On June 28, democracy activist Liu Xianbin was arrested in Suining city in southern Sichuan for “inciting subversion of state power.” This came after Liu’s recent release from prison in November 2008 after already serving a sentence for “subversion of state power,” a very similar crime. This previous sentence began in 1999, totaling 10 years by the time of his release. However, despite this arrest, Liu returned to promoting democracy and human rights activism and has become an important figure in the activist community in Sichuan. Renee Xia, director of the Chinese Human Rights Defenders, believes that Liu's prominent role led to his recent arrest, and shows that the government is growing increasingly nervous about activism in the province. It was reported that approximately 14 policeman were involved in Liu’s arrest, during which they raided his house for computers, credit cards, and copies of articles that he had written for foreign websites. The following day security officials harassed Liu’s wife and his 13 year-old daughter.  

One of China's most well-known dissidents, Liu Xiaobo, attended his appeal hearing at the Beijing Municipal High Court today, February 11, 2010. According to Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD), Liu's 11 year prison sentence was upheld. The appeal hearing was about ten minutes long, during which time the judge read a prepared statement. Liu's lawyers, though in attendance, were not allowed to speak. According to the CHRD report, Liu stated "I am not guilty!" after the decision was announced. Several other dissidents were placed under house arrest on February 10 and 11 to prevent them from attending the hearing. 

Liu's wife, who also attended the trial, was able to meet with Liu for twenty minutes following the trial. She reports that he will be held in Beijing at least through the upcoming Spring Festival, but Liu thinks he may be transferred to a prison near his hometown of Dalian following the holiday. 

According to a Radio Free Asia report, He Jian, one of the approximately 300 signatories of Charter 08 still residing in China, was placed in a local mental hospital by authorities earlier this week.  After tweeting about his detention in “black jails” and the abuse of his mother by police, He was finally taken in to custody by government officials.  His detention comes a day after revealing that the local police had informed his mother that he needed to report to the police station. 

The use of psychiatric hospitals as make-shift detention facilities for petitioners and dissidents is a longstanding practice within the party, according to a 2002 report from Human Rights Watch and the Geneva Initiative on Psychiatry.  While detained in these facilities under the guise of mental illness, people that the Communist party views as incendiary are frequently forcibly medicated and tortured.  There is no word yet on how long he will be confined nor recognition of the government’s role in the matter.

Despite months and months of relentless international pressure, Chinese authorities have finally set a date for the trial of one of China's most well-known dissidents and long-time democracy advocate Liu Xiaobo. According to Mr. Liu's wife, Liu Xia, and his lawyer, Shang Baojun, Mr. Liu's trial will take place this Wednesday in Beijing. He is charged with subversion, and given the high conviction rate in China's judicial system, particularly for politically sensitive cases, Mr. Liu will almost certainly be found guilty. He faces up to fifteen years in prison due to pro-Democracy articles he has written and his involvement with Charter 08, an online petition calling on the government to respect human rights and begin a peaceful transition to a democratic system.

It seems that the authorities in Beijing are hoping to avoid international criticism by holding Mr. Liu's trial on December 23rd, when most of the west will be distracted by Christmas. But Ding Zilin, of the Tiananmen Mothers (a group that organizes the family members of those killed in the Tiananmen Massacre), is urging fellow signatories of Charter 08 to show up for Mr. Liu's trial in Beijing. They will almost certainly be denied entry into the court room, but Ms. Ding is hoping to provide some moral support to Mr. Liu and his wife by this brave act of solidarity.

Due to the overwhelming response we received to our campaign (to date we have 473 follows, hundreds more retweets, and have made it onto 14 Twitter lists), and in protest of Liu's harsh eleven year prison sentence, we've decided to keep the Twitter campaign going! Click here to join the campaign, and watch the LRF website for updates as the campaign progresses!

395 Join the Twitter Campaign to Free Liu Xiaobo

To mark the one year anniversary of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo's detention, the Laogai Research Foundation ran a ten-day Twitter campaign to advocate for Mr. Liu's release. The campaign is now over, and we are pleased to report that 395 people, the majority of whom were Chinese, joined our campaign! We will now send letters demanding Mr. Liu's freedom to Chinese President Hu Jintao, the Chinese Embassy in DC, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate of China (the judicial organ responsible for Mr. Liu's case). We will also send a copy to President Obama. A copy of the letter can be seen below.

We would like to thank everyone who participated in this campaign. LRF founder Harry Wu was freed in 1995 due to international advocacy, and that is why we have reason to hope that continued international pressure will lead to Liu Xiaobo's release.

Have you joined LRF's campaign to free Liu Xiaobo?  If not, check it out here.

China dissident set to mark one year in legal limbo [Agence France Presse]

Supporters of top Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo on Friday urged continued international pressure on Beijing as they prepare to mark the first anniversary of his detention.

Liu, a writer and former university professor who was taken away on December 8, 2008, has yet to be formally indicted, with police in late November extending their investigation by another two months, lawyer Shang Baojun said.

"It is hard to say if the overseas pressure is working, but everyone should continue their efforts," Shang told AFP.

"It is important to put pressure on the authorities."

Liu was detained -- just days ahead of UN World Human Rights Day -- after the publication of "Charter 08," an online petition he co-authored calling for human rights protections and the reform of China?s one-party political system.

Over 10,000 Chinese have signed the petition, according to the Chinese Human Rights Defenders, a group of Chinese activists organised through the Internet.

Since his arrest, Western governments, rights groups, scholars, and a group of Nobel Prize winners have called for his release.

Read the rest of the article here.

The Laogai Research Foundation is launching a ten day Twitter campaign to advocate the release of Liu Xiaobo. A Chinese dissident who has long advocated for human rights and democracy inside China, Liu was one of the primary authors of Charter 08, an online manifesto promoting peaceful political reform in China that has accumulated 10,000 signatures since its initial launch on December 10, 2008. Liu was detained on December 8, 2010, two days before the release of Charter 08, and held without charge until June of 2009, when he was charged with "Incitement to subversion of the state." To this day Liu has not been granted a trial.

To mark the one year anniversary of Liu's detention, we have initiated a ten day Twitter campaign. To join the campaign, click here and click retweet. We also encourage you to share this with your friends via Facebook, email, your personal blogs, even in person! At midnight on December 10, in honor of the one year anniversary of the release of Charter 08, we will count the number of retweets and followers we've had, and include that number in a letter advocating Liu Xiaobo's release. The letter will be sent on December 11 to President Obama, President Hu Jintao of China, the Chinese Embassy, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate of China.

Please help Liu Xiaobo by joining our campaign and spreading the word!