December 4, 2010

Please Help Free Liu Xiaob

Not that, to be honest, I am overly confident that this Call to Action will be crowned by success (and this for at least two quite obvious reasons I won’t mention here), but I can’t help doing my own little part to help support Tibetan and Chinese political prisoners in China, including Chinese literary critic, writer, professor, and human rights activist Liu Xiaobo, who has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China,” and is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence for “inciting subversion of state power.” That’s why I accept the call to action launched by the International Campaign for Tibet:

Liu Xiaobo, Chinese literary critic, writer, professor, activist and supporter of the Tibetan people, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China." Currently serving an 11-year prison sentence for "inciting subversion of state power," Liu Xiaobo is the first Chinese person to be awarded a Nobel Prize of any kind while residing in China.

Thousands of prisoners - Tibetan as well as Chinese - continue to be held behind bars, serving long sentences for speaking out and voicing their opinions. They include Dhondup Wangchen, a Tibetan film-maker; Migmar Dhondup, a Tibetan tour guide and writer ; Runggye Adak, a Tibetan nomad; and Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, a Tibetan religious and community leader.
The Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, which the Chinese government is not allowing Liu or his family to attend, will be held on December 10, which is International Human Rights Day.

Please add your voice before December 10, 2010 by sending a message to President Obama to urge him to stand up to press China for the release of all political prisoners detained for exercising their right to free expression, and to implement the political and human rights reforms that multitudes of Chinese and Tibetan advocates risk their lives to promote.
Take action and send your message now!