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July 4, 2017
The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau Prime Minister of Canada
80 Wellington Street Ottawa,
Ontario K1A 0A2
Dear Prime Minister:
We write this Open Letter to you as Canadian pro-democratic and human rights NGO to express our grave concerns over the health condition of Liu Xiaobo, China’s imprisoned Nobel Peace laureate.
We are appealing for your leadership in the upcoming G20 summit to speak directly to the Chinese leadership in this matter.
Liu Xiaobo is a Chinese literary critic, writer, professor, and human rights activist who coauthored the Charter ’08 calling for political reforms and the end of communist single-party rule.
For his leadership in drafting the Charter ’08, Liu was detained on December 8, 2008 and formally charged on June 23, 2009 on suspicion of “inciting subversion of state power”. He was tried in a closed trial and sentenced to eleven years’ imprisonment on December 25, 2009.
Liu Xiaobo has since been diagnosed with terminal liver cancer and released from prison to hospital on June 26, 2017. That the announcement of Liu’s health came so late into his terminal illness is a shock to all concerned citizens around the world.
There is now a worldwide campaign to advocate for the unconditional release of Liu Xiaobo. Specifically, there is a call for all G20 leaders to unite in one voice to press for his release during the upcoming summit on July 6 and 7.
When the Norwegian Nobel Committee took the bold step of awarding Liu Xiaobo its Peace Prize in recognition of his “long and non-violent struggle for fundamental rights in China” on October 8, 2010, Chinese authorities immediately placed Liu’s wife, Liu Xia, under house arrest, and prevented diplomats and journalists from meeting with her. Liu Xia is reported to be suffering from depression and heart disease as a result of this continuous harassment.
Mr. Prime Minister, we cannot emphasize enough the urgency of this matter pertaining to Liu Xiaobo’s situation.
In the name of international human rights and on compassionate grounds, Liu deserves a chance to seek the best medical treatment and quality time with his family. His immediate release and permission to seek medical treatment outside China will greatly enhance the quality of the remaining days of his life.
As a leader in the world stage who is a fervent defender of rights and democracy, we are counting on you to take a proactive leadership role in advocating for the immediate release of Nobel Peace laureate, Liu Xiaobo.
Sincerely,
Winnie Ng, Chair
Toronto Association for Democracy in China
and on behalf of:
Gloria Fung,
President Canada Hong Kong Link
P. Y. Tong,
Chair Movement for Democracy in China (Calgary)
Mabel Tung,
Vice-Chair Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement
cc: The Hon. Andrew Scheer, Leader of the Opposition The Hon. Thomas Mulcair,
Leader of the New Democratic Party
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