My Kind of “Multiculturalism”

Liu Xiaobo Detained on Suspicion of “Inciting Subversion of State Power”

Please click here to join our discussion about the content of the 08 Charter

Less than 10 days ago, I wrote this post about Beijing police forcibly stopped prominent dissident writer Liu Xiaobo 刘晓波 from attending a Transition Institute seminar.  A few days later when I wrote about Jiang Yiping’s removal from the Southern Metropolis Daily, I foreshadowed a major crackdown targeting prominent dissidents.  The prediction is coming true even faster than I expect.  Liu Xiaobo was arrested late last night on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power”.  Here are the links to the Human Rights in China announcement about Liu’s arrest: in Chinese and in English.  Another human rights activist Zhang Zuhua (张祖桦) was also detained for interrogation and was released 12 hours later.

It is understood that Liu’s arrest is related to an open letter issued by a group of 303 Chinese writers, intellectuals, lawyers, journalists, retired Party officials, workers, peasants, and businessmen in commemoration of the 60^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  The letter, known as 08 Charter 零八宪章, makes 19 recommendations in its call for democracy in China.  These recommendations include: