Posted by John Kennedy to Global Voices Online
Following his apprehension last month as he was pitching in with the earthquake relief in his native Sichuan province, web activist Huang Qi was this weekend formally arrested for “illegal possession of state secrets”.
Volunteers at his well-known website 64Tianwang.com (English) have been actively posting all news coverage and details surrounding Huang’s case, but the campaign to have his charges dropped gained a lot more momentum when, following his formal arrest on Friday afternoon, three of China’s better-known social issue bloggers, all from Sichuan, Wang Yi, Ran Yunfei and Linghu Buchong*, joined up with two other intellectual-writers, Liao Yiwu and Li Yadong, to take the brave step of issuing a letter of protest. The letter has been posted not just on their own blogs, but also on the more mainstream My1510, IndyMediaCN, among many others.
A translation of the letter, the original of which has since been read and spread widely online, can be seen below. Of particular note, however, is the online support yet another highly-read blogger, Mo Zhixu, has been providing on his own and in his own way, centered around his blog at independent portal Bullog.cn.
In early June, he posted the content of Huang’s Chinese Wikipedia entry, which at the time had far more information than its English counterpart, in a post at Bullog which although has since been deleted, can still be found elsewhere.
In a June 15 post titled simply, ‘One less person on MSN’, Mo reposts a Chinese-language RFA news report with the details of Huang’s arrest and earthquake relief/writing activities in the few days prior. On June 17 he posted a picture of the official document first used to detain Huang nearly a week earlier on June 11, along with the legal definition of what constitutes “possession of a state secret” in China:
Then on Saturday, July 19, Mo returned to Huang’s case with a picture and transcription of the official notice of Huang’s formal arrest, addressed to Huang’s mother, a post which in just a few hours had received over 11,000 hits and many supportive and outraged comments:
Below is the text of Wang, Ran, Linghu, Liao and Li’s statement on Huang’s arrest:
致æˆéƒ½å¸‚è¦æ–¹ã€æ”¿åºœã€äººå¤§åŠå¹¿å¤§å¸‚民:
2008å¹´7月19日,我们在朋å‹èšä¼šä¸ï¼Œå¾—知自6月10以æ¥è¢«æˆéƒ½è¦æ–¹åˆ‘事拘留的黄ç¦å…ˆç”Ÿï¼Œå·²äºŽä»Šæ—¥ä¸‹åˆï¼Œå› “éžæ³•æŒæœ‰å›½å®¶æœºå¯†”的罪å被æ£å¼é€®æ•ã€‚
我们与黄ç¦ç´ ä¸ç›¸è¯†ï¼Œä½†å°Šæ•¬ä»–创办“天网”ã€è‡´åŠ›äºŽå…¬æ°‘ç»´æƒçš„努力。我们知é“ä»–æ›¾å› æ¤å牢,并在狱ä¸éå—ä¸å½“å¾…é‡ï¼Œå‡ºç‹±åŽç•™ä¸‹è„‘部疼痛ç‰å¤šå¤„åŽé—症。我们尊敬他在æ¤æƒ…况下,ä»ç„¶åšæŒä»Žäº‹“天网”çš„æ°‘é—´ç»´æƒæ´»åŠ¨ï¼Œå°¤å…¶æ˜¯ä¸ºå…å››å—难者家属å”妈妈争å–政府补å¿é‡‘的努力。
作为ç»åŽ†äº†512å¤§åœ°éœ‡çš„å‡ ä½å››å·çŸ¥è¯†åˆ†å,我们尤其尊敬黄ç¦å…ˆç”Ÿåœ¨åœ°éœ‡åŽï¼Œå‚与民间震åŽæ•‘ç¾çš„工作。我们知é“他在ç¾åŒºä¸ºç¾æ°‘æ供力所能åŠçš„物资æ´åŠ©ï¼Œä¹Ÿä¸Žåœ°éœ‡ç½¹éš¾è€…å¦ç”Ÿçš„家长有所è”系。
While we have never been acquainted with Huang Qi, we respect the “Tianwang” which he founded to devote himself to upholding the rights of citizens. We know that he has served jail time, that he was mistreated while in prison, and that he came out with pains in his chest and other lingering conditions. Out of respect for him, we maintain our firm support for his civil rights-upholding activities through “Tianwang”, particularly his efforts in helping Mother Tang, relative of a June 4 victim, fight for compensation from the government.
As several Sichuanese intellectuals who experienced the earthquake, we especially respect Mr. Huang Qi for his participation in the civil society relief effort work following the earthquake. We know that he did everything in his power to provide supplies and aid to the earthquake victims in the disaster area, and was in contact with the parents of children who perished in the earthquake."
但我们éžå¸¸ä¸ç†è§£ï¼Œä¸€ä¸ªæ™®é€šå…¬æ°‘å‚与救ç¾ã€äº†è§£ç¾åŒºçœŸå®žæƒ…形,这和“国家机密”有什么关系?我们也曾以普通公民身份,å‚与 过一些ç¾åŒºæ•‘助的工作。我们和黄ç¦å…ˆç”Ÿä¸€æ ·ï¼Œä¹Ÿå’Œæˆåƒä¸Šä¸‡åœ¨ç¾åŒºçš„æ°‘é—´å¿—æ„¿è€…ä¸€æ ·ï¼Œå› æ¤äº†è§£åˆ°ä¸€äº›éžå®˜æ–¹çš„ã€ç”šè‡³ä¸Žåª’体的报é“ä¸å®Œå…¨ä¸€è‡´çš„ä¿¡æ¯ã€‚å¯æ˜¯ï¼Œéš¾ é“一个公民从媒体以外了解到的信æ¯ï¼Œå°±å±žäºŽ“国家机密”å—?难é“国家天然地拥有一切社会信æ¯çš„所有æƒå—?难é“一个公民有幸(或ä¸å¹¸ï¼‰è§åˆ°æˆ–å¬åˆ°äº†ä¸€äº›å’Œæ”¿ 府å£å¾„ä¸ä¸€è‡´çš„ä¿¡æ¯ï¼Œä»–å°±“éžæ³•æŒæœ‰å›½å®¶æœºå¯†”了å—?
å¦‚æžœè¿™æ ·çš„è¯ï¼Œé‚£å°±æ„味ç€æ¯ä¸€ä¸ªå’Œé»„ç¦è¯´è¿‡è¯çš„ç¾æ°‘,都éžæ³•æŒæœ‰ç€å›½å®¶æœºå¯†ã€‚æ¢è¨€ä¹‹ï¼Œä¸€æ—¦ä»–们æˆäº†ç¾æ°‘,他们就åŒæ—¶æˆäº†“国家机密”或æºå¸¦å›½å®¶æœºå¯†çš„ç—… 毒。æˆéƒ½å’Œå››å·è¦æ–¹åº”该逮æ•æ¯ä¸€ä¸ªå’Œé»„ç¦æœ‰è¿‡æŽ¥è§¦çš„ç¾æ°‘,而ä¸æ˜¯ä»…仅逮æ•é»„ç¦ä¸€äººã€‚或者至少把所有ç¾æ°‘都隔离起æ¥ï¼Œå…得我们一和他们说è¯ï¼Œå°±è§¦ç¢°äº†å›½å®¶æœº 密。
If that is the case, then that would suggest that every single earthquake victim who spoke with Huang Qi is also in illegal possession of state secrets. Put another way, at the same time they became earthquake victims, they also became “state secrets”, or began carrying some sort of state secret virus. The Chengdu and Sichuan police should go arrest every single earthquake victim who came in contact with Huang Qi, and not only just Huang Qi himself. Or at least, all earthquake victims should be put in isolation, to keep any of us from speaking to them, and coming across any state secrets.
基于法治的常识,我们知é“所谓国家机密,第一是ä¸ä¸ºä¸€èˆ¬å…¬æ°‘所知,第二是国家事先采å–了ä¿å¯†æŽªæ–½ã€‚æ¢è¨€ä¹‹ï¼Œå‡¡æ˜¯èƒ½åœ¨å¤§è¡—上 看到的事,都ä¸æ˜¯æœºå¯†ã€‚凡是在大街上看è§è£¸ä½“,一定ä¸æ˜¯çœ‹è§çš„人有问题,而是被看è§çš„人有问题。也就是说,一个éžå›½å®¶æœºå…³çš„普通公民,除éžä»–以éžæ³•çš„æ–¹å¼ åˆºæŽ¢ã€å·çªƒè¢«å›½å®¶æœºå…³é¢„å…ˆåŠ ä»¥ä¿æŠ¤çš„ä¿¡æ¯ï¼›å¦åˆ™ï¼Œä»–所知é“的任何信æ¯ï¼Œéƒ½ä¸å¯èƒ½è§¦åŠ“éžæ³•æŒæœ‰å›½å®¶æœºå¯†”这一罪å。
å› æ¤ï¼Œæˆ‘们对æˆéƒ½è¦æ–¹å› 黄ç¦å…ˆç”Ÿå‚与震åŽæ•‘ç¾è€Œé€®æ•ä»–ã€æž„陷他,ä¸å¾—ä¸è¡¨ç¤ºå¼ºçƒˆçš„质疑ã€å对和抗议。尽管我们看出,地方政府似乎ä¸å¤ªå–œæ¬¢æ°‘é—´çš„æ•‘ç¾ å¿—æ„¿æ´»åŠ¨ï¼Œä½†æˆéƒ½è¦æ–¹é€®æ•é»„ç¦çš„事件,ä»ç„¶æ˜¯ä»¤äººéœ‡æƒŠçš„。我们åªèƒ½ç†è§£ä¸ºè¿™æ˜¯å¯¹å¸‚民社会的一ç§å¦å®šï¼Œå¯¹æ°‘间的一次粗暴和傲慢的挑衅,也是对这个刚刚éå—地 震的çœä»½çš„一次羞辱。
我们基于个人的ç»éªŒå’Œè‰¯å¿ƒï¼Œä¸ç›¸ä¿¡è¿™æ˜¯ä¸€æ¬¡å…¬æ£çš„逮æ•ã€‚但我们希望æˆéƒ½è¦æ–¹èƒ½ä»¥å°Šæ•¬æ³•æ²»ã€å°Šé‡å…¬æ°‘æƒåˆ©ï¼ŒåŒæ—¶ä¹Ÿæ˜¯å°Šé‡è‡ªå·±çš„æ–¹å¼ï¼Œæ¥å¤„ç†è¿™ä¸€æ¡ˆä»¶ã€‚我们主 å¼ å¹¶æ”¯æŒåª’体ã€ç½‘络和民间å¯ä»¥è‡ªç”±åœ°æŠ¥é“å’Œè¯„è®ºè¿™ä¸€æ¡ˆä»¶ï¼Œæˆ‘ä»¬æ›´åŠ é¼“åŠ±æˆéƒ½å’Œå…¶ä»–地方的知识分åã€å¸‚民和媒体,更多地站出æ¥è´¨ç–‘和批评æˆéƒ½è¦æ–¹ï¼Œä»¥å…¬æ°‘çš„ æ£å½“æ–¹å¼ï¼Œå¸®åŠ©æ”¿åºœå°Šé‡ä»–自己制定的法律。
As such, we have no choice but to express our strong suspicion, opposition and protest to Chengu police’s arrest of Huang Qi under the false pretense of his participation in post-earthquake disaster relief. Although we have seen that the local government was not happy to see volunteer-based civil society relief rescue efforts, the Chengdu police’s arrest of Huang Qi is all the more shocking. We can only understand this as a sort of negation of municipal society, a cruel and arrogant provocation aimed at civil society, as well as a humiliation to this province which only just suffered an earthquake.
Based on experience and conscience, we do not believe this to be a just arrest. We do hope that Chengdu police will be able to respect the rule of law and respect civic rights, at the same time, respecting their own methods used in handling a case. We advocate for and support the media, internet and civil society to be able to freely report and comment upon this case. Even more, we encourage intellectuals, urban residents and media in Chengdu and elsewhere to stand up and question and criticize the Chengdu police for this, using the legitimate means of a citizen to help the government in respecting the laws it itself established."
我们呼åæˆéƒ½è¦æ–¹å¯¹é»„ç¦å…ˆç”Ÿï¼Œä¸è¦é‡‡å–任何刑讯逼供ç‰è¿å法治的野蛮åšæ³•ï¼Œå‘¼åæˆéƒ½è¦æ–¹å‡†è®¸é»„ç¦å…ˆç”Ÿçš„委托人å¯ä»¥ä¸Žä»–è§é¢ï¼Œå‘¼åæˆéƒ½è¦æ–¹ä¸è¦ä»¥éžæ³•çš„æ–¹å¼ï¼Œç»§ç»éªšæ‰°ã€å¨èƒé»„ç¦èº«è¾¹çš„天网义工。
我们ä¸æ„¿è¿™ä¸€æ¡ˆä»¶ï¼Œæˆä¸ºå¥¥è¿å¹´ä¸åˆä¸€æ¬¡å¼•èµ·å›½é™…关注的糟糕的人æƒè®°å½•ã€‚但é—憾的是,我们怀疑æˆéƒ½è¦æ–¹æ£è‡´åŠ›äºŽè¿™æ ·åšã€‚作为ä¸å›½çš„知识分å,我们也ä¸æ„¿çœ‹åˆ°ä¸å›½çš„人æƒçŠ¶å†µæ€»æ˜¯é到其他国家人士的批评,所以我们åªå¥½ç¡¬ç€å¤´çš®ï¼ŒçŽ‡å…ˆæ‰¹è¯„自己的政府。
希望æˆéƒ½è¦æ–¹å’Œæˆéƒ½å¸æ³•éƒ¨é—¨ï¼Œä¹Ÿèƒ½åœ¨è¿™ä¸ªæ¡ˆåä¸æœ‰çŽ‡å…ˆçš„回应。愿我们的批评ã€æŠ—议和政府的回应,都能æˆä¸ºå¯¹æˆéƒ½ã€å¯¹ä¸å›½çš„ç¥ç¦ã€‚
We would hate to see this case become yet another dismal human rights record raising international attention in the midst of this Olympic year. We regret to suspect, however, that the Chengdu police are at present committed to doing as much. As intellectuals of China, we also hate to see China’s human rights situation always being criticized by people from other countries, which is why we can only be hard-headed about this, and begin first and foremost by criticizing our own government.
We hope the Chengdu police and Chengdu judicial departments take the initiative in their response to this case. May our criticism, protest and response to the government prove to be a blessing for Chengdu, and for China.
2008-7-19
July 19, 2008"
Just a brief description of Huang’s website Tianwang: put online in 1998 as a platform for reuniting families with missing persons, a year later it had expanded its focus to larger social issues, exposing several corruption cases and one major medical scandal, during which time Huang Qi was beaten while his website garnered heavy praise in commercial and official Chinese (as well as foreign) media. Less than two years later, the website was shut down. Two weeks after that, Huang Qi had it up and running again, this time hosted overseas, only then to be blocked within China as it remains today. That same summer, Huang Qi was sentenced to five years in prison for subversion of state power. All this and more can be read on Tianwang here.
*Linghu Buchong has informed GVO that while he in fact did not sign his name to the letter, he was the first person to have posted it to Bullog.
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