Qin Yongmin

Qin Yongmin (Chinese: 秦永敏) (born 11 August 1953) is a Chinese author, political commentator, human rights activist and co-founder of the Democratic Party of China.[1]

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Qin (秦).
Qin Yongmin 秦永敏
Born (1953-08-11) 11 August 1953
Wuhan, China
NationalityChinese
OccupationWriter, political commentator, human rights activist
Qin Yongmin
Simplified Chinese秦永敏
Traditional Chinese秦永敏

Qin was a worker of Wuhan Steel Corporation. At the end of the 1970s, he edited and published "The Bell", a journal in Wuhan promoting democracy. In 1980, he participated in establishing "The preparatory group of the Democracy Party of China". He was arrested in 1981 and sentenced to eight years in prison for "counter-revolutionary propaganda and incitement sin". He was released from prison in 1989.

Qin participated in the launch of the "Peace Charter" movement in Beijing on 14 January 1993. He was the drafter of "Peace Charter", the first programme for a democracy movement in China after 1949.[2] The charter demanded redress for the suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 and release of political prisoners. Qin was then convicted of the crime of "disturbing social order" and sentenced to two years' re-education through labor.[3]

In 1997, Qin published an open letter to Jiang Zemin, demanding the Communist Party of China carry out political reform in China in order to achieve constitutional democracy. He founded "The Communication of PRC Human Rights Watch" in Wuhan in 1998, and issued hundreds of reports on the reality of human rights in China. In the same year, Qin Yongmin publicly established the Hubei Province Committee of The Democracy Party of China. He was arrested and sentenced to 12 years in prison for "subversion of state power".[4]

In 1999, while incarcerated, Qin was elected as one of four co-chairmen of the Democracy Party of China. The same year, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights nominated Qin and DPC members Xu Wenli and Wang Youcai for the Nobel Peace Prize.[5]

Qin Yongmin was released from prison in November 2010.[3] Undaunted, Qin continued his promotion of democracy and human rights in China. He was illegally detained numerous times.[6]

By persistently insisting that China should allow freedom of speech, publication, association, and the exercise of all basic human rights, including organizing political parties, for decades Qin has been subjected to imprisonment, arrest, criminal and administrative detention, re-education through labor and residential surveillance. In the 43 years from 1970 to 2012, he was arrested or detained 39 times, sentenced to imprisonment for a total of 22 years, and become one of the longest-serving political prisoners in the People's Republic of China. He has stated that he will not leave China until constitutional democracy has been realised.[7]

At the end of another three years in detention, Qin was sentenced, in July 2018, to 13 years in prison for "subversion of state power".[8] While conceding that Qin had not engaged in any act of violence, the court listed his crimes: he had written articles and published a book in Hong Kong advocating a peaceful transition to democracy for China and had issued statements, organised pro-democracy groups and organised shared meals and meetings.[9]

References
  1. "中国当代五位知名的"政治犯"". Deutsche Welle 德国之声. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  2. "《和平宪章》(第二版本)". 北京之春. 2 February 2003.
  3. "中国民主党创建人秦永敏刑满出狱". BBC. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
  4. Mackerras, Colin. (2001). The New Cambridge Handbook of Contemporary China. ISBN 0-521-78674-6
  5. "Article". Taiwantt.org.tw.
  6. "美国之音：武汉秦永敏被失踪月余 律师控公安侵害公民权". VOA. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  7. "秦永敏获释，拘留所里度春节". VOA 美国之音. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
  8. "Qin Yongmin: Prominent Chinese dissident jailed for 13 years". BBC News. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  9. Lai, Catherine (25 July 2018). "Chinese court cited activist's book on democracy in handing down 13-year 'subversion' sentence". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.