Li Yanhe published books by Chinese dissidents and translated Western authors.
This statement was originally published on pen.org on 26 April 2023.
“Publishing is not a crime and Li Yanhe should be released immediately and unconditionally. His detention is an attack on free expression and another example of the Chinese government’s belligerence towards anyone who stands for the free and open exchange of ideas. Li Yanhe had published books by Chinese dissidents and on subjects that otherwise would have been banned by Beijing. He has given Chinese-language readers access to different ideas and perspectives, including translations of Western authors. His detention is an outrageous attempt to muzzle the work of Gusa Publishing House as the Chinese Communist Party continues to try and silence free expression outside its border.”
Beijing has targeted book publishers in the past. In 2015, five booksellers affiliated with a Hong Kong bookstore disappeared, only to emerge later in mainland Chinese custody – a case known as the “Causeway Bay Bookstore Disappearances.” Publisher and poet Gui Minhai, one of the Causeway Bay 5, is still serving a ten-year sentence on trumped-up charges. Hong Kong publisher Yao Wentian was released from prison in China in March after serving an almost 10-year prison sentence in retaliation for publishing books about Chinese leaders, including a planned exposé on Xi Jinping.
