Charter 08
Charter 08 (Chinese零八 宪章, Pinyin Língbā Xianzhang ) is a document signed by more than 5000 Chinese intellectuals and civil rights activist manifesto calling for political reform and democratization in the People's Republic of China.
" A hundred years have passed since China's first Constitution was written. 2008 marks the sixtieth time the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the thirtieth time the establishment of the Democracy Wall in Beijing and for the tenth time, the Chinese signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We are approaching the twentieth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989, students who were demonstrating for democracy. In the Chinese people, who had during these years to endure human rights disasters and countless fights, there are now many who see clearly that freedom, equality and human rights are universal values of humankind and that democracy and constitutional government are the basic framework for the protection these values are. "
The Charter is one of the few written documents in China that prompt the ruling Chinese Communist Party to grant greater freedom of expression and allow free elections. His name is a reference to the Charter 77, the dissidents criticized the communist regime in Czechoslovakia.
A total of 303 people, including Liu Xiaobo, Ai Weiwei, also known bloggers Tsering Woeser and Zeng Jinyan, lawyers and a fallen out of favor former official of the Communist Party, braving the danger of their being arrested and acted as first signatory to the public. The Charter requires 19 steps to improve the human rights situation in China. Be required, among others, an independent judiciary, the freedom to form associations, and an end to one-party system. " All kinds of social conflicts have accumulated ceaselessly and the feelings of discontent are steadily growing," it states. " The current system has become backward to such an extent that change is no longer avoidable. " China is the only major power still beibehalte an authoritarian system that restricts the rights of such people. "This situation has to change! Political democratic reforms can not be delayed any longer! "
Requirements of the Charter 08
The signatories of the Charter 08 campaign for:
- A new constitution
- Separation of powers
- A democratic legislation
- An independent judiciary
- The control of officials by the public
- The guarantee of human rights
- Regular elections of government officials
- Equality between town and country
- The freedom to form associations
- Freedom of assembly
- Freedom of expression
- Religious freedom
- The introduction of civic education
- The protection of private property
- A financial and tax reform
- The introduction of a social security
- The Environmental Protection
- A federal republic
- A Truth Commission.
Arrest and conviction of signatories International reactions to it
December 8, 2008, two days before the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly, Liu Xiaobo was arrested by police at his home. Just hours after his arrest, the text of the Charter 08 was published on the Internet.
The then German Foreign Minister Frank -Walter Steinmeier said on December 10, 2008:
"We can not remain silent. Also not against China, and certainly not in light of the arrest of Liu Xiaobo, who was arrested in China two days ago because he wanted to spread the appeal " Charter 2008". An event that documents the human rights unsatisfactory situation again. "
The well-known dissident Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to 11 years in prison in December 2009 due to his signature for human rights. In contrast, there were protests from all over the world, including from the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. 2010 Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Reactions
The comments on the content of the Charter 08 are very different.
Politically left and socialist voices from the West criticized that it is " economically to a liberal program of" the principal in the Charter 08, the " not just the global zeitgeist after the outbreak of the financial crisis " corresponds. In particular, the rural population threatened by the required privatization of land and property ownership, the loss of livelihood. On the other hand be with all the necessary critique of the privatization of basic human needs " the experience of many people - not just those of the Chartists - with the state-owned enterprises in China is not the best."
A differentiated position refers Qin Hui of the Beijing Tsinghua University. While he shares the demand for freedom of expression and democratic rights, he criticized the Charter 08 ignore the social problems of broad sections of the population: " I do not agree with the views match, but decided to support the right to express them ." Similarly, Au Loong -yu by Globalization Monitor in Hong Kong: The demand for protection and development of private property will make them an instrument of privatization.
Representatives of orthodox Marxist positions reject the Charter from many. So called the American Trotskyist newspaper Workers Vanguard ' Charter 08 as " an explicit program for capitalist counter- revolution." Similarly, this looks living in the U.S. publicist Zheng Zhao Xi: " What does the ' Charta08 ' in this regard suggests, does not mean a society for people to build, but the company of a ' jungle society ' with natural laws. " She would thus "imperialism help of the earth's surface [ eliminate ] the grand strategy of communism. "
Liu Xiaobo symbolically for the other signatories of Charter 08 received on 11 March 2009 in Prague Homo Homini Award 2008 by Václav Havel, the former Czech dissident and president presented.
For his commitment to human rights, he was awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.