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BACKGROUND INFORMATION: According to International PEN, Lu Gengsong was detained on 24 August 2007 in Hangzhou city, following the online publication of articles that criticised the Chinese authorities. Soon after he was detained, Public Security officers searched Lu’s home for several hours, confiscating the hard drive of his personal computer and other files. He was held in custody for over a month before being formerly arrested on 29 September 2007 for inciting ‘subversion of state power,’ a charge that is often used to silence dissidents, International PEN has said. Lu Gengsong is a history graduate from Zhejiang University and he taught at the Zhejiang Higher Professional School of Public Security. He was removed from his position in 1993 due to his pro-democracy activities. Since then he has been working as a freelance writer and has published many titles, including the book ‘Corrupted Officials in China,’ which appeared in Hong Kong in 2000. Reuters have said that the Chinese government is intensifying repression ahead of the 17th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, which opens in Beijing next week. Despite China's promise to ease curbs on media and individual freedoms ahead of the 2008 Olympics, human and media rights groups say the leaders in Beijing continue to tighten their crackdown on dissent amid increasing social unrest. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals: 1. Expressing concerns that Lu Gengsong is held for his critical writings and pro-democracy activities. 2. Calling for his immediate and unconditional release in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which China is a signatory. APPEALS TO: His Excellency Hu Jintao
President of the People’s Republic of China
State Council
Beijing 100032
P.R.China.
Procurator General Mr. Jia Chunwang
Supreme People's Procuratorate
Beiheyan Street 147
100726 Beijing
P.R.China
Please note that fax numbers are no longer available for the Chinese authorities, so you may wish to ask the diplomatic representative for China in your country to forward your appeals.
PLEASE SEND COPIES OF YOUR APPEALS TO: Jonathan Travis Programme Officer, Network for Education and Academic Rights, 90 London Road, SE1 9LN London, UK Fax: 0044(0) 207 021 0881 jonathan.travis@nearinternational.org'>jonathan.travis@nearinternational.org To ensure that appeals are current and credible, the Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN ask that you do not continue to write appeals on this case after 3 November 2007 unless an update has been issued. URGENT
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