Enforce Article 35 of China's Constitution, Abolish Censorship, and Bring About Citizens' Right to Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press

The following translation was released by Open Source Center on October 14, 2010. The Chinese text was retrieved from the Boxun Web site on October 18, 2010.

To the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress:

Article 35 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China adopted in 1982 clearly states that: "Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration." For 28 years, this article has not been honored, having been negated by detailed rules and regulations for "implementation" drawn up by party and government organs. This kind of false democracy of acknowledging in principle while negating in concrete has become a scandal in the history of world democracy.

At a meeting of democratic consultation between the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau and democratic parties on 26 February 2003, soon after assuming office, President Hu Jintao stated clearly:

The removal of restrictions on the press and the opening up of public opinion positions is a mainstream view and demand held by society, and it is natural and should be resolved through the legislative process. If the CPC does not reform or transform itself, it will lose its vitality and move toward inevitable extinction.

On October 3, the CNN aired an interview with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao by anchor Fareed Zakaria. Responding to questions raised by reporters, Wen Jiabao said:

Freedom of speech is indispensable for any nation; China's Constitution endows the people with freedom of speech; the demands of the people for democracy cannot be resisted.

In accordance with China's Constitution and in the spirit of the remarks made by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, we hereupon give a full account in regard to the materialization of the constitutional rights to freedom of speech and of the press as follows:

<B>Concerning the Current State of Freedom of Speech and of the Press in Our Country</B>

We have, for 61 years, "served as master" in the name of the citizens of the People's Republic of China, but we enjoy less freedom of speech and of the press than that of Hong Kong before its return to Chinese sovereignty, and that is, we are inferior to the residents of a colony in this regard.

Before the handover, Hong Kong was a British colony, ruled by governors appointed by the Queen's government. But the freedom of speech and freedom of the press given to residents of Hong Kong by the British authorities was not empty or appearing only on paper. It was enacted and honored.

When our country was founded in 1949, our people cheered for being liberated and being the masters of their own affairs. Mao Zedong declared that, "From this moment, the people of China have stood up." But even today, 61 years after the founding of our nation and after 30 years of opening up and reform, we have not yet attained freedom of speech and freedom of the press to the degree enjoyed by the people of Hong Kong under colonial rule. Even now, books discussing political and current affairs must be published in Hong Kong. This is not a blessing granted for its return to the motherland, but is merely an old practice adopted under the colonial rule. The "master" status of the people of mainland China is indeed good-for-nothing. "Socialist democracy" with Chinese characteristics advertised by China is such an "embarrassment."

Not only the average citizen, but even senior leaders of the CPC have no freedom of speech or press. Recently, Li Rui has the following encounter. Not long ago, the volume of the Collected Works in Memory of Zhou Xiaozhou was published. An essay commemorating Zhou Xiaozhou that Li Rui had written for the People's Daily in 1981 was originally to be included in it, but, the published version did not include the essay. Zhou Xiaozhou's wife called Li Rui to explain the situation: "Beijing has issued a notice not to use Li Rui's writings." It is too ridiculous that even an old piece of writing published on a party newspaper cannot be included in a volume of collected works! Li Rui said: "What kind of country is this?! I want to cry out: the press must be free! Such strangling of the people's freedom of expression is entirely illegal!"

It's not just high-level leaders, even the Premier of our country does not have freedom of speech or of the press! In Shenzhen on 21 August 2010, Premier Wen Jiabao gave a speech entitled, "Only By Upholding Reform and Opening Up Can Our Nation Have Bright Prospects." He said, "Not only should we advance economic reforms, but we must also promote political reforms. Without the guarantee afforded by political reforms, the gains we have made from economic reforms will be lost, and our goal of modernization cannot be realized." Xinhua News Agency's official news release on August 21, "Building a Beautiful Future for the Special Economic Zone," omitted the content about political reforms in Wen Jiabao's speech.

On 22 September 2010 (U.S. local time), Premier Wen Jiabao held a discussion in New York with American Chinese media and media from Hong Kong and Macao, and he again emphasized the importance of "political system reforms." Wen said: "Regarding political reforms, I have said previously that without the guarantee of political reforms, economic reforms will not be successful completely, and even perhaps the results we have made so far will be lost." Shortly after, while addressing the 65th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Wen Jiabao gave a speech entitled, "Recognizing a True China," in which he again talked about political reform. On the night of September 23 (Beijing time), when China Central Television's Xinwen Lianbo and Xinhua News Agency's news release covered these events, they only reported Wen Jiabao's remarks on the circumstances facing overseas Chinese and on the importance of Chinese media. The portion of his speeches about political reform were all removed.

If we look into these matters, we are definitely unable to put our finger on a specific person. This is the work of invisible hands. They know that they are in the wrong and what they do violate the constitution, so they usually order by telephone that whose works cannot be published or what events cannot be covered in the media. The official who makes the phone calls remains anonymous, and he urges the enforcer to keep it secret but must enforce his phone instructions. These invisible black hands are our Central Propaganda Department. Right now, the Central Propaganda Department is above the CPC Central Committee and above the State Council. We would ask, what right does the Central Propaganda Department have to muzzle the speech of the Premier? What right does it have to rob the people of our nation of their right to know what the Premier has said?

<B>Our core demand is that the system of censorship be dismantled in favor of a system of legal responsibility.</B>

The rights to freedom of speech and the press guaranteed in Article 35 of our constitution are turned into mere adornments for the walls by means of specific implementation rules such as the Publication Regulatory Regulations. These implementation rules are, broadly speaking, a strict system of censorship. There are countless commandments and taboos restricting freedom of speech and freedom of the press. The creation of a press law and the abolishment of the censorship system has become an urgent task.

We recommend that the National People's Congress work immediately toward the creation of a press law and that the Publication Regulatory Regulations and local restrictions on news and publishing be annulled. Institutionally speaking, the realization of freedom of speech and freedom of the press as guaranteed in the constitution means making media independent of the party and government organs that presently control them, thereby transforming "party mouthpieces" into "public instruments." Therefore, the legislative foundation of the creation of a press law must be the implementation of a system of legal responsibility. We cannot again strengthen the censorship system in the name of "strengthening the leadership of the party." The so-called censorship system is the system by which prior to publication, one must receive the approval of party organs, allowing for publication only after approval and designating all unapproved published materials as illegal. The so-called system of legal responsibility means that published materials need not pass through approval by party or government organs, but may be published as soon as the editor-in-chief deems fit. If there are unfavorable outcomes or disputes following publication, the government would be able to intervene and determine according to the law whether there are cases of wrongdoing. In countries around the world, the development of rules and regulations on news and publishing has followed this path of transitioning from systems of censorship to systems of legal responsibility. Undoubtedly, compared with systems of censorship, systems of legal responsibility is a historical progress, it has played a great role in promoting the development of the humanities and natural sciences and in promoting social harmony and historical progress. England did away with censorship in 1695. France abolished its censorship system in 1881, and the publication of newspapers and periodicals thereafter required only a simple declaration, which was signed by the representatives of the publication and mailed to the office of the procurator of the republic. Our present system of censorship leaves news and book publishing in our country 315 years behind England and 129 years behind France.

<B>Our Specific Demands</B>

1. Abolish institutions in charge of [Chinese] media, allowing publishing institutions to operate independently; truly implement a system under which directors and editors-in-chief are responsible for their publication units.

2. Respect journalists and give journalists the status as "uncrowned kings". The reporting of mass incidents and exposing of official corruption are noble missions on behalf of the people, and this work should be protected and supported. Immediately put a stop to the unconstitutional behavior of various local governments and police in arresting journalists as they please. Look into manipulator behind the scenes in the case of writer Xie Chaoping. Liang Fengmin, the party secretary of Weinan city [involved in the Xie Chaoping case] must be removed and face party discipline as a warning to others.

3. Abolish the ban restricting the media to conducting cross-provincial supervision by public opinion and ensure the rights of Chinese journalists to carry out reporting freely throughout the country.

4. The internet is an important exchange platform for information in our society and citizens' views. Except information that truly concerns our national secrets and speech that violates a citizen's right to privacy, internet regulatory bodies must not arbitrarily delete online posts or online comments. Online spies must be abolished, the "fifty-cent party" must be abolished, and restrictions on anti-censorship technologies must be abolished.

5. There should be no taboos concerning our party's history. Chinese citizens have a right to know the errors of the ruling party.

6. Southern Weekly and Yanhuang Chunqiu should be permitted to restructure into privately operated pilot project in the independent media. The privatization of newspapers and periodicals is the natural direction of political reforms. History teaches us: when rulers and deliberators are highly unified, when the government and the media are both surnamed "party", and when one stages his own show and applauds his own performance, it is very difficult to connect with the will of the people and attain true leadership. From the time of the great leap forward to the time of the cultural revolution, newspapers, magazines, television and radio in the mainland have never truly reflect ed the will of the people. Party and government leaders do not hear different voices, so it is very difficult for them to find out and redress mistakes of overall importance that are unfolding. For a ruling party and government to use the tax payers' money to run media that sing their own praises, this is something not permitted in democratic nations.

7. Permit the free circulation within the mainland of books and periodicals from Hong Kong and Macau. Our country has joined the World Trade Organization, and economically we have already integrated with the world - attempting to remain closed culturally goes against the established guideline for opening up and reform. Hong Kong and Macau offer advanced culture right at our nation's door, and the books and periodicals of Hong Kong and Macau are welcomed and trusted by the people.

8. Transform the functions of various propaganda organs so that they are transformed from agencies setting down so many "taboos" to agencies protecting the accuracy, timeliness, and unimpeded flow of information, from agencies that assist corrupt officials in suppressing and controlling stories that reveal the truth to agencies that support the media in monitoring party and government organs, from agencies that close publications, fire editors and arrest journalists to agencies that oppose power and protect media and journalists. Our propaganda organs have a very bad reputation within the party and in society. They must do some good deeds to restore their reputations. At the appropriate time, we can consider renaming these propaganda organs to suit global trends.

We give full account and hope for your utmost attention.

<B>Signed:</B>

Li Rui, former executive vice minister of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, member of the 12th CPC Central Committee;

Hu Jiwei, former director and editor-in-chief of People's Daily, standing committee member of the Seventh NPC, president of the Federation of Chinese Communication Institutes;

Jiang Ping, former head of the China University of Political Science and Law, tenured professor, standing committee member of the Seventh NPC, deputy director of the legal committee of the NPC;

Li Pu, former deputy director of Xinhua News Agency;

Zhou Shaoming, former deputy director of the Political Department of the Guangzhou Military Region;

Zhong Peizhang, former head of the News Bureau under the Central Propaganda Department;

Wang Yongcheng, professor at Shanghai Jiaotong University;

Zhang Zhongpei, researcher at the Imperial Palace museum, chairman of the China Archaeological Society

Du Guang, former professor at the Central Party School;

Guo Daojun, former editor-in-chief of China Legal Science;

Xiao Mo, former head of the Architecture Research Centre of the Chinese National Academy of Arts;

Zhuang Puming, former deputy director of People's Press;

Hu Fuchen, former director and editor-in-chief at China Worker's Publishing House;

Zhang Ding, former director of the China Social Sciences Press at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences;

Yu You, former editor-in-chief of China Daily;

Ouyang Jin, former editor-in-chief of Hong Kong's Pacific magazine;

Yu Haocheng, former director of Masses Publishing House;

Zhang Qing, former director of China Cinema Publishing House;

Yu Yueting, former director of Fujian Television, veteran journalist;

Sha Yexin, former head of the Shanghai People's Art and Drama Academy, now an independent writer of the Hui ethnic minority;

Sun Xupei, former director of the News Research Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences;

Xin Ziling, former director of the editorial desk at China National Defense University;

Tie Liu, editor-in-chief of Wangshi Weihen magazine (Scars of the Past).

Legal Counsel:

Song Yue, Chine se citizen, practicing lawyer in the State of New York, US.