China Splits Hairs by Charging a Dissident with ‘Splittism’

English PEN reports that Chinese dissident writer and journalist Chen Daojun was detained on May 9 in the city of Chengdu, in the Sichuan Province, on charges of "inciting splittism."

According to the report, freelance journalist Chen Daojun was among a number of people detained while protesting the building of a chemical plant in the town of Pengzhou, 39 km outside the capital, Chengdu.

It was initially thought that Chen Daojun would be charged with "inciting subversion of state power." However, according to recent reports, he has in fact been charged with "inciting splittism".

This charge, which is most often used against Tibetans and Uighurs in China, most likely stems from an article Chen published following the Tibetan protests in which he defended the basic rights of Tibetans and condemned the Chinese government's violent crackdown on protesters.

Please send appeals:

·Expressing serious concern about the charges against detained journalist Chen Daojun;
·Pointing out that he appears to have been charged in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which China is a signatory, and if so calling for his immediate and unconditional release.

Appeals to:

His Excellency Hu Jintao
President of the People's Republic of China
State Council
Beijing 100032
P.R. China.

Mr. Meng Jianzhu
Minister of the Public Security
East Chang'an Avenue 14
100741 Beijing
P.R. China