens of Charter 08 signers in Hong Kong and mainland China have attempted to surrender to police, offering to go to jail along with Liu...." --UPIAsia--

• UPDATED 12/28/2009 Reuters, China targets political foes after dissident trial. and CSM, Will the West's criticism of China for jailing top dissident backfire? and UPI, Liu Xiaobo sentence criticized as harsh

  Ministry of Public Security (公安部) Vice Minister, Yang Huanning (杨焕宁) acting as a junior spokesman for the fragile and frightened Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has given the standard, if somewhat outdated³ and unhelpful "western forces are arrayed against us" speech.

• UPDATED 12/25/2009, Christmas BBC, Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo jailed for subversion and NYT, Leading China Dissident Gets 11-Year Term for Subversion and NYT, In Sentence of Activist, China Gives West a Chill .

  “For the dignity of the Constitution and the law, and for no more imprisonment of people for their independent opinions, I would prefer to share with Mr. Liu Xiaobo the same case with the same penalty,” --Charter 08 signatory Liu Di, aka "Stainless Steel Mouse--

  China’s communist party leaders (CCP) are wrong—it's not "meddling" to expect that it honor the Chinese Constitution, international agreements, and its human rights obligations—honoring such expectations is a primary attribute of all great nations.

  It's useful to be mindful that fear rarely behaves rational and condemnation too often interferes with justifiable commendation.

  Continuous, contiguous, candid, and transparent engagement will be helpful—nice to see the cameras outside the courthouse—maybe journalists will be permitted inside the courtroom for the next dissident’s trial—surely the CCP wants to showcase its system of justice for the international community.

  There's more than a little irony in that the CCP is keenly aware that Liu Xiaobo's foundations are durable and less fragile to shocks than its own. Their considerable problem is how to implement those foundations while retaining power.
  
  Fortunately there are courageous and talented Chinese dissidents whose foundations can survive the CCP's authoritarian repression—perhaps even thrive.

• UPDATED 12/24/2009 NPR, China Blasts Diplomats Over Dissident's Trial

  "These kind of actions—clearly a political trial that will likely lead to a political conviction—are uncharacteristic of a great country."--AP quoting U.S. State Department P.J. Crowley--

• UPDATED 12/24/2009 AP, Verdict for Chinese Dissident Due Friday
• UPDATED 12/24/2009 NTDT, Chinese Democracy Advocate Liu Xiaobo Faces Trial in Beijing

• UPDATED 12/23/2009 UPI, Chinese dissident faces sentencing and Telegraph, China to sentence leading dissident Liu Xiaobo on Christmas Day and NYT, Trial of Prominent Chinese Dissident Begins

  "...Nicolas Weeks, the first secretary of the Swedish Embassy, said diplomats from at least 15 countries were outside the court. [including representatives Gregory May of the United States Department of State]"--NYT--

• UPDATED 12/16/2009 维权网, 刘晓波：文章是价值判断不存在造谣或诽谤.

  Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波) rejects the charge of subversion—is reportedly in good health and spirits.

  Article 35 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China:

  "Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration."--ChinaPeopleDaily--

• UPDATED 12/15/2009 NYT, Clinton Defends Human Rights Approach

  • UPDATED 12/15/2009 UPIAsia, Further blows to free expression in China and NYT, China Imposes New Internet Controls

    In A modern day tragicomic-book-burning—the authoritarian Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders have begun shutting down existing personal websites and banned all future unlicensed personal websites.

    This reflects a dramatic and demonstrable shift by the Chinese Communist Party to transform itself from a despised authoritarian regime into a despicable totalitarian regime.

    It also reflects a CCP leadership that is more frightened and fragile than some suspected—a Sisyphean suppression of websites² is unlikely to dissipate that fear and fragility.

    With so many CCP fingers in the democracy dike whose going to work the water overflow or operate the spillway gates.

• UPDATED 12/12/2009 HRIC, Feng Zhenghu [(冯正虎)] Urges International Community to Support Right of Return to One’s Own Country.
• UPDATED 12/04/2009 JapanTimes, Man living at Narita getting too much food.
• UPDATED 12/04/2009 CNN, Chinese activist in limbo at Tokyo airport.

• UPDATED 11/19/2009 UPIAsia, Chinese rights activist [still] stuck at Tokyo airport.

  Zhenghu is twittering away from Narita awaiting for reentry into his home country, China.

  Read more about Zhenghu's activism at 护宪维权.

  • UPDATED 11/26/2009
  • UPDATED 11/26/2009 BostonGlobe, Banned by China, he languishes in Tokyo airport
  • UPDATED 11/26/2009 NTDT, Chinese Human Rights Activist Protests at Tokyo Airport
• UPDATED 11/12/2009

  BBC, China activist 'in airport limbo'. Chinese citizen and dissident Feng Zhenghu is denied entry into China for the eighth time, notwithstanding his orderly travel documents. Zhenghu's eight days at Shanghai Narita Airport as "Terminal Man" reminds the world of China's need to radically reform how it treats its dissidents—a reminder not coincidently coinciding with the start of President Obama's Asia trip (see also WP, Obama embarks on Asia trip, highlighted by China stops).

  Feng Zhenghu

• UPDATED 09/27/2009 NYT, China’s Mr. Wu Keeps Talking.

  ...And you think our relatively simple discussions of systemic economic reform and corralling the cannibal capitalists are epic...

  China is attempting to integrate the capitalists into the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)—the capitalists, for now are willing participants, seeing an opportunity to capture the CCP for their gains.

  But this has produced many fragile and uneasy alliances; corruption on a titanic scale; and no apparent theoretical framework within which to proceed...!

  Wu justifiably is not optimistic:

  “I’m not optimistic about the future,...The Maoists want to go back to central planning and the cronies want to get richer.”

  Neither outcome is tenable for the CCP as it pushes forward with China’s economic reforms.

• UPDATED 09/19/2009 UPI, Chinese Communists turn to democracy?.

  Of course China watchers know that it's not "intra-party" democracy that counts, although important (see China Elections and Governance; 中国选举与治理网).

  It's establishing and transitioning to an "inter-party" democracy; building and supporting the credible, non-corrupt legal institutions; and enabling the intellectual freedoms of thought and speech that are required to support a civil society in China.

  The complex and difficult transition by the CCP, if it occurs will be its greatest accomplishment on behalf of the wonderful Chinese people.

• UPDATED 08/24/2009 NYT, Without Explanation, China Releases 3 Activists.
• UPDATED 08/13/2009 UPIAsia, Former cadre critiques China's CCP rule. Just in time for the CCP's upcoming 60^th year.

• UPDATED 08/03/2009 UPIAsia, Chinese civil rights groups under attack.

  How will China build a civil society if it keeps arresting and locking up those working to build that society.

  Guess its so much easier to have a civil society on paper than one in reality. Surely Gongmeng finds bemusement in China's massively corrupt officials notifying it of a tax audit for $26K—not to mention ironic!

• UPDATED 06/25/2009 BBC, Chinese urge activist's release.
  • 参与, 中国50多位知识分子发出呼吁，要求立即释放刘晓波.

• UPDATED 06/24/2009 BBC, China activist formally arrested.

  • NYT, Chinese Dissident Charged With Subversion
  • CDT, Six Months Later: What’s Next for Liu Xiaobo?
  • VOA, China Arrests Prominent Dissident on Subversion Charges
  • PEN American Center, Writers Condemn Formal Arrest of Chinese Colleague Liu Xiaobo

  After months of arbitrary detention the authorities have formally charged Liu Xiaobo with spreading rumors and defaming the government—whatever that means.

  It's unclear how Liu or anybody else “defames” or “spreads rumors” about a governmental entity—authorities likely mean that Liu has dared to think for himself and publicly assert that China’s current leaders must chart a reformist course.

  Arbitrary house arrests and detentions; force, coercion, and suppression; cattle prod augmented education and reeducation; nationalism; imbalanced and unsustainable economic growth; a corruption hotline into the Zhongnanhai; Great Firewalls, Green Dam software, and Google censorship; are poor substitutes for responsible dissent and responsive reforms.

  One can appreciate the rigors of trying to balance on a ball in turbulent global seas or wanting to suppress local or global waves of dissent to stay afloat—changing from a ball to a boat might offer more stability? If so, it’s probably not a good idea to arrest and imprison the navigators or those who are capable of sailing the seas.

  China must immediately drop all charges against Liu and others for their peaceful dissent.

• UPDATED 05/15/2009 BBC, Secret Tiananmen memoirs[, Prisoner of the State] revealed. Believed to be based on recordings made by Zhao Ziyang while he was alive and under house arrest (see Still Managing The Tiananmen Student Massacre Fallout).
• UPDATED 03/13/2009 IHT, Nobel winners to China: Stop abusing Dalai Lama
• UPDATED 01/08/2009 BBC, Veteran Chinese activist jailed
• UPDATED 01/02/2009 BBC, China's Liu 'under house arrest'

• UPDATED 12/23/2008 HRW, Letter from the Consortium for the Release of Liu Xiaobo to China's President Hu Jintao

  "We, the undersigned scholars, writers, lawyers and human rights advocates write to share our deep concern with the ongoing arbitrary detention of literary critic and former professor of literature Liu Xiaobo...

  ...For the international community to take seriously China's oft-stated commitment to respect human rights and the rule of law, and for China's own citizens to trust the judicial system to redress legitimate grievances, it is urgent that China's central leadership ensure that no one be arrested or harassed simply for the peaceful expression of his or her views.

  It is equally urgent that judicial authorities throughout China cease to use China's anti-subversion law to prosecute peaceful critics such as Mr. Liu Xiaobo, who should be released immediately without conditions."

  • UPDATED 12/23/2008 enVOA, Nobel Laureates Voice Concern About Jailed Chinese Dissident
  • UPDATED 12/23/2008 美国之音以, 多国作家促胡锦涛释放刘晓波
• UPDATED 12/20/2008 WSJ, China's Human-Rights Activists Need Support, by Vaclav Haval

• UPDATED 12/20/2008 enPEN, Open letter to President Hu Jintao.

  "International PEN considers Liu Xiaobo to be held solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to free expression, and therefore in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory, as well as Article 35 of the Chinese Constitution. PEN demands the immediate and unconditional release of Liu Xiaobo and all those currently detained in the People's Republic of China for the peaceful expression of their opinions."--PEN International--

• UPDATED 12/20/2008 Reuters, EU concerned by China's Charter '08 arrests.
• UPDATED 12/20/2008 Telegraph, Chinese dissidents emulate anti-Soviet heroes with Charter 08
• UPDATED 12/17/2008 WP, With Strikes, China's New Middle Class Vents Anger
• 'Locked up for complaining in China'

Goog:

• Google, 'Charter 08'
• Google, news stories 'Charter 08'

------notes-----

1. UPDATED 12/16/2008 China's Communist Party leadership also blocks access to websites it considers opposing its policy of silencing political dissidents (e.g. BBC and VOA Chinese language version; China 'bans BBC Chinese website').

2. UPDATED 12/17/2009 If you think China is the only government engaged in the Sisyphean suppression of websites consider these paragraphs from Britian's proposed Digital Economy Bill:

"124H Obligations to limit internet access

(1) The Secretary of State may at any time by order impose a technical obligation on internet service providers if the Secretary of State considers it appropriate in view of...

124G Obligations to limit internet access: assessment and preparation

(2) A “technical obligation”, in relation to an internet service provider, is an obligation for the provider to take a technical measure against particular subscribers to its service.

(3) A “technical measure” is a measure that—
(a) limits the speed or other capacity of the service provided to a subscriber;
(b) prevents a subscriber from using the service to gain access to particular material, or limits such use;
(c) suspends the service provided to a subscriber; or
(d) limits the service provided to a subscriber in another way."

3. UPDATED 12/28/2009 Fortunately nations may be entering a period where no system is presumed to be "the best system" for citizen governance". Requiring all nations to continually compete (and thus constantly improve) "their system" of citizen governance.

The euphemism "meddling" becomes "comparative shopping" as we continually converge on "the best system" of citizen governance.

National salesman offering take-it-or-leave-it; black box; cannibal capitalism; opaque; totalitarian; authoritarian; repressive; and oppressive systems of citizen governance will quickly drop off a citizen's shopping list.

Nations remaining on the shopping list can expect: detailed scrutiny by other nation's citizens and saleswomen; Salesmen and citizens with a detailed knowledge of a competitor's product; and constant comparisons of the advantages and disadvantages of each nation's product for citizen governance.

How about that for stable and harmonious citizen governance with universal characteristics!