Chinese journalist begins hunger strike

A Chinese online journalist has begun a hunger strike in protest against the eight-year prison sentence he received on 28 May.

Twenty-eight year-old Xu Wei, a journalist and graduate, was jailed in 2001 by China's State Security Bureau on charges of subversion.

In May 2000, Xu and three friends had established a web-based group called the New Youth Society as a platform for discussion on politics and democratic reform. His co-defendants Zhang Honghai, a freelance writer, Yang Zili, a web engineer and geologist Jin Haike all received sentences of between eight and 10 years.

Xu's lawyer, Mo Shaoping, said Xu had been refusing food since the hearing as a protest against the verdict. "He said he was determined not to eat until justice was restored to him," Mr Mo told reporters in Beijing.

Xu is now reported to be accepting water, although concern has been raised by international human rights groups over the treatment of Xu Wei and his colleagues in detention. His health is thought to be deteriorating after alleged beatings and electric shock torture.

China has been keen to embrace the Internet commercially in recent years and estimates that more than 48 million Chinese are online.

But the authorities have been criticised for their heavy web censorship; in 2002 the authorities closed 150,000 Internet cafés operating without a licence, and blocked the Google search engine. The Chinese government is thought to employ around 30,000 staff specifically to monitor the country's web traffic.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the international campaign for press freedom, wrote to US President George W. Bush and French President Jacques Chirac in May to urge them to take action against China.

RSF secretary-general Robert Menard asked them to use the opportunity of meeting Chinese President Hu Jintao at the G8 summit in Evian, France to demand the release of at least 40 cyber-dissidents held in China.

"A new crackdown on cyber-dissidents and journalists speaking out online shows that freedom of expression in China is still only words," the letter stated.

"Even worse, those who publish their writings online are treated like criminals and subjected to ill-treatment, torture and heavy prison sentences."

RSF has received no response to the letter as yet, according to their Paris office.

The 14th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations was on 4 June; tension was high in Beijing as the authorities closely monitored the square to ensure there was no attempt to commemorate the event.

Sources:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/2961286.stm
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/06/04/1054700279071.html
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=9FE25602-A9C8-43F9-AD663FE390A2BA54
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/4/newsid_2496000/2496277.stm

Free daily newsletter

If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).