Skip to content Skip to navigation

Citizens' Square

Print HTML logo Forward logo Facebook logo Twitter logo Reddit logo 微博 logo QQ空间 logo 百度贴吧 logo

Citizens’ Square is a virtual Democracy Wall for individuals from China to share their stories online in personal narratives, open letters, statements, and case descriptions, and through photos, court documents, and videos. While most of the posted items are in Chinese, HRIC provides in English the title and a descriptive summary of each item. On occasion, HRIC also provides English translation of the contents of the item itself.

Launched in spring 2010, Citizens’ Square has served as an uncensored platform for petitioners, rights defenders, lawyers, and other citizens to expose corruption and official malfeasance, publicize cases of abuse ranging from illegal detention to kidnapping and torture, and issue public statements, including calls for official accountability and transparency and appeals for just compensation for forced evictions.

The expansion of this virtual Democracy Wall reflects the powerful desire among Chinese citizens to assert their rights and the growing citizen activism in China. Postings on Citizens’ Square have also helped individuals and groups bring international press attention to their cases.

In Citizens’ Square, journalists, researchers, and the general public can learn more about individual cases.

Items 601 - 629 of 629
Salman Rushdie’s Response to Liao Yiwu’s Letter
Author Salman Rushdie responds to Liao Yiwu’s recent open letter .
April 27, 2011
Open Letter
Liao Yiwu
A Thank-you Note to the World Voices Festival of International Literature and Mr. Rushdie
Because Salman Rushdie wrote The Satanic Verses , Iran's Ayatolla Khomeini tried to kill him by putting a $5,000,000 reward on his head. This was in the 1980s, when I was still a young poet, and it was the first time I had heard his name. I was deeply shocked. Even though I cannot cross the ocean...
April 25, 2011
Open Letter
Liao Yiwu
To Teng Biao, My Love
Poem by the wife of the rights defense legal scholar on the 60th day of his disappearance.
April 19, 2011
Citizens' Square
Teng Biao
Record of an Interrogation of an Ai Weiwei Employee
During a four-hour interrogation at the Nan'gao police substation in Beijing, Liu Yanping (刘艳萍) , a worker in Ai Weiwei's studio, was verbally abused in obscene language by a man who said that he was not a policeman, but a "hooligan, auxiliary police." The man threatened to beat her up "outside"...
April 8, 2011
Article
Ai Weiwei
Beijing Public Security Bureau: Please Tell Us Ai Weiwei's Detention Situation
In a letter to the Beijing Public Security Bureau after Ai Weiwei has been in custody for more than 96 hours, Ai’s wife Lu Qing asks the authorities to follow the law, which requires them to notify the family with official documents of the detainee’s whereabouts and the reason for detention.
April 7, 2011
Appeal
Ai Weiwei
Human Rights Briefs
Information regarding rights defense activists in Hubei and Shanxi who were detained, summoned or put under house arrest.
February 21, 2011
Document
Qin Yongmin
A Call for President Hu Jintao and Vice-Chairman Xi Jinping to Follow Deng Xiaoping's Theory to Setup Special Political Reform Zones
This essay issued by China Human Rights Watch Chairman Qin Yongmin on behalf of a Wuhan University professor analyzes the many political and social problems in Chinese society today, and in particular those related to education, the area that the author is most familiar with. The author believes...
February 23, 2011
Public Appeal
Qin Yongmin
Open Letter: Time Waits for No One
Time Waits for No One: Continuing to Delay Solving the“June Fourth” Problem is a Crime Against the Future Generations of our Country -- An Open Letter to the 4th Plenary Session of the 11th Annual National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Consultative Committee This is the twelfth time...
February 28, 2011
Public Appeal
Ding Zilin
A Letter of Thanks to My Overseas and International Friends
Qin Yongmin, Chairman of China Human Rights Watch, thanks his overseas friends for their support during the long, difficult years he spent in prison in this letter dated March 3, 2011. A co-founder of China Democracy Party, Qin served 12 years on charges of "inciting subversion of state power." He...
March 3, 2011
Article
Qin Yongmin
Jasmine Revolution Rally on Beijing’s Wangfujing Street
In one of the first Jasmine Revolution rallies in China, people came out to "stroll, surround, and watch." A large number of uniform and plainclothes police was present. Organizers have called for rallies every Sunday , with the next one scheduled for 2:00 p.m., February 27.
February 20, 2011
Photograph
The Zhao Lianhai Case of “Picking Quarrels and Provoking Trouble”
As Zhao Lianhai’s defense counsel, let me first clearly state my position. Based on the currently existing evidence and legal provisions, this defense counsel believes that Zhao Lianhai is innocent. The specific defense arguments are as follows： 1. Zhao Lianhai’s family, untold numbers of infants,...
March 30, 2010
Document
Zhao Lianhai
Citizens Honor Released Petitioner with Flowers
On January 10, 2011, Shen Guodong (沈果东), a petitioner from Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, was released after a 10-month detention for “obstructing official business.” Shen had petitioned on behalf of his family and others against forced demolition of their homes. Nearly a hundred people came in a dozen or...
January 10, 2011
Photograph
Shen Guodong
The State’s Respect for and Protection of Human Rights Begins with the Strict Prohibition of Torture
(English Translation by Human Rights in China) On January 18, Hu Jintao will visit the United States, where, among other topics, the two governments will discuss human rights issues. Because of China’s continuous acts of “enforced disappearance,” “torture,” and other acts against dissidents, China’...
January 17, 2011
Public Appeal
Ni Yulan
Honoring Liu Xiaobo at Ralph Bunche Park, NYC, 2010/12/10
Photos from our event at Ralph Bunche Park, NYC
December 10, 2010
Photograph
Liu Xiaobo
Application for a Permit to Hold a Demonstration to Assert Rights and Call for Political Reform
[Translation by HRIC] To the Hangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau: Chinese citizens Wu Yilong, Chen Shuqing, Zhu Yufu, Mao Qingxiang, Zhu Zhengming, and Wang Rongqing submit this application to this honorable bureau [for a permit] for a demonstration to assert rights and call for political...
November 30, 2010
Document
Wu Yilong
Detained 24 Hours in Shanghai on the Way to the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony – An Open Letter to the Australian Foreign Minister
Re: Unlawful Detention by the Chinese Government Dear Honourable Foreign Minister, Mr. Kevin Rudd, At the end of November I received an invitation to attend the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony and Banquet in celebration of the 2010 Peace Prize Laureate, Liu Xiaobo. I decided to fly to Oslo from...
December 6, 2010
Public Appeal
Zhang Heci
An Open Letter to the Media from 27 Families in Henan
—— The Cry of Many Victims: Lives are at Stake, We Appeal for Your Concern, Save Us! April 6, 2010 [Translation by Human Rights in China] The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) No. 152 Central Hospital in Pingdingshan City, Henan Province, is taking advantage of the illustrious image the PLA has in the...
April 6, 2010
Appeal
Xue Qiuxiang
My Ordeal on International Women’s Day and during the “Two Congresses”
[Translated by Human Rights in China] What Premier Wen Jiabao said during the National People’s Congress – such as “let the people live happier and more dignified lives; let the society be more just and harmonious” – warmed my heart. However, on March 8, International Women’s Day, even before the...
March 18, 2010
Open Letter
Shen Peilan
“We Must Let ‘June Fourth’ Become a Topic of Public Discussion in the Media and on the Internet” (Tiananmen Mothers)
Statement by the Tiananmen Mothers [Translation by HRIC] Every year since 1995, the Tiananmen Mothers have publicly addressed every session of the “Two Congresses” to present their appeal. Regrettably, however, for fifteen years, the delegates and the permanent bodies of the “Two Congresses” have...
March 4, 2010
Public Appeal
Ding Zilin
Open Letter to U.S. Secretary of State Clinton
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton US Department of State 2201 C Street NW Washington, DC 20520 VIA FACSIMILE Dear Secretary Clinton, As you prepare to make your first trip to the People’s Republic of China as Secretary of State, our organizations strongly urge you to make human rights issues a...
February 12, 2009
Open Letter
Please Show Courage, Break the Taboo, Face "June Fourth" Head On (Tiananmen Mothers)
Open Letter by the Tiananmen Mothers Translation by Human Rights in China The Honorable Deputies of the Eleventh Session of the Second Plenary of the National People’s Congress and Committee Members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference: This year marks the 20th Anniversary of...
February 26, 2009
Public Appeal
Ding Zilin
Letter by Geng He to U.S. Congress
[Translated by Human Rights in China] Honorable Members of the United States Congress, My name is Geng He (耿和) and I am the wife of political prisoner and lawyer Gao Zhisheng (高智晟), who is currently being persecuted in mainland China. On March 11 this year, I arrived in the United States with my...
April 23, 2009
Open Letter
Gao Zhisheng
Open Letter to Central Government Seeking Right of Economic Redress for June Fourth Victims
Chairman Wu Bangguo of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao: We come from four different districts in Zhejiang Province, and are victims of the June Fourth Incident of 1989 and their fellow prisoners. Twenty years ago, each one of us had...
May 30, 2009
Public Appeal
Mao Guoliang
Letter to President Obama
Dear President Obama, I am a Chinese intellectual, a mother who lost her beloved son in the June Fourth Massacre in Beijing 20 years ago. First, I would like to congratulate you on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize this year, and I look forward to your outstanding contributions to maintaining world...
November 3, 2009
Public Appeal
Liu Xiaobo
Letter from Mao Hengfeng to President Obama
This letter from petitioner Mao Hengfeng was sent to U.S. President Barack Obama in advance of his 2009 trip to China.
November 15, 2009
Open Letter
Mao Hengfeng
Letter to U.S. President Barack Obama
Letter to U.S. President Barack Obama Julie Harms November 17, 2009, Beijing Dear Mr. President, As an American citizen, and a frequent visitor to China, with strong connections to both countries, I fully support your effort to engage China as a strategic partner and ally. I hope that you will take...
November 17, 2009
Open Letter

Pages