Statements

The Writers in Prison and Human Rights Committee of the Japan P.E.N. Club wishes to express its shock and dismay concerning the news that Dr. Liu Xiaobo has been detained by the Chinese police.

According to the latest information, Dr. Liu Xiaobo, an ex-chairman and board member of the Independent Chinese PEN Center, was charged with suspicion of "inciting the subversion of state power," and the reason for his detention is that he was a co-signer of the Chapter 08 declaration disseminated on the eve of Human Rights Day.

The Japan P.E.N. Club is a member center of International PEN and we pledge to uphold its Charter, which states "PEN stands for the principle of unhampered transmission of thought within each nation and between all nations, and members pledge themselves to oppose any form of suppression of freedom of expression in the country and community to which they belong, as well as throughout the world wherever this is possible. PEN declares for a free press and opposes arbitrary censorship in time of peace." We are deeply concerned that the detention of Dr. Liu Xiaobo violates freedom of expression, one of the fundamental human rights.

The Writers in Prison and Human Rights Committee of the Japan P.E.N. Club strongly urges the Chinese government to exercise restraint in this situation by immediately releasing Dr. Liu Xiaobo, and we also hope that the other co-signers and supporters of Chapter 08 can freely express their opinions without being subject to pressures such as harassment and detention.

Tokyo, December 22nd, 2008