Date: 12 January 2010 (Tuesday)
Time: 7pm – 9pm
Venue: Open area outside the Legislative Council (facing the Prince’s Building)
Dr. Liu Xiaobo, prominent Beijing writer and honorary president of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre, was sentenced by the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People’s Court to 11 years’ imprisonment and deprived of political rights for two years on Christmas Day (25 December 2009). The accused offence was only that Dr. Liu took part in drafting and signing the Charter 08 and writing six commentaries. Hong Kong legislative councillor Lee Wah-ming is going to table a motion “Releasing Liu Xiaobo” during the Legislative Council meeting on 13 January 2010. The wording of the motion is: “That this Council seriously regrets that the Central Government has imposed a heavy sentence on LIU Xiaobo for inciting to subvert state power, and demands that the Central Government should immediately release LIU Xiaobo and other dissidents; this Council appeals to the Central Government to recognize that Charter 08 advocated by LIU Xiaobo and others is a manifestation of the common values recognized by civilized societies and to positively affirm the concepts and principles of Charter 08, and the SAR Government should also expeditiously implement dual universal suffrage in Hong Kong according to those concepts and principles.”
We are going to organize a candlelight vigil at the open area outside the Legislative Council (facing the Prince’s Building) from 7pm to 9pm on 12 January 2010. For those who are interested in this activity, please contact Patrick Poon ([email protected])
Rundown:
– Speeches by representatives of participating organisations
– Reciting the poems written by Liu Xiaobo and poems about Liu Xiaobo
– Action art performance
– Free speeches by participants
– Singing human rights songs
Participating organisations:
Independent Chinese PEN Centre
Hong Kong Chinese PEN Centre
Hong Kong Journalists Association
International Federation of Journalists
Amnesty International
Inmediahk.net
Hong Kong University Students’ Union
Hong Kong Christian Institute
China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group
Justice and Peace Commission of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese
HKFS Social Movement Resource Centre (smrc autonomous8a)
Hong Kong Alliance In Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China
Laogai Research Foundation