[Reader-list] Chinese intellectuals respond to Tibet

[Shuddhabrata Sengupta]

Thank you, Sonia for your postings on Tibet, especially the post  
forwarding the letter by 39 Chinese intellectuals critiquing the  
Chinese state's handling of Tibet, (and Jeebesh for your earlier  
posting about Chinese intellectual life). Incidentally, since Mahmood  
had asked about a source for this posting

I found it posted first at a very useful and interesting website  
called Chinese Human Rights Defenders - http://crd-net.org/ which has  
links to many interesting posts. The specific link to this statement  
about Tibet is at -

http://crd-net.org/Article/Class9/ 
Class10/200803/20080322224710_8160.html

Clearly, the situation in Tibet is causing a great deal of reflection  
within China itself. The efforts by the Chinese state to act as if  
all Han Chinese were complicit in the continuing tragedy of Tibet are  
far from the truth. Dissident Intellectuals like Wei Jingsheng and  
Cao Changching (currently in exile) have for long spoken in a  
distinctly different language from the hegemonic pronouncements of  
the Chinese state and Communist Party regarding Tibet.

Another useful link to know more about 'different' Chinese  
perceptions of Tibet is at -
http://www.tibet.com/China/index.html

Finally, I wanted to share with all of you another interesting  
posting I found on the Chinese Human Rights Defenders site - it is a  
petition (customarily numercially titled, I really like the way in  
which Chinese political culture does things 'by numbers') titled  -  
' “One World, One Dream” and Universal Human Rights - Prominent  
Chinese citizens propose seven changes for upholding Olympic  
principles' . This was posted on August 7, 2007 and has gathered many  
signatures (see the diversity of people listed as signatories below).  
The English text of the letter is at

http://crd-net.org/Article/Class9/ 
class97/200709/20070920050059_5310.html

--------
Here is an introductory text to the letter - at the CRD-net.org website
----------
(Chinese Human Rights Defenders, August 7, 2007) – At the start of  
the one-year count-down to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, prominent  
Chinese citizens and leading public intellectuals in China signed an  
open letter “One World, One Dream: and Universal Human Rights.”   
The letter is addressed to Chinese leaders and leaders in the  
concerned international community, proposing seven measures to end  
human rights violations surrounding the preparations for the Olympics  
and calling for amnesty of prisoners of conscience.  Chinese Human  
Rights Defenders stands with those who signed the letter, supporting  
their position on the Beijing Olympics and the seven proposals.

Jacques Rogge, Chair of the International Olympic Committee, is in  
Beijing to attend a two-day ceremony to mark the one-year count- 
down.  Beijing police has intensified “clean-up” operations,  
rounding up petitioners and putting some activists under close watch.

More than forty people signed the Open Letter, including Dai Qing,  
the well-known writer/journalist, Bao Tong, a former top aid to Zhao  
Ziyang, the reformist former Chinese leader, Ding Zilin, who has led  
the Tiananmen Mothers movement, and Liu Xiaobo, the famous dissident  
writer.

The letter is open for endorsement by any Chinese citizens and  
members of the international community.

---------
And here is the text of the letter itself. It is a useful model to  
think about in terms of the forthcoming Commonwealth Games tamasha to  
be held in Delhi.
----------

“One World, One Dream” and Universal Human Rights

An Open Letter to Chinese and World Leaders on the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Hu Jintao, President, People’s Republic of China

Wu Bangguo, Chair, Standing Committee of the National People’s  
Congress of China

Wen Jiabao, Premier of the State Council of China

Jacques Rogge, Chair, International Olympic Committee

Doru Romulus Costea, President, United Nations Human Rights Council

Louise Arbour, High Commissioner, United Nations Office for Human Rights

Leaders of democratic states concerned about promoting freedom and  
human rights

International NGOs concerned with human rights

Members of the communities of sports, arts and entertainment,  
academe, and business

around the world

Respected Leaders and Fellow World Citizens:

Upholding the fundamental principles of the Olympic spirit,  
including “respect for universal fundamental ethical principles”  
and “the harmonious development of man, with a view to promoting a  
peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human  
dignity” (Olympic Charter, Preamble);

Taking note of the Chinese government’s official 2008 Olympic  
theme “One World, One Dream” and the Beijing Olympic Committee’s  
stated objectives of hosting an “Open, Green, and Humane  
Olympics”; and

Mindful of the growing number of questions and criticisms in our own  
society and from around the world about the violations of the human  
rights of Chinese citizens in the name of the Beijing Olympics;

We, the undersigned citizens of the People’s Republic of China, here  
voice our concerns and to propose changes in the ways in which our  
government is handling its preparations for the Olympics.

Today, August 8, 2007, marks the start of the one-year count-down to  
the 2008 Summer Olympics, a mega-event for China and the world.  We,  
as citizens of the People’s Republic of China, ought to be feeling  
pride in our country’s glory in hosting the Games, whose purposes  
include the symbolization of peace, friendship, and fairness in the  
world community.  We also ought to feel uplifted by the watchword  
chosen by the Beijing Olympic Committee: “One World, One Dream.”

Instead we feel disappointment and doubt as we witness the continuing  
systematic denial of the human rights of our fellow citizens even  
while--and sometimes because--Olympic preparations are moving  
forward.  We hear “One World” and wonder: What kind of world will  
this be? “One Dream”?  Whose dream is it that is coming true?  We  
are gravely concerned about the question of whether authorities in  
our country can successfully host the Olympic Games in an authentic  
Olympic spirit so that the 2008 Beijing games can become an event of  
which China and the world community can be proud.

As the one world that we share “globalizes,” lives and dreams are  
becoming increasingly intertwined.  One person’s “world dream,”  
especially if it is implemented with unchecked power, and with  
endorsement from the world community, can turn into misery and  
nightmare for others.  “One world” can still be a world where  
people suffer discrimination, political and religious persecution,  
and deprivation of liberty, as well as poverty, genocide, and war.   
Millions of people who survived such miseries and disasters in the  
20th century have come to appreciate, and to pursue, human rights.   
Universal human rights have become the bedrock concept in pursuing  
lasting peace, sustainable development, and justice.

If “one dream” is truly to belong to all cultures and communities,  
it must involve protection of basic rights and liberties for all.   
Even the powerful, the rich and privileged might be punished unjustly  
tomorrow if fundamental rights are not assured today.

The government that rules our country has pledged to the Chinese  
people and to the world to protect human rights.  It has acceded to  
obligations under numerous international human rights conventions and  
treaties, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and it  
has amended the Chinese Constitution to include guarantees of human  
rights.

In order to avoid misunderstanding, and in order to alert the  
international community to un-Olympic conduct that tarnishes the true  
spirit of the Games, we, the undersigned citizens of the People’s  
Republic of China, endorse the government’s Olympic slogan with the  
following vital addition:

“One World, One Dream, and Universal Human Rights.”

Without promoting human rights, which are the fundamental principle  
of universal ethics in China and elsewhere, it is gratuitous to  
promote “One World.”   Without the protection of the human rights  
of all Chinese citizens equally--i.e., without abolition of the rural- 
urban residential control system, without an end to discrimination  
against women and sexual, ethnic, and faith minorities, and without  
ending the suppression of political dissent--it is senseless to talk  
about “One Dream” for all of China.

China’s government has promised the International Olympic Committee  
to “promote human rights” and has pledged to the United Nations  
Human Rights Council to “uphold the highest standard of human  
rights.”  On paper it has taken certain steps toward improving human  
rights--in 2003, for example, abolishing the arbitrary detention  
system known as “Custody and Repatriation” and in 2004 adding  
“human rights protection” as an amendment to China’s  
Constitution.  We believe that the government should be able to do  
much more.

Little has been done, in practice, to carry out the promises that  
have been made on paper.  On the contrary we have experienced and  
witnessed violations of human rights many times--in press censorship  
and control of the Internet, in the persecution of human rights  
defenders and of people who expose environmental or public health  
disasters, in the exploitation of poor or disadvantaged social groups  
and in retaliation against them when they protest, and even in abuses  
by corrupt officials who are involved in the construction of Olympic  
facilities and city beautification projects that are aimed to prepare  
for the Olympics.  All of these actions violate not only  
international standards but provisions of the Chinese constitution as  
well.

We find no consolation or comfort in the rise of grandiose sports  
facilities, or a temporarily beautified Beijing city, or the prospect  
of Chinese athletes winning medals.  We know too well how these  
glories are built on the ruins of the lives of ordinary people, on  
the forced removal of urban migrants, and on the sufferings of  
victims of brutal land grabbing, forced eviction, exploitation of  
labor, and arbitrary detention.

Out of deep affection for our motherland and our sense of duty as  
citizens of the world, we will do our best, and urge leaders in China  
and in the world community to join hands with us, to make the Beijing  
Olympics a turning point in China’s rise to greatness.  China has  
the opportunity to use the Games to build true harmony on the basis  
of respect for human dignity and freedom and to become a respectable  
member of the community of civilized nations--not by loud rhetoric or  
brute force, but by taking actions to promote human rights at home  
and in the world.

In the “one world” in which we live, the dreams that are coming  
true in China today will significantly shape everyone’s future.   
Therefore, in order to promote a successful Olympics consistent with  
human rights, we propose the following measures:

1.Declare amnesty for all prisoners of conscience so that they can  
enjoy the Olympic games in freedom.

2.Open China’s borders to all Chinese citizens who have been forced  
into exile for their beliefs, expression, or faith, so that they can  
re-unite with their loved ones and celebrate the glory of the  
Olympics in their motherland;

3.Implement the government ordinance to allow foreign journalists to  
conduct interviews and reporting without pre-approval by authorities  
before October 17, 2008, granting Chinese journalists the same access  
and independence.

4.Provide fair compensation to the victims of forced evictions and  
land appropriations that have been done in order to construct Olympic  
facilities, and release people who have been detained or imprisoned  
(often violently) for protesting or resisting such actions.

5.Protect the rights of workers on all Olympic construction sites,  
including their right to organize independent labor unions; end  
discrimination against rural migrant laborers and give them fair  
compensation.

6.End police operations intended to intercept, detain, or send home  
petitioners who try to travel to Beijing to complain about local  
officials’ misconduct; abolish illegal facilities used for  
incarcerating, interrogating, and terrorizing petitioners; end the  
“clean up” operations aimed at migrants that demolish their  
temporary housing and close down schools for their children.

7.Establish a system of citizen oversight over Olympics spending and  
provide public accounting and independent auditing of Olympics- 
related expenditures; make the process of awarding contracts to  
businesses transparent, and hold legally accountable any official who  
embezzles or wastes public funds.

We further suggest setting up an independent Beijing Olympics Watch  
Committee, composed of independent experts and representatives of non- 
governmental organizations and affected communities such as migrant  
laborers and people who have been forcibly relocated.  This Committee  
would oversee the implementation of the above proposals.  It should  
be allowed to operate independently, to examine plans, to interview  
freely, and to release its findings to the public. Citizen  
participation is key to a successful Olympics.

If proposals even as straightforward as the foregoing cannot be  
adopted, we feel certain that the Beijing Olympics will not go down  
in history as the glorious events that everyone wishes them to be.   
We do not want to “politicize” the Olympic movement. However,  
pushing the Games through in ways that violate human rights and that  
hurt people who are forced into silence, all in the name of a  
“dream” that belongs only to “some” people, not our whole  
world, will only plant seeds of resentment that will exacerbate the  
crises in China and affect the future of the world.

Sincerely yours,

Signed (name followed by location of residence and profession):

August 7, 2007

DING Zilin 丁子霖（Beijing, professor, leader of “Tiananmen  
Mothers”）

LIU Xiaobo 刘晓波（Beijing, writer, president of independent  
Chinese PEN）

BAO Zhunxin 包遵信（Beijing, historian）

YU Haocheng 于浩成（Beijing, legal scholar）

DAI Qing 戴  晴（Beijing, writer/journalist）

BAO Tong 鲍  彤（Beijing, former member of CCP Central Committee）

JIANG Peikun 蒋培坤（Beijing, professor）

ZHANG Xianling 张先玲（Beijing, engineer, leading member of  
“Tiananmen Mothers”）

JIANG Qisheng 江棋生（Beijing, scientist/writer）

CHEN Ziming 陈子明（Beijing, scholar）

ZHANG Zhuhua 张祖桦（Beijing, Scholar）

LIAO Yiwu 廖亦武（Sichuan, writer）

WANG Yi 王  怡（Sichuan, scholar）

JIAO Guobiao 焦国标（Beijing, scholar/writer）

CHEN Xiaoya 陈小雅（Beijing, scholar/writer）

LIU Junning 刘军宁（Beijing, scholar）

XU Youyu 徐友渔（Beijing, scholar at Chinese Academy of Social  
Science）

HE Weifang 贺卫方（Beijing, professor, Beijing University）

XIA Yeliang 夏业良（Beijing, economist）

AI Xiaoming 艾晓明（Guangzhou, professor）

ZHANG Hong 张  闳（Shanghai, professor）

YU Jie 余  杰（Beijing, writer）

YU Shichun 余世存（Beijing, scholar/writer）

MA Bo 马  波（Beijing, writer）

FU Guoyong 傅国涌（Zhejiang, writer）

RANG Yunfei 冉云飞（Sichuan, writer）

GAO Yu 高  瑜（Beijing, journalist）

ZAN Aizong 昝爱宗（Zhejiang, journalist）

PU Zhiqiang 浦志强（Beijing, lawyer）

TENG Biao 滕  彪（Beijing, lawyer）

ZHUANG Daohe 庄道鹤（Zhejiang, lawyer）

XIA Lin 夏  霖（Beijing, lawyer）

HU Jia 胡  佳（Beijing, activist）

LIU Feiyue 刘飞跃 （Hubei, activist)

WEN Kejian 温克坚（Zhejiang, writer）

ZHAO Dagong 赵达功（Shenzhen, writer）

QIN Geng 秦  耕（Hainan, writer）

WANG Debang 王德邦（Beijing, writer）


Signed after August 7， 2007:


Liu Shui 刘水（Gansu, writer）

Liu Yiming 刘逸明（Hubei, writer）

Zeng Ning 曾宁(Guizhou, writer)

Lu Yang 鲁扬（Shandong, poet）

Chen Yangchao 陈泱潮（Exiled democracy activist）

Wang Zhongling 王中陵(Writer)

Yan Liehan 鄢烈汉(Hubei, no affiliation)

Lin, Shuijing (Beijing, lawyer)

Wu Mengqian, 吴孟谦（Zhejiang, unemployed ）

Bi Shiyuan 毕时圆（Writer ）

Ma Yaliang马亚莲（Shanghai, citizen）

Yang Zhongxia杨仲侠（Nanjing, teacher ）

Cui Xinfqng崔兴昉（Shenzhen, Professional ）

Wen Jianping文建平（Beijing, journalist）
Sun Jing 孙静（Liaoning Benxi, teacher）

Liu Jingsheng 刘京生（Beijing, professional）

Ye Du  野渡（Guangzhou, editor ）

Lu Wen 陆文（Jiangshu, writer ）

Yu Zhijian 余志坚（Hunan Liuyang, wrtiter ）

Niu Lehou 牛乐吼（Henang, professional）

Wang Dejia 王德佳 （Guangxi  Quanzhou, writer）

Lv Disong   吕耿松(Hangzhou, professional)

Wang Donghai 王东海 (Hangzhou, professional)

Ren Weiren 任伟仁 (Hangzhou, professional）

Xu Guang 徐光 (Hangzhou, professional )

Wang Ronqing 王荣清 (Hangzhou, professional)

Wang Fuhua 王富华 (Hangzhou, professional)

Gao Haibing 高海兵 (Hangzhou, professional)

Lai Jinbiao 来金彪 (Hangzhou, professional)

Xiao Libin 萧利彬 (Hangzhou, professional)

Xi Chuangxi 席传喜 (Hangzhou, professional)

Zhou Wei  邹伟(Hangzhou, professional)

Fang Ziliang 范子良 (Hangzhou, professional)

Qie Huimin 戚惠民 (Hangzhou, professional)

Hu Junxiong 胡俊雄 (Hangzhou, professional)

Wang Rongyao 王荣耀 (Hangzhou, professional)

Qiu gengyao 邱更耀 (Hangzhou, professional)

Chen Longde 陈龙德 (Hangzhou, professional)

Wu gaoxing 吴高兴 (Hangzhou, professional)

Mao Guoliang 毛国良 (Hangzhou, professional)

Zhong Zhengxiang 钟正相 (Hangzhou, professional)

Chen Lei 陈雷 (Hangzhou, professional)

Chen Wei 陈卫 (Sichuan, professional)

Ouyang Yi 欧阳懿（Sicuan, writer）

Zhou Zhigang 周志刚（Sichuan, Teacher）

Hanbin 韩斌（Sichuan, doctor）

Deng Hui 邓辉（Sichuan, farmer）

Feng Daxun 冯达勋（Sichuan, jobless）

Lin Shuangde 林双德 (Guangxi Qinzhou, landless farmer)

Guo Tai  郭泰  (Guangxi Qinuzhou, landless farmer)

Guo Xin 郭新 (Guangxi Qinzhou, landless farmer)

Guo Wen 郭文(Guanxi, Qinzhou, landless farmer)

Guo Zhan 郭赞(Guanxi Qinzhou, landless farmer)

Lin Huan 林焕 (Guanxi Qinzhou, landless farmer)

Liu Jun 刘军（Guanxi Qinzhou, landless farmer）
Qie Qinhong 戚钦宏（Guangxi Qinzhou, government official）

Mo Jianggang 莫建刚（Guiyang, writer ）

Wu Yuqin 吴玉琴（Guiyang, writer）

Liao Shuangyuan 廖双元（guiyang, writer ）

Zhang Mingzhen 张明珍 （Guiyang, human rights activist）

Sun Zhihuai 孙治淮（Nanjing, office worker）

Mengfei 孟飞（Hebei, teacher ）
Huang Xiaomin黄晓敏（Chengdu, jobless）

Wu Yu 吴郁（Guiyang, worker）

Quan Lizhi 全林志（Guiyang, teacher）

Li Renke 李任科（Guiyang, democracy activist）

Meng Xing 孟醒（Shangdong, Cyber “resident”）

Liu Eran 刘二安（Henang Anyang, artist ）

Wu Yingzhou 吴灜洲（Shanxi, Jinzhong, agricultural scientist）

Han Xin 汉心（Guizhou, teacher）

Che Xiangqian 车向前（Guangdong Foshan, professional）

Hai Yang 海洋（China, worker）

Mao Guoliang 毛国良（Zhejiang, democracy activist ）

Li Xin 李新（Beijing, retired worker ）

Tan Jianmin 谭坚民（Guangxi Guilin, corporate employee）

Tang Jinling 唐荆陵（Guangdong, lawyer）

  Zhang Hu 张虎（Beijing, journalist）

He Yongquan 何永全 (Shanghai, professional）

Yang Qinheng杨勤恒（Shanghai, professional）

Li Guotao 李国涛（Shanghai, professional）

Dai Xuezhong 戴学忠（Shanghai, professional）

Dai Xuewu 戴学武（Shanghai, professional）

Shang Jiancheng 桑坚城（Shanghai, retired worker ）

Shen Jizhong 沈继忠（Shanghai, professional）

Han Lifa 韩立法  （Shanghai, professional）

Yao Zhengxiang 姚振祥（Shanghai, professional）

Gao Xiaoliang 高晓亮（Shanghai, professional）

Jjin Jisheng 金济生（Shanghai, professional）

Xu Jicheng 徐纪成（Shanghai, professional）

Lin Xinshu 林信舒（Fuzhou, doctor ）

Zhang Qingfa 张庆发(Shangdong, professor )

Lei Yaohui, 雷跃辉 (Jiangxi Yingtan,  professional)

Wang Lixiong 王力雄（Beijing, writer ）

Jiang Tianyong 江天勇（Beijing, lawyer）

Hou Wenbao 侯文豹（Anhui, Professional）

Deng Huanwu 邓焕武（Chongqing, writer ）
  WU Huajin 吴华金（China, student）
Chen Fan  程凡（Wenzhou, educator ）

Liu Zhengyou  刘正有（Sichuan Zigong, landless farmer and human  
rights activist）

Min Liangchen 闵良臣（Henan, writer）

Li Xiaolong 黎小龙 (Guangxi  Nanning, professional)
Qi Ziyong  齐志勇 (Beijing, human rights activist)

Xi Guozhen 奚国珍（Shanghai, resident）

Liu Lu 刘路（Shangdong, lawyer ）

Wu Zhongli 武中立（Chongqing, human rights activist）

Xu Gaojing 徐高金（Jiangxi, human rights activist）

Tie Liu 铁流（Beijing, writer）

Zhou Liang 周良（Anhui, teacher）

Tong Meng 童蒙（China, democracy activist）

Wang Wenji 王文集（Jianxi, government official）

Wu Meiping 吴美萍（Qinzhou, jobless）

Hu Fayun 胡发云（Wuhan, author of the novel ? Ru Yan ?《如 
焉》）

Wang Xiaoshan 王小山（Beijing, chief editor、veteran journalist）
Hou Fei, 候飞（Beijing, chief editor）
Rao Bo 姚博（Beijing, editor）

Rao Lifa 姚立法（Hubei, human rights activist）
Liang Xiaoyan 梁晓燕（Beijing, editor ）
Xu Xiao 徐   晓（Beijing, Writer ）

Zhang Guotang 张国堂（Hubei, democracy activist ）

Duan Jianxin 段建新 (Yunnan, accountant)











Shuddhabrata Sengupta
The Sarai Programme at CSDS
Raqs Media Collective
shuddha at sarai.net
www.sarai.net
www.raqsmediacollective.net