(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 10 August 2000 letter to Chinese President Jiang Zemin, CPJ strongly condemned the recent banning of the New Culture Forum’s Web site (http://www.xinwenming.net), which featured essays and articles advocating a fresh approach to dealing with China’s social and political problems. CPJ fears that the site’s former staff may now face political […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 10 August 2000 letter to Chinese President Jiang Zemin, CPJ strongly condemned the recent banning of the New Culture Forum’s Web site (http://www.xinwenming.net), which featured essays and articles advocating a fresh approach to dealing with China’s social and political problems. CPJ fears that the site’s former staff may now face political persecution by Chinese authorities.
On 3 August 2000, the Ministry of State Security ordered the site’s host, the Beijing-based Million Internet Company, to shut down New Culture Forum due to its excessively “sharp and anti-government content,” the company’s general manager, Li Tao, told The Associated Press.
The articles posted on the site were written by veteran dissidents from Shandong Province, but were not directly critical of the Chinese government, according to CPJ sources. Rather, the site promoted the idea of a “new culture” (xin wenming) and featured essays developing the theme that the beginning of a new century should be a time for both citizens and public officials to find new strategies for dealing with social problems.
One of the most prolific contributors to the site was author and lawyer Mu Chuanheng, a well-known political dissident from the city of Qingdao. Mu has been barred from practicing law since 1985 due to his controversial books, all of which have been banned by the authorities, according to CPJ sources. The organisation is concerned for Mu’s safety in light of news reports that police are now searching for New Culture Forum’s staff.
CPJ also deplores the harassment of employees at the Million Internet Company, particularly general manager Li. Police interrogated Li on four separate occasions between 4 and 7 August, according to the New York-based organization Human Rights in China (HRIC), and ordered him to identify the staff of the New Culture Forum site.
Li told reporters that police had asked him to monitor more closely the sites his company hosts, and to report any suspicious content to the authorities.
In just over a year, seven people have been imprisoned for exchanging news and
information online. Authorities have also stepped up efforts to police and regulate Internet content. According to a 4 August report by the state news agency Xinhua, a special Internet police force was established in Anhui Province several weeks ago; it is reportedly intended as a model for similar forces across China.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the president:
– respectfully urging His Excellency to abandon the Chinese government’s repressive Internet policies
– expressing the belief that frank, public discussion of social and political issues contributes greatly to a country’s stability, and is by no means evidence of “subversion” -an accusation often leveled against journalists and political dissidents
– respectfully reminding His Excellency that China has signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, under which his government is obliged to ensure that citizens are free to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, without interference
– requesting that the New Culture Forum’s Web site be allowed to resume publishing online, with no restrictions on its content
– also asking His Excellency to guarantee that Mu and his colleagues will not be persecuted for their contributions to the site
Appeals To
APPEALS TO:His Excellency Jiang Zemin
President, People’s Republic of China
Beijing 100032
People’s Republic of China
Fax: +86 10 6512 5810Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
