Chinese reformers push on censorship
Posted in: Censorship at 13/10/2010 20:09
A group of veteran reformers in China's Communist party has demanded that the country dismantle its elaborate censorship apparatus, an appeal for accelerated political reform which Beijing quickly moved to silence.
In an open letter to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, 23 former senior party cadres and one-time editors at party media called on the legislative body to pass laws entrenching the freedoms of speech and publishing that are guaranteed in the constitution but often denied in practice.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/75308952-d608-11df-94dc-00144feabdc0.html
Also see:
Big names on letter calling for China to end censorship
Retired VIPs in the Communist Party draft a tough call for freedom, an act that resulted in imprisonment for Liu Xiaobo, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last week.
A former secretary to Mao Tse-tung as well as an ex-publisher of the People's Daily are among retired Communist Party heavyweights who have published a toughly worded open letter calling on the Chinese government to abolish censorship.
The letter began circulating Oct. 1, but the campaign has gained traction since Friday, when the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to dissident writer Liu Xiaobo, imprisoned for his role in drafting a similar pro-democracy letter called Charter 08 two years ago.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-china-censorship-20101014,0,5621288.story
