Opinion: Dangerous Arts

Salman Rushdie argues that governments of the free world must make sure artists, like Ai Weiwei, who courageously stand up against authoritarianism are safe.

Call for Protests in China Draws More Police than Protesters

A call for protests in 23 Chinese cities Sunday resulted in a tiny turnout but an enormous police presence and clashes with foreign journalists.

China Leader Encourages Criticism of Government

The Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao appeared at the nation’s top petition bureau in Beijing, where ordinary people go to file grievances.

China Police Confine Prominent Artist

The artist Ai Weiwei was placed under house arrest on Friday in Beijing.

Ex-Chinese Officials Join in Call for Press Freedom

An unusually blunt letter, signed by retired Communist Party officials, says that government control of the press violate China’s Constitution.

A full translation of the letter can be found here.

Beijing Calls Nobel Insult To People Of China

China continued its vilification campaign against the award of the peace prize to a dissident by canceling another meeting with Norwegian officials.

China, Angered by Peace Prize, Blocks Celebration

Police stopped a celebration Friday for the jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, who won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Nobel Peace Prize Given to Jailed Chinese Dissident

In awarding the prize to the imprisoned pro-democracy advocate Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Committee delivered a stinging rebuke of China’s growing intolerance for domestic dissent.

A System Afraid of Its Own History

China's relationship to its own history remains mired in cover-ups and silences, and a look at how school textbooks present the 60 years since the People's Republic was established reveals the problem.

Uighur Intellectual Who Won’t Back Down in China

Ilham Tohti’s advocacy for China’s Muslim Uighurs has landed him on the government’s list of citizens who warrant near-constant surveillance.

China Bans Court Evidence Gained Through Torture

China issued the legal guidelines after a number of cases involving false confessions, most recently one involving a farmer who was wrongly imprisoned for 10 years.

For 13th Time, Critic of China’s Government Is Barred From Leaving Country

Liao Yiwu, a prominent author and critic of the government, was detained as he prepared to fly to a literary festival in Germany, activists said.

New Scrutiny on Censorship Issues for U.S. Companies in China

Now that Google has thrown down the gauntlet, American companies may find arguments about the need to obey local laws do not offer blanket protection from questions about conduct.

Dalai Lama's Remarks After White House Meeting

Dalai Lama: "Don't ask silly questions!"

Far-Ranging Support for Google’s China Move

Human rights and business groups are among those cheering the move to stop cooperating with censors.

Opinion: President Obama, Push Back on China

Wei Jingsheng argues that the sentencing of a moderate reformer presents a chance for the West to stand up to Beijing.

In Sentence of Activist, China Gives West a Chill

Human rights advocates said the punishment for Liu Xiaobo was intended to send an unequivocal message to others who might agitate for political reform.

Leading China Dissident Gets 11-Year Term for Subversion

Human rights advocates said the punishment for Liu Xiaobo was intended to send an unequivocal message to others who might agitate for political reform.


Read Charter 08 here.