Published by: World Tibet Network News, Thursday, October 17, 1996

Date: October 12, 1996

To: The Honourable Lloyd Axworthy,

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Canada

Fx 613-943-1068 Ph 613-995-8663

From: Michael Craig and Bensen Lin

Co-Chairs, China Human Rights Group

RE: Repression of dissidents in China

Dear Mr. Axworthy,

This past week the government of China has been up to its old tricks--ruthlessly repressing all dissent and jailing dissidents without charge or trial.

My question to you, sir: is Canada prepared to do anything about it? Two cases stick out among the many, as detailed in recent media reports and the attached press release from Amnesty International.

About ten days ago, Liu Xiaobo, a former history professor at Beijing University, and Wang Xizhe, a veteran activist from Guangzhou, wrote an open letter urging the government of China to open talks with Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. Their letter also called for stronger legal controls over the Communist Party, talks between China and Taiwan, and firmer action by China in its dispute with Japan over disputed islands in the East China Sea.

According to his wife, Liu was arrested in his home on the morning of October 8. Within a few hours he was sent, without charge or trial, to serve three years in a forced labour camp. Wang Xizhe has now escaped to in Hong Kong, and is reportedly seeking assylum in the United States.

In another case involving a prominent dissident, Wang Dan, a former student leader of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests who had been illegally detained for 17 months, has been charged with subversion. Apparently, if convicted of such a serious charge, he faces a long jail term. In fact, it is possible that a secret trial may already have been concluded; on October 10th his relatives were given 24 hours to get him a lawyer.

Mr. Axworthy, we have been impressed with your obvious concern about human rights during your tenure as Minister for Foreign Affairs. We also applaud your recent effort to force the world to wake up the grotesque injuries that are being inflicted by land mines on tens of thousands of children.

We are concerned, however, that the government of Canada is strangely silent, at least in public, when it comes to constant and flagrant abuses of human rights by the government of China. We implore you, sir, to instruct your staff to investigate the cases of Liu Xiaobo, Wang Xizhe and Wang Dan and other dissidents named in the Amnesty press release. And if you find, as I am sure you will, that the Chinese government has acted arbitrarily, in contravention of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its own laws, we ask you to lodge a firm protest and call for the release of Liu Xiaobo, Wang Xizhe and Wang Dan.

We know that you can be tough, publicly and privately, about the human rights abuses of the government of Nigeria. But Nigeria is not an important Canadian trading partner. We hope that you can show similar resolve in dealing with the government of China. We look forward to your action and response.

Yours sincerely,

Michael Craig and Bensen Lin Co-chairs, China Human Rights Group