Political Commentator in China Files Administrative Appeal to Protect Right to Publish

July 1, 2005

Wang Yi, an author in China and member of the Independent Chinese PEN Center, has filed an administrative appeal with the Press and Publication Administration to have his right to self-publish respected, the International Herald Tribune (IHT) reported on June 16. According to the report, Chinese authorities confiscated 906 books that Wang had privately printed to give to friends. Wang told the IHT that if the Press and Publications Administration rejects his administrative appeal, he will sue it in court.

Wang Yi, an author in China and member of the Independent Chinese PEN Center, has filed an administrative appeal with the Press and Publication Administration to have his right to self-publish respected, the International Herald Tribune (IHT) reported on June 16. According to the report, Chinese authorities confiscated 906 books that Wang had privately printed to give to friends. Wang told the IHT that if the Press and Publications Administration rejects his administrative appeal, he will sue it in court.

During a government campaign against public intellectuals in November and December 2004, Reporters Without Borders cited the China Information Center as reporting that the Central Propaganda Department had blacklisted Wang and five other writers. According to the IHT, since then publishers have reneged on deals to publish three collections of his writings.