[ 时间:2014-03-12 17:49:56 | 作者:AMNESTY | 来源:六四天网转载 ]
URGENT ACTION
THREE CITIZEN JOURNALISTS DETAINED IN CHINA
Three citizen journalists have been detained in China after they published reports online about the activities of petitioners’ at Tiananmen Square, including a woman who tried to set herself on fire. The whereabouts of one of the journalists, a 17-year-old boy, is currently unknown. They are prisoners of conscience.
Wang Jing, Liu Xuehong, and Xing Jian, are all citizen journalists with 64Tianwang, a website which focuses on human rights issues in China and is run by around 1,000 volunteers. They were criminally detained in Beijing on 9 March after they reported on the website about the actions of petitioners at Tiananmen Square on 5 March. They described and provided photos of a woman who tried to set herself on fire after distributing some flyers. According to their report, four men quickly extinguished the fire and took the woman away. They also wrote about several other incidents of petitioners being taken away.
All three are being detained on suspicion of "picking quarrels and provoking troubles", a charge that carries a sentence of up to ten years’ imprisonment.
Wang Jing is from Jilin City, Jilin province, and was taken to Jilin City Detention Centre, while Liu Xuehong is detained at Beijing City No. 1 Detention Centre. Liu Xuehong’s husband said local police raided his home in Beijing on 8 March claiming that he and Liu Xuehong practiced Falun Gong, an outlawed spiritual movement. Six police officers from the Beijing City Public Security Bureau produced a search warrant and seized three computers, two camera and one computer hard disk. Xing Jian, 17, from Henan province, is the youngest volunteer of 64 Tianwang. The location of his detention is unknown.
Please write immediately in Chinese, English or your own language:
Urging the authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Wang Jing, Liu Xuehong and Xing Jian;
Calling on them to reveal the whereabouts of Xing Jian without delay;
Calling on them to ensure Wang Jing, Liu Xuehong and Xing Jian all have regular access to their family and lawyers of their choosing.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 23 APRIL 2014 TO:
Minister of Public Security
Guo Shengkun
14 Dongchanganjie
Beijingshi 100741
People’s Republic of China
Email: gabzfwz@mps.gov.cn
Salutation: Dear Minister
President
Xin Jinping Guojia Zhuxi
The State Council General Office
2 Fuyoujie
Xichengqu, Beijingshi 100017,
People’s Republic of China
Fax: +86 10 6238 1025
Salutation: Your Excellency
And copies to:
Premier
Li Keqiang Guojia Zongli
The State Council General Office
2 Fuyoujie
Xichengqu, Beijingshi 100017,
People’s Republic of China
Fax: +86 10 6238 1025
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:
Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Fax Fax number Email Email address Salutation Salutation
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.
URGENT ACTION
THREE CITIZEN JOURNALISTS DETAINED IN CHINA
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Due to concerns about censorship, the mainstream media in China does not usually report news that would be considered sensitive by the authorities. With the rise of the Internet, some activists have established alternative news websites like 64 Tianwang, which they focus on reporting human rights news and the situation of petitioners (people seeking redress for perceived injustices). Because of limited resources, these websites usually hire volunteers as citizen journalists. Also due to censorship, they often cannot get a domestic domain and hosting, but operate with foreign domains and hosting.
Every year in March, during the annual meetings of the National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Beijing, thousands of petitioners across China head to Beijing to express their grievances at Tiananmen Square near the Great Hall of the People, where officials and national delegates attend the meetings. According to a report by Guangzhou newspaper Nanfang Zhoumo (Southern Weekend) on 23 December 2013, citing statistics from the State Bureau for Letters and Calls, country wide the number of petitioners to all levels of government and departments is approximately 600,000 per month, which works out to 7.2 million per year. This article mentions that while there is an overall decline, the percentage going to Beijing continues to rise, rising last year by 28.3 per cent.
Name: Wang Jing, (F) Liu Xuehong, (F) and Xing Jian (e)
Gender m/f: Both
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