（独立中文笔会2010年10月11日讯）亚太地区五个笔会今天以《和平异议人士在狱中获诺贝尔和平奖》为题发表声明，全文翻译如下
亚太地区笔会今天呼吁中华人民共和国释放作家、学者、2010年诺贝尔和平奖得主刘晓波。
目前在中国服11年徒刑的刘晓波，是独立中文笔会前任会长和悉尼笔会荣誉会员。这两个笔会和该地区的其它笔会在过去一年多里一直在致力于使公众了解他的案子，并推动反对其判刑的外交行动。他是目前在中国系狱的40余位作家、记者和知识分子之一。
悉尼、墨尔本、菲律宾、香港、新西兰等笔会支持在诺贝尔和平奖这个国际最高水平上，认可这位勇敢作家和学者的工作和形象。悉尼笔会会长邦妮·卡西迪博士说：“刘案是笔会至今汇编的数百案例中较著名的个案之一。诺贝尔委员会授奖给刘晓波，对于他，对于他的同伴，对于我们所有争取言论自由得人，是一种希望之火。”
2008年12月，刘晓波是一封致中国当局公开信的签署人，该信呼吁全国人大批准《公民权利和政治权利国际公约》。刘也是2008年12月9日发表的《零八宪章》的推动者，这是一份呼吁政治改革和要求人权的宣言，最初由300多名学者、记者、作家和活动人士签署。《零八宪章》目前已有超过一万名遍及中国海内外的华人签署。
“刘无愧于这个奖，不仅在于他在《零八宪章》上的工作，而且也在于他作为一个和平异议人士的长期历史，在于他作为一位狱中诗人的持续力量，在于他作为一种哲学和道德指南的作用，引导人们继续鼓励了解受压作家、编辑和出版者，以及更普遍地了解人权状况。”卡西迪说。
墨尔本笔会会长阿诺德·扎布勒评论说：“刘晓波是一个有非凡勇气的人，继续为持久致力于言论自由和所写的文字付出高价。”
刘晓波于2008年12月被捕，2009年6月被控“近年来以造谣、诽谤等方式，煽动颠覆国家政权、推翻社会主义制度”而正式逮捕，2009年12月25日被定罪而判刑11年。
笔会将继续奋斗以使他获释，使那些在中国仅因自由写作和阅读就被监禁者获释。
笔会弘扬文学和促进言论自由，其全球作家共同体已经扩展到100多个国家。笔会项目、文宣、活动和出版物可以在世界任何地方使作家和读者相连。
更多信息，请联系：:
悉尼笔会邦妮·卡西迪博士（Dr Bonny Cassidy）：+61-417 252 004，bonny.cassidy@gmail.com，www.pen.org.au
独立中文笔会张裕博士：+46 8 500 22792，wipc@comhem.se，www.chinesepen.org
Media release
October 11, 2010
PEACEFUL DISSIDENT RECEIVES NOBEL PEACE PRIZE IN PRISON
PEN centres around the Asia Pacific region today call on the People’s Republic of China to release the writer and academic Liu Xiaobo, winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.
Liu, currently serving an 11-year sentence in China, is a former president of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre and is an Honorary Member of Sydney PEN Centre. These and other centres in the region have campaigned for public awareness of his case, and for diplomatic action on his sentence, for the past year. He is one of more than 40 writers, journalists and intellectuals detained in Chinese prisons at present.
PEN centres including those in Sydney, Melbourne, the Philippines, Hong Kong and New Zealand support the recognition of the work and profile of this brave writer and academic at the highest international level, the Nobel Peace Prize. “Liu\’s case is one of the better known of hundreds of such cases compiled to date by PEN. The Nobel Committee’s awarding of this Prize to him is a blaze of hope for Liu Xiaobo, his peers, and all of us working for freedom of expression,” said Sydney PEN president, Dr Bonny Cassidy.
In December 2008, Liu was a signatory to an open letter to the Chinese authorities calling on the National People’s Congress to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Liu was also instrumental in launching Charter 08 on 9 December 2008, a declaration calling for political reforms and human rights, which was initially signed by over 300 scholars, journalists, writers and activists. Charter 08 now has more than 10,000 signatories from throughout China and the Chinese community abroad.
“Liu is worthy of this Prize not only for his work on Charter 08, but also for his long history as a peaceful dissident, for his ongoing strength as a poet within prison, and for his role as a philosophical and moral compass for those who continue to encourage awareness of oppressed writers, editors and publishers – and of human rights more generally,” said Dr Cassidy.
“Liu Xiaobo is a man of extraordinary courage, who continues to pay a high price for his enduring commitment to freedom of expression and the written word,” remarked Melbourne PEN president, Arnold Zable.
Liu was arrested in December 2008 and detained until he was formally charged in June 2009 with ‘spreading rumours and defaming the government, aimed at subversion of the state and overthrowing the socialism system in recent years’. He was convicted and imprisoned for 11 years on 25 December 2009.
PEN will continue to campaign for his release, and for the release of those gaoled in China for the simple act of freely writing and reading.
PEN celebrates literature and promotes freedom of expression. Its global community of writers now spans more than 100 countries. PEN programmes, campaigns, events and publications connect writers and readers wherever they are in the world.
For further information (Sydney):
Dr Bonny Cassidy
0417 252 004
bonny.cassidy@gmail.com
