98 lines
4.4 KiB
Plaintext
98 lines
4.4 KiB
Plaintext
Appeal for International Solidarity
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In the aftermath of the June 4th commemoration, the April Fifth Action, Hong
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Kong, would like to make an appeal to the international community to
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denounce the assaults made by the Chinese Government against political
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activists, especially the workers, in China.
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The activists in China have put up a heroic fight in the last couple of
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months. There have been workers protests, petitions and press conferences.
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These are signs that the Chinese Democracy Movement has made important
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progress since the June 4th crackdown six years ago.
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Because of this, the Chinese Government has stepped up its repression, for
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fear that the Movement might present a serious threat when social discontent
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and unrest have been building up for the last two to three years. Dozens of
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organisers have already been arrested in the past few months, among whom are
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Wei Jin-sang, Wong Dan, Lau Nin-chun and Chan Chi-ming, just to name a few
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prominent ones.
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The Chinese Government has been especially brutal to workers who organise
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union activities. Three workers in ShengZeng, just across the border of Hong
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Kong, were arrested last year for organising unions and distributing
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handbills. Unconfirmed reports said that they were sentenced to long prison
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terms.
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************
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We appeal to you all to send protest messages to the Chinese Governmnet to
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demand for the release of these activists who had done nothing but to
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exercise the freedom of speech and the right to associate.
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Please send protest letters or messages to the Standing Committee, National
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Peoples' Congress, Beijing, China.
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We would very much appreciate if you can pass the message to other labour
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organisations.
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************
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Here are some information about the 3 organizers arrested in ShengZeng:
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1. Lee Man-ming and Kwong Lok-cheong, Male, Han race, both from Hunan
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Province (in the middle of China, along the Yangtze River), about 27 years old.
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2. Lee was trained at a Hunan technical college (not sure which department).
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In his school years, he had already participated in the local student
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movement. After his graduation, he was assigned to a factory to work. In
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1991, he resigned and went to Shencheng and got a job as the public relation
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officer of the magazine "Youth of Shengcheng". At the end of 92, he went to
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Beijing University to study and associated with democracy activists there.
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3. Kwong Lok-cheong studied in the Shanghai Transport University and was
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active in the student movement, bding a student leader of the university
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during the 86-87 student unrest. In a meeting with the then Shanghai Mayor,
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Jiang Zemin (now the President of china), Kwong critized Jiang harshly and
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thus won the respect of the students. When the student unrest was over, he
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was dismissed and went back to the countryside. In 1993, Lee Man-ming
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invited him to go to Shengcheng to do organizing work.
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4. In June, 1993, Lee and Kwong initiated a program to educate the workers
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about the poor labour conditions in the numerous factories in Shengcheng. In
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August, they started a Workers' Evening School, which attracted hundreds of
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workers to attend the courses. Then they planned to establish an independent
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trade union called the "Union of Labourers". (In China, independent trade
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unions are not allowed. There is only one union-the Official Trade Union
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controlled by the CCP).
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5. In September, 1993, the Shengcheng Public Security Bureau took away some
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documents from their office. In October, under pressure from the PSB, they
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fled to Beijing. Then at the beginning of 94, both of them came back to
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start again..
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6. In April, 1994, the PSB arrested them. To date, they are still detained
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incommunicado, with no charges pressed against them.
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7. There are about a dozen core activists involved in the project. Two of
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them are Kwok Po-sing, a student of the Chinese Poeple's University
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(Beijing) and Lee Ming-Ki of Beijing University. Both were dismissed for
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political reasons (that means they deviated from the party line and
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harboured 'libral' ideas). Kwok was arrested at the same time with Lee and
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Kwong while Lee Ming-ki's whereabout has been unknown from then.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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email: tllau5@hkein.ie.cuhk.hk
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April Fifth Action
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Front Portion, 2nd Floor,
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103, Argle Street,
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Mongkok,
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Hong Kong.
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Tel: (852) 2397 6337
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Fax: (852) 2394 4383
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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