Senior communist cadres call for Liu Xiaobo's release

A protestor holds a picture of Chinese writer Liu Xiaobo in Hong Kong/file picture Four senior Communist Party officials known for their liberal views are pushing for the release of an imprisoned Chinese dissident who had issued a daring call for political reform, reported The Associated Press on Jan. 24. The four have signed a strongly worded letter, addressed to "incumbent party and government leaders," urging authorities to reconsider the verdict against Liu Xiaobo, who was sentenced on December 25, 2009 to 11 years in prison for “inciting subversion of state power.” Liu had written essays criticizing the Chinese government’s suppression of freedom of expression and co-authored Charter 08, an online petition released in early December 2008 calling for human rights and democracy and an end to one-party rule in China. "These four are senior cadres that have been quite an open-minded force within the party for many years," said Patrick Poon, vice president of the Independent Chinese Pen Center, which posted the letter on its Web site. "They have been always very supportive for pushing forward political reforms while the economic reform has been going well in China." While the letter did not call specifically for Liu's release, He Fang, a cadre who signed the letter and is honorary member of the academic committee at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said he signed the letter "To reverse the verdict and to find that Liu is not guilty and to release him." "Also, to safeguard the constitution and the rights of freedom of speech," The Associated Press quoted him as saying. The party officials' open letter was written by Hu Jiwei, a former chief of People's Daily newspaper, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party. "If the judge violates the constitution and has no knowledge of the history of the party ... and makes false and incorrect accusations that will seriously tarnish the image of the country and the party, then it's difficult to prove that China is a country ruled by law and a harmonious society," said the letter. The other signers were Li Pu, a former deputy chief of the official Xinhua News Agency, and Dai Huang, a former Xinhua senior reporter.