His Excellency President Hu Jintao
President of the People’s Republic of China
Beijing, People’s Republic of China

8 May 2008

Your Excellency,

We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications in 102 countries, to express serious concern at the detention of writer Zhou Yuanzhi and the continued crackdown on freedom of expression ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games.

According to reports, Mr Zhou and his wife were taken into custody by police of the National Security Bureau of Zhongxiang City, Hubei Province, on 3 May. His wife was released and placed under house arrest. Mr Zhou remains in custody and has been formally detained on suspicion of “inciting subversion”, a charge used to prosecute many writers in China.

Mr Zhou is a freelance writer who has published two books in Hong Kong, as well as over 500 articles under several pen names in overseas Chinese magazines and on overseas websites. Many of his articles have been critiques on social issues and official corruption.

In 1992, after an article he contributed to Voice of America was censored by the National Security police, he was dismissed from his post as deputy chief of the Downtown Branch of Taxation Bureau of Zhongxiang City and expelled from the Communist Party of China.

We respectfully remind you that the Organising Committee for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games issued the “Beijing Olympic Action Plan” in 2002, which laid out guiding principles and a series of promises as part of Beijing’s preparation to be the host city. Specifically the Plan promised: “In the preparation for the Games, we will be open in every aspect to the rest of the country and the whole world. We will draw on the successful experience of others and follow the international standards and criteria.”

In accordance with this pledge and numerous international conventions, declarations and agreements - including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - we call upon the Chinese authorities to free all jailed journalists, writers and cyber-dissidents ahead of the Olympic Games. According to reports, at least 30 journalists and 50 cyber-dissidents are currently held in Chinese prisons.

We respectfully call on you to do everything possible to ensure that Mr Zhou and all others detained for exercising their right to freedom of expression are immediately released from prison and that all charges against them are dropped. We urge you to take all necessary steps to ensure that in future your country fully respects international standards of freedom of expression.

We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

Gavin O’Reilly
President
World Association of Newspapers

George Brock
President
World Editors Forum

WAN is the global organization for the newspaper industry, with formal representative status at the United Nations, UNESCO and the Council of Europe. The organization groups 18,000 newspapers in 102 countries, 12 news agencies and 11 regional and world-wide press groups. WAN is non-governmental and non-profit.