Liu Xianbin
Encyclopedia
Liu Xianbin from Suining
, Sichuan province, People's Republic of China, is a human rights activist, China Democracy Party organizer, writer and signer of Charter 08
.
Returning to school in Beijing after the Tiananmen June Fourth Incident, Liu wrote many posters and articles criticizing the repression and agitated for the establishment of a democratic political party in China. On April 15, 1991, he was arrested by Beijing Public Security Bureau
and sent to Qiucheng prison for his democratic activism and publications. On December 28, 1992 Liu was sentenced to two and half years in prison for the crime of "counter revolutionary propaganda and incitement". He was released in October 1993.
In December 1992 the Beijing Intermediate People's Court sentenced Liu Xianbin to 2 years and 6 months of imprisonment for counter-revolutionary propaganda and agitation. He was released in October 1993 after completing his sentence.
After his release, Liu continued his democracy activism. In May 1995, he participated with Wang Dan
and Liu Xiaobo
in a petition drive entitled "Drawing Lessons from Blood and Promoting Democracy and the Rule of Law". The police raided his home and detained him again in July of the same year.
In March 1998, Liu wrote an open letter to the Ninth National People's Congress, demanding that the Chinese government improve human rights conditions and signed the Convention on Human Rights. In the same year, a group of dissidents in Zhejiang
founded China Democracy Party
(CDP). Liu arrived in Chongqing
to set up the Sichuan branch for CDP. On October 15, 1998, Liu Xianbin, She Wanbao and other like-minded people went to Sichuan Bureau of Civil Affairs and registered "the Sichuan Organizing Committee of China Democracy Party". Together with She Wanbao and Ouyang Yi, he also established the temporary headquarters of China Human Rights Watch and was appointed the acting director. He organized a nationwide rescue effort for Xu Wenli, Qin Yongmin and Wang Youcai.
On August 6, 1999, he was convicted of "subversion of state power" by the Suining City, Sichuan Intermediate People's Court and sentenced to 13 years imprisonment and deprivation of political rights for three years for subversion of state power. On November 6, 2008, he was released after completing his sentence with allowance for time served and good behavior after 9 years and four months in Sichuan's Chuandong prison.
After his release from prison in November 2008, Liu became one of the first signatories to Charter 08
, a document calling for democratic reform.
On June 27, 2010, Liu Xianbin was detained on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power.” Suining, Sichuan Public Security Bureau on July 21, 2010 sent a recommendation to the Suining Procuratorate that Liu be indicted for inciting subversion of state power. The Suining Public Security Bureau's advice to the prosecutors lists several statements made by Liu Xianbin in his many articles published in Chinese magazines and websites overseas which it found subversive.
The "Indictment Advice" notes that Liu "wrote and transmitted through the Internet articles for publication. These articles appeared in publications outside the borders of mainland China such as People and Human Rights, Beijing Spring, China Weekly, Democratic China, China Human Rights Semi-weekly. He slandered the people's democratic dictatorship political power led by the Chinese Communist Party as "autocratic rule" and on several occasions incited the overthrow of our country's political regime and socialist system."
According to news reports citing his wife, he was sentenced to ten years in prison in March 2011.
Suining
-Places of Interest:Suining is a booming city with a wide range of roles, not just limit to the Excellent Tourism City of China, but also include the Finance and Ecological City of China,the National Landscape City,and the National Hygiene City,etc.According to the local legend, Suining is the...
, Sichuan province, People's Republic of China, is a human rights activist, China Democracy Party organizer, writer and signer of Charter 08
Charter 08
Charter 08 is a manifesto initially signed by over 350 Chinese intellectuals and human rights activists. It was published on 10 December 2008, the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopting name and style from the anti-Soviet Charter 77 issued by dissidents in...
.
Biography
Liu Xianbin was born on October 2, 1968 in Suining city, Sichuan Province. In 1987, he entered the School of Labor and Human Resources at Beijing's Renmin University. As he writes in his autobiographical essay "In 1998, influenced by the "liberalization" movement, I lost faith in the rule of the Chinese Communist Party and joined with some others in organizing an anti-communist group and contributed articles to a magazine."Tiananmen Square protests
In May 1989, Liu participated in the pro-democracy demonstrations as well as in student fasts and blocking the movement of military vehicles during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in and near Tiananmen Square on June 4. By then, Liu was in Sichuan where he participated in the large Chengdu June 4 demonstration.Returning to school in Beijing after the Tiananmen June Fourth Incident, Liu wrote many posters and articles criticizing the repression and agitated for the establishment of a democratic political party in China. On April 15, 1991, he was arrested by Beijing Public Security Bureau
Public Security Bureau
In the People's Republic of China, a public security bureau refers to the government offices while the smaller offices are called Police posts which are similar in concept to the Japanese Kōban system) present in each province and municipality that handles policing , public security, and...
and sent to Qiucheng prison for his democratic activism and publications. On December 28, 1992 Liu was sentenced to two and half years in prison for the crime of "counter revolutionary propaganda and incitement". He was released in October 1993.
In December 1992 the Beijing Intermediate People's Court sentenced Liu Xianbin to 2 years and 6 months of imprisonment for counter-revolutionary propaganda and agitation. He was released in October 1993 after completing his sentence.
After his release, Liu continued his democracy activism. In May 1995, he participated with Wang Dan
Wang Dan
Wang Dan , a leader of the Chinese democracy movement, was one of the most visible of the student leaders in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Wang holds a Ph.D. in history from Harvard University. From August 2009 to February 2010, Wang taught cross-strait history at Taiwan's National...
and Liu Xiaobo
Liu Xiaobo
Liu Xiaobo is a Chinese literary critic, writer, professor, and human rights activist who called for political reforms and the end of communist single-party rule in China...
in a petition drive entitled "Drawing Lessons from Blood and Promoting Democracy and the Rule of Law". The police raided his home and detained him again in July of the same year.
In March 1998, Liu wrote an open letter to the Ninth National People's Congress, demanding that the Chinese government improve human rights conditions and signed the Convention on Human Rights. In the same year, a group of dissidents in Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
founded China Democracy Party
China Democracy Party
Democracy Party of China is a political party that started in the People's Republic of China, and was banned by the Communist Party of China . The history of the DPC and its foundation date is unclear because it has many historical paths under different groups of founders...
(CDP). Liu arrived in Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
to set up the Sichuan branch for CDP. On October 15, 1998, Liu Xianbin, She Wanbao and other like-minded people went to Sichuan Bureau of Civil Affairs and registered "the Sichuan Organizing Committee of China Democracy Party". Together with She Wanbao and Ouyang Yi, he also established the temporary headquarters of China Human Rights Watch and was appointed the acting director. He organized a nationwide rescue effort for Xu Wenli, Qin Yongmin and Wang Youcai.
1999 subversion conviction
In the mid 1990s, Liu Xianbin was active as an organizer for the China Democratic Party. In 1999, Liu was arrested in Beijing and was detained for a month in the Beijing Detention Center. Then he was sent back to Suining and was put under house arrest. On July 7, he was criminally detained by the Suining Public Security Bureau at the Lingquan Temple Detention Center in Suining city.On August 6, 1999, he was convicted of "subversion of state power" by the Suining City, Sichuan Intermediate People's Court and sentenced to 13 years imprisonment and deprivation of political rights for three years for subversion of state power. On November 6, 2008, he was released after completing his sentence with allowance for time served and good behavior after 9 years and four months in Sichuan's Chuandong prison.
After his release from prison in November 2008, Liu became one of the first signatories to Charter 08
Charter 08
Charter 08 is a manifesto initially signed by over 350 Chinese intellectuals and human rights activists. It was published on 10 December 2008, the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopting name and style from the anti-Soviet Charter 77 issued by dissidents in...
, a document calling for democratic reform.
Detention since June 2010
Liu Xianbin noted in his account of his police interrogation of March 2010 that public security asked him about four articles that had appeared on foreign websites. Liu concluded his account saying he was allowed to go home after interrogation this time, but his arrest was just a matter of time.On June 27, 2010, Liu Xianbin was detained on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power.” Suining, Sichuan Public Security Bureau on July 21, 2010 sent a recommendation to the Suining Procuratorate that Liu be indicted for inciting subversion of state power. The Suining Public Security Bureau's advice to the prosecutors lists several statements made by Liu Xianbin in his many articles published in Chinese magazines and websites overseas which it found subversive.
The "Indictment Advice" notes that Liu "wrote and transmitted through the Internet articles for publication. These articles appeared in publications outside the borders of mainland China such as People and Human Rights, Beijing Spring, China Weekly, Democratic China, China Human Rights Semi-weekly. He slandered the people's democratic dictatorship political power led by the Chinese Communist Party as "autocratic rule" and on several occasions incited the overthrow of our country's political regime and socialist system."
According to news reports citing his wife, he was sentenced to ten years in prison in March 2011.
Works
Many of Liu Xianbin's articles are available online at the Chinese Independent Pen Center website including:- "Baptism of Blood and Fire",
- "Liu Xianbin: 100 Days Since Release from Prison",
- "A Late Remembrance: Remembering the Death of Zhao Ziyang Five Years Later ",
- "Looking at China with Vaclav Havel's Eyes ",
- "Street Actions are an Important Tactic for the Chinese Democratic Movement",
- "A Discussion Starting From "'The People Are Masters in Their Own Homes'",
- "Choices for the Chinese Movement After the Heavy Sentence that Liu Xiaobo Received", and
- "My Twenty Years in the China Democracy Movement -- The Arrest of Chen Wei, Part 1",