WiPC is seriously concerned about the arrest of the Chinese historian, librarian and writer Song Yongyi employed at Dickinson College, Pennsylvania, USA. International PEN asks for further information on his arrest, and calls for his immediate release if he is detained solely for exercising his right to free expression. Song Yongyi is a highly regarded […]
WiPC is seriously concerned about the arrest of the Chinese historian, librarian and writer Song Yongyi employed at Dickinson College, Pennsylvania, USA. International PEN asks
for further information on his arrest, and calls for his immediate release if he is detained solely for exercising his right to free expression.
Song Yongyi is a highly regarded Chinese historian, librarian and writer employed at the Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, USA. He and his wife Helen Yao, who is also a writer, were spending the summer of 1999 in China visiting family and carrying out research on the Cultural Revolution. The material they were collecting is believed to be previously published public documents.
On 7 August, Song Yongyi and his wife Helen Yao were arrested. She was released on 16 November and allowed to return to the US, but Song Yongyi remained in custody. On 24 December, he was formally charged with “the purchase and illegal provision of intelligence to foreign people”. He remains detained awaiting trial, and has reportedly been denied any access to legal representation to date. In November 1995, he underwent surgery for bladder cancer, and is said to be in need of regular medical check-ups. There are fears that his health may be deteriorating whilst in detention.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the premier:
– expressing concern that Song Yongyi may be detained in violation of Article 19 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights
– seeking further details as to the reason for the charges
– urging his immediate release if he is detained solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression and his right “to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”
– asking that whilst detained he is allowed access to medical facilities and legal representation
Appeals To
APPEALS TO:
Premier of the Peoples Republic of China
His Excellency Zhu Rongji
Office of the Premier
Guowuyan 9
Xihuangcheggenbejie
Beijing 100032
P.R. China
Fax: +86 110 6467 7351
PEN also requests that copies be sent to the Chinese embassy in your own country.
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
