英文連署全文連結(English version)

連署重點摘要：

在國際婦女節，各國團體呼籲中國政府釋放並撤銷對編輯曹芷馨、作家李思琪、會計李元婧和教師翟登蕊的所有指控。

2022年11月27日，曹芷馨、李思琪、李元婧、翟登蕊等參加了在亮馬河畔舉行的悼念烏魯木齊大火預難者紀念活動，活動結束兩天後（11月29日），北京警方傳喚了這四名女性和其他與會者，並沒收其手機等設備。他們隨後被釋放。

2022年12月18日，北京朝陽區警方又將李思琪和李元婧、翟登蕊（12月22日）、曹芷馨（12月23日）刑事拘留。其中，曹芷馨在拘留後錄製了一段影片，於2023年1月16日由其朋友發布。在影片中，她說有朋友被迫簽署空白刑事拘留通知書，上面未列出任何指控。她表示該群體出發點為「關心社會。我們的所作所為是身為一個公民的正常表達。」 

2023年1月19日，上述四名女性被警方以「尋釁滋事」罪名正式逮捕。四人被關押在北京市朝陽區看守所。團體認為，警方對曹芷馨、李思琪、李元婧、翟登蕊等人的拘留，似乎是在報復他們參加11月27日抗議活動，和使用Telegram通訊軟體（許多抗議者皆使用此通訊軟體組織行動）。他們面臨五年監禁；如果罪行被視為嚴重，則有可能面臨十年監禁。

這四名女性都在20歲左右，沒有任何活動背景。朋友們形容她們是具有全球視野的女權主義者，對文學感興趣，並反對社會不公。她們都是最近從知名大學畢業的研究生。曹芷馨在北京大學出版社找到了一份「夢寐以求的工作」，李思琪和李元婧都曾出國留學，而翟登蕊則計劃申請去挪威留學。

2023年2月17日，歐盟呼籲中國政府釋放這四名女性，聲稱拘留她們已違反正當法律程序。

根據國際法或中國法律，這四名女性並未犯下任何罪行。中國憲法保障人民擁有言論自由，以及自由批判政府政策的權利。中國政府將曹芷馨、李思琪、李元婧、翟登蕊作為刑事起訴對象，已違反國際公認的言論自由及和平集會權利。

08 March: On International Women’s Day, PEN International, PEN America, and 23 other groups call on the Chinese government to release and drop all charges against editor Cao Zhixin (曹芷馨), writer Li Siqi (李思琪), accountant Li Yuanjing (李元婧), and teacher Zhai Dengrui (翟登蕊). Beijing police arrested the four women for participating in a memorial protest on November 27, 2022. We also call on Chinese authorities to release and drop charges against all other individuals in China detained for freely expressing themselves during the “Blank Paper” protests of November-December, many of whom were women, and to end its suppression of speech about the COVID-19 pandemic.

On November 27, Cao Zhixin, Li Siqi, Li Yuanjing, and Zhai Dengrui and dozens of other Beijing residents attended a memorial on the banks of the Liangma River to commemorate the victims of a fire in Urumqi in the Uyghur region three days prior. The vigil morphed into a protest against the Chinese government’s then-in-place “zero-COVID” policies as well as expressions of broader discontent with the Chinese Communist Party. It was part of a wave of protests in China that broke out in reportedly at least 31 cities that weekend. Two days after the protest, on November 29, Beijing police summoned the four women and other attendees for questioning, and confiscated their phones and other devices. They were then released.

Beijing Chaoyang District police returned and criminally detained Li Siqi and Li Yuanjing on December 18, Zhai Dengrui on December 22, and Cao Zhixin on December 23. Other individuals were detained during this police sweep but later released on bail. Cao recorded a video after the detentions began which was released by her friends on January 16. In the video she said several of her friends were forced to sign blank criminal detention notices that didn’t list any charges. She also asserted the motivations of the group: “We care about society. What we did was a normal expression as citizens.” 

On January 19, 2023, the four women were formally arrested on charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” and the following day Cao Zhixin was granted the first visit with her lawyer. All four are being held at Chaoyang District Detention Center in Beijing. The detentions of Cao Zhixin, Li Siqi, Li Yuanjing, and Zhai Dengrui appear to be solely in retaliation for attending the November 27 protest and using the Telegram messaging app, which many protesters used to organize. They face up to five years in prison, or ten years if their offense is deemed serious. 

These four women, all in their mid-20s, had no activism background. Their friends describe them as feminists with global perspectives, an interest in literature, and combating social injustice. They had all recently graduated with postgraduate degrees from prestigious universities. Cao Zhixin worked in a “dream job” as an editor with Peking University Press, Li Siqi and Li Yuanjing had both studied overseas, and Zhai Dengrui had planned to apply to study in Norway.

On February 17, the European Union called on the Chinese government to release all four women, asserting that they had been detained in disregard of due process requirements. 

These four women have not committed any offense under international or domestic Chinese law. China’s constitution purports to enshrine the right to freedom of speech and the right to freely express criticism of government policies. By targeting Cao Zhixin, Li Siqi, Li Yuanjing, and Zhai Dengrui with criminal prosecution, the Chinese government is violating their internationally recognized rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

The following 25 organizations call on the Chinese government to immediately and unconditionally release Cao Zhixin, Li Siqi, Li Yuanjing, and Zhai Dengrui and all other “blank paper” protesters, and to end its crackdown on free expression around the COVID-19 pandemic.

連署團體

• Access Now
• ARTICLE 19
• 維吾爾運動Campaign for Uyghurs
• 中國人權捍衛者Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD)
• 世界公民參與聯盟CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
• Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation
• 英語筆會English PEN
• 國際人權聯盟FIDH – International Federation for Human Rights
• 自由之家Freedom House
• 喬治城大學亞洲法中心Georgetown Center for Asian Law
• 香港民主委員會Hong Kong Democracy Council
• 中國人權Human Rights in China
• 人權觀察Human Rights Watch
• 人道中國Humanitarian China
• 獨立中文筆會Independent Chinese PEN Center
• 查禁目錄Index on Censorship
• 國際人權服務社International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
• 民間司法改革基金會Judicial Reform Foundation
• 中國民主黨國家委員會National Committee of the Democratic Party of China
• 美國筆會PEN America
• 加拿大筆會PEN Canada
• 國際筆會PEN International
• 瑞士筆會PEN Sweden
• 維吾爾人權項目Uyghur Human Rights Project
• 華盛頓支援香港Washingtonians Supporting Hong Kong (DC4HK)