13 Oct 2010

Chinese elders call for free press

Twenty-three senior members of the Chinese Communist Party have called on the government to lift the restrictions on freedom of speech in China.

In an open letter dated October 1, the members who earlier held senior positions either in the party or in government apparatus, pointed out that though the country's constitution guarantees freedom of speech, it is not allowed to be exercised.

senior members of the Chinese Communist Party

The letter circulated online on October 11 comes days after Liu Xiaobo, an imprisoned Chinese dissident, was awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

Liu, a 54-year-old literary critic, is now in the second year of an 11-year prison term after being convicted of inciting subversion over his role in writing an influential 2008 manifesto for political reform.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Nicholas Bequelin, a China expert with Human Rights Watch, said that the Chinese elders have timed their call for more freedom of speech because of the publicity surrounding the jailed Xiaobo.

"It's not coincidental, they decided to go ahead and make this bold call for freedom of the press and freedom of expression precisely because all the attention is on  Liu Xiaobo serving a prison term while he just received a Nobel Peace Prize."

Al Jazeera