7 December 2011 - Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China held a hearing entitled, “One Year After the Nobel Peace Prize Award to Liu Xiaobo: Conditions for Political Prisoners and Prospects for Political Reform,” which brought together a number of scholars, rights activists, and dissidents to discuss what Liu’s imprisonment means for the future of China’s democracy movement. The first panel of witnesses analyzed the domestic and international significance of how the Chinese government reacted to the prize. 

...said the Chinese government as Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was named the winner of the internationally esteemed Nobel Peace Prize "for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China."  As a long time democracy and human rights activist, Liu Xiaobo has been targeted by the Chinese government for his writings and for his role in the Tiananmen Square protests. Most notably, Liu was detained in December 2008 and disappeared for co-authoring "Charter 08," a manifesto calling for political reform and democratization in China. In June 2009, Liu was formally arrested for "agitation activities, such as spreading rumors and defaming the government, aimed at subversion of the State and overthrowing the socialism system."

Liu Xiaobo is currently being held in a prison in northern China where his wife Liu Xia hopes to travel to in order to share the good news about the award. "I'm totally shocked and feel so happy," said Liu Xia, although "she regretted her husband couldn't share the moment with her." He will be "surprised and humbled," she said. "It's an affirmation of what he has fought for." (Read more after the jump)

According to several sources, including PEN American Center and this LA Times article, renowned Chinese author and dissident Liu Xiaobo was transferred on May 24, 2010 from a detention center in Beijing to Jinzhou Prison in Liaoning Province. As Liaoning is reportedly Liu Xiaobo's home province (though according to China Geeks even that fact is unclear), it was predicted that Liu would be moved to a prison in Liaoning at some point. What is surprising is that it has taken this long for the transfer to take place, as Liu's wife, Liu Xia, previously assumed he would be moved following the Spring Festival in February. Liu Xia was not informed of her husband's transfer until May 30.

Liu Xia, who remains in Beijing, was able to visit her husband in Jinzhou Prison on June 3, according to Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD). The couple was only allowed to visit for one hour, and they were watched by prison guards throughout the visit. Following her visit, Liu Xia reported that her husband is allowed to leave his cell twice a day, is allowed to write and to read books, provided the books are approved by prison officials. CHRD also said that Liu Xiaobo has complained of stomach problems, but it is unclear whether he has received medical attention. Liu is not required to labor as most of the Laogai's 3-5 million prisoners are. Perhaps as such a prominent dissident, officials probably think it is better for Liu Xiaobo to remain in solitary confinement, rather than take the risk of allowing Liu Xiaobo to mingle with other prisoners and spread his "subversive" thinking.

I'm in the process of pulling together a presentation on the special tension between security and openness faced by organizations like the Laogai Research Foundation, who serve the impossible-to-secure dissidents of the repressive Chinese Communist Party.  So I was particularly interested, in light of our Twitter campaign to Free Liu Xiaobo, and our own interest in how the growing community of Chinese dissidents on Twitter have managed to create a much-needed public forum, in the question posed yesterday by C. Custer - "Is it a trap?"

Is Twitter a trap?  Custer certainly makes a compelling argument that Twitter, as an immensely popular micro-blogging service, provides a lovely pool of material for "would-be prosecutors to compile evidence of thoughtcrime".  And he certainly doesn't overstate the danger involved in public dissent in China - Just last week activist Tan Zuoren was sentenced to 5 years in prison for reporting on the Sichuan earthquake and the Beijing Municipal High Court rejected the appeal of democracy activist Liu Xiaobo.  There is reason to be concerned about the safety of the Twitter community of Chinese dissidents, and to a certain extent the platform is the responsibility of its creator.  (Read more after the jump)

One of China's most well-known dissidents, Liu Xiaobo, attended his appeal hearing at the Beijing Municipal High Court today, February 11, 2010. According to Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD), Liu's 11 year prison sentence was upheld. The appeal hearing was about ten minutes long, during which time the judge read a prepared statement. Liu's lawyers, though in attendance, were not allowed to speak. According to the CHRD report, Liu stated "I am not guilty!" after the decision was announced. Several other dissidents were placed under house arrest on February 10 and 11 to prevent them from attending the hearing. 

Liu's wife, who also attended the trial, was able to meet with Liu for twenty minutes following the trial. She reports that he will be held in Beijing at least through the upcoming Spring Festival, but Liu thinks he may be transferred to a prison near his hometown of Dalian following the holiday. 

After waiting since last August for a restart to his stalled trial, Chinese activist, and one of Time Magazine’s Ten Heroes of 2009, Tan Zuoren was sentenced to five years in prison.  Tan was compiling a report detailing the destruction that resulted from the Sichuan earthquake when he was arrested on the broad charge of “subversion” a tactic used by the Chinese government to put dissidents into prison for long periods of time.  After today’s pronouncement, Tan Zuoren’s lawyer, Pu Zhiqiang announced that the sentence Tan received was the maximum possible and they are planning to appeal the decision.  Fellow Sichuan earthquake activist and Twitter enthusiast Ai Weiwei said of the Tan Zuoren trial, “I think this is a very important case for China, more important than that of Liu Xiaobo.  It shows the Chinese legal system has taken a big step backwards. Tan's 'crime' was entirely one of speech, of conscience."

In further dissident news, Liu Xiaobo’s lawyer reports that the Beijing Courts are going to start his client’s second trial at 9am this Thursday, February 11 and his wife will be allowed to visit him.  While his lawyer remains hopeful that international pressure will have an effect on this second trial, Liu remains uncertain of what this second trial will bring.  

Despite freezing temperatures, over 500 people participated in a candlelight vigil for democracy activist Liu Xiaobo co-hosted by LRF Hong Kong.  Click below to see a slide show of pictures from the event.

Prominent dissident, democracy activist, and coauthor of Charter 08, Liu Xiaobo is now appealing his conviction and eleven year sentence on charges of "inciting subversion of state power," according to his lawyer, Shang Baojun. Liu was sentenced to eleven years imprisonment on December 25, 2009, following a short trial held behind closed doors on December 23. The verdict has been widely condemned by the international community, as well as dissidents within China.

Liu was first detained on December 8, 2008, two days before the release of Charter 08, a manifesto coauthored by Liu and other supporters of political reform in China that advocated respect for human rights and the peaceful transition to a democratic system of governance in China. Despite Liu's imprisonment, this document has collected more than 10,000 signatures to date. Liu's conviction was based on purely political grounds, as can be seen in the verdict (posted here in full in Chinese). Beyond his involvement in Charter 08, Liu was also convicted based on pro-democracy articles he wrote for publication online.

LRF has started a Twitter campaign in support of Liu Xiaobo. To join click here.

In a not-so-surprisingly Orwellian twist, Vice Minister of Public Security Yang Huanning announced two days following the arrest of Liu Xiaobo, that the Public Security Bureau would be "striking hard against hostile forces at home and abroad by striving to prevent and staging preemptive attacks."  According to Reuters, one of Yang's overarching themes was the need to keep, "The schemes of Western anti-China forces seeking to Westernize and split us, friction and disputes between countries, and hostile forces stirring up chaos and sabotage ..." at bay as they, "remain major factors affecting our national security and social stability."

One shocking element of Liu's sentence and Yang's subsequent address is not merely the complete and total absence of rule of law, order, or even logic on some counts, but the seeming CCP fascination with "Western anti-China forces."  As the Wall Street Journal offered, this pattern of action is "revealing because it shows not confidence and strength, but insecurity and vulnerability." 

But fear of what or whom?  Surely not international human rights activists, President Obama, or even the United Nations. Rather, it is Chinese citizens who engage in the ultimate crime against the state, independent thought, who the regime fear most. It is those who suggest self-governance and other democratic reforms, like Liu Xiaobo, who frighten the Party's leadership.  By painting these independent thinkers (criminals?) as anti-Chinese, the CCP wins the ultimate PR battle by appointing itself the champion of China. 

More than a year after being detained, and sixth months after being charged with subversion, prominent dissident and long-time democracy activist Liu Xiaobo was finally given a trial on December 23rd. Foreign diplomats, including US embassy officials, were barred from attending Mr. Liu's two-hour trial and instead congregated outside the court to await the verdict. The Chinese government shrewdly waited until Christmas Day to announce that Liu Xiaobo would be sentenced to eleven years in the Laogai. Despite the timing of the sentencing, numerous governments and human rights activists have already condemned Mr. Liu's harsh sentence. According to the verdict, which can be seen here (in Chinese), Mr. Liu was arrested on purely political grounds, and his harsh sentence comes in response to numerous articles he has published on the Internet. Hong Kong-based journalist Willy Lam argues in this article that the regime handed down such a harsh sentence in order to instill fear in the general public, as "mass incidents" are on the rise (an estimated 100,000 demonstrations in 2009 alone) and more and more Chinese internet users are exploiting cracks in China's Great Firewall to push for freedom of speech.