Sign the petition
Release Beijing Writer Dr Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波) 释放北京著名作家刘晓波 | 500 Signatures |
Published by Bode on Dec 16, 2008
Category: Civil Rights
Region: China
Target: Mr. Hu Jintao, President of People's Republic of China
Background (Preamble):
2008 年12月10日国际人权日暨《世界人权宣言》60周年，一批为数约300名的内地知识分子首先联署发表了一篇《零八宪 章》，表达他们希望中国政府改善国内人权、民主及法治状况的诉求。可是，联署人士因此受到一连串的迫 害，包括被公安人员拘留，甚至被无理带走问话。
当中，北京著名作家刘晓波在2008年12月8日，即原定公布《零八宪章》两天前，被公安人员带走，至今仍未获释（更新消息：劉曉波於2009年6月23 日以“涉嫌煽動顛覆國家政權罪”被正式逮捕）。其他因联署宪章而被公安人员传唤的人士包括︰北京著名宪政学者张祖桦、北京维权律师滕彪、上海维权律师郑恩 宠、北京维权律师浦志强、西安维权律师张鉴康、广东维权律师唐荆陵、浙江作家温克坚、浙江记者昝爱宗，以及海南作家秦耕。据维权网2008年12月16日 的消息指，至少39名联署人士受到威吓。
刘晓波被带走的消息震惊中国内地，以至全球各地人士，大家一呼百应联署支持《零八宪章》，要求中国政府立即释放刘晓波。
请参与此网上联署行动，亦可以将以下的请愿信发给中国政府，或当地的中国大使馆。
A group of about 300 mainland Chinese intellectuals first co-signed and released the Charter 08 (http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22210) on 10 December 2008 to demand for improvement of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in China. But many of them have been subjected to various forms of harassments, including detention and unreasonable interrogation by public security officers.
Among them, famous Beijing writer Dr Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波) was taken away by public security officers on 8 December 2008, two days before the Charter was originally planned to release. (Updates: Liu Xiaobo was formally arrested and charged with "inciting subversion of state power on 23 June 2009). Others who were summoned (chuanhuan) by public security officers included Beijing political theorist Zhang Zuhua (张祖桦), Beijing human rights lawyer Dr Teng Biao (滕彪), Shanghai human rights lawyer (郑恩宠), Beijing human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang (浦志強), Xi’an human rights lawyer Zhang Jiankang (张鉴康), Guangdong human rights lawyer Tang Jingling (唐荆陵), Zhejiang writer Wen Kejian (温克坚), Zhejiang journalist Zan Aizong (昝爱宗) and Hainan writer Qin Qeng (秦耕). According to Chinese Human Rights Defenders, at least 39 signatories have been intimidated as of 16 December 2008 (See: http://www.crd-net.org/Article/Class9/Class98/200812/20081216212554_12417.html)
After he was taken away, thousands of people from mainland China and around the world co-signed statements to support the Charter 08 and demand the Chinese government to immediately release Dr. Liu.
Please sign this online petition or send the following petition letter to the Chinese government or the Chinese embassy in your country.
当中，北京著名作家刘晓波在2008年12月8日，即原定公布《零八宪章》两天前，被公安人员带走，至今仍未获释（更新消息：劉曉波於2009年6月23 日以“涉嫌煽動顛覆國家政權罪”被正式逮捕）。其他因联署宪章而被公安人员传唤的人士包括︰北京著名宪政学者张祖桦、北京维权律师滕彪、上海维权律师郑恩 宠、北京维权律师浦志强、西安维权律师张鉴康、广东维权律师唐荆陵、浙江作家温克坚、浙江记者昝爱宗，以及海南作家秦耕。据维权网2008年12月16日 的消息指，至少39名联署人士受到威吓。
刘晓波被带走的消息震惊中国内地，以至全球各地人士，大家一呼百应联署支持《零八宪章》，要求中国政府立即释放刘晓波。
请参与此网上联署行动，亦可以将以下的请愿信发给中国政府，或当地的中国大使馆。
A group of about 300 mainland Chinese intellectuals first co-signed and released the Charter 08 (http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22210) on 10 December 2008 to demand for improvement of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in China. But many of them have been subjected to various forms of harassments, including detention and unreasonable interrogation by public security officers.
Among them, famous Beijing writer Dr Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波) was taken away by public security officers on 8 December 2008, two days before the Charter was originally planned to release. (Updates: Liu Xiaobo was formally arrested and charged with "inciting subversion of state power on 23 June 2009). Others who were summoned (chuanhuan) by public security officers included Beijing political theorist Zhang Zuhua (张祖桦), Beijing human rights lawyer Dr Teng Biao (滕彪), Shanghai human rights lawyer (郑恩宠), Beijing human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang (浦志強), Xi’an human rights lawyer Zhang Jiankang (张鉴康), Guangdong human rights lawyer Tang Jingling (唐荆陵), Zhejiang writer Wen Kejian (温克坚), Zhejiang journalist Zan Aizong (昝爱宗) and Hainan writer Qin Qeng (秦耕). According to Chinese Human Rights Defenders, at least 39 signatories have been intimidated as of 16 December 2008 (See: http://www.crd-net.org/Article/Class9/Class98/200812/20081216212554_12417.html)
After he was taken away, thousands of people from mainland China and around the world co-signed statements to support the Charter 08 and demand the Chinese government to immediately release Dr. Liu.
Please sign this online petition or send the following petition letter to the Chinese government or the Chinese embassy in your country.
Petition:
致---------
国家主席胡锦涛先生
中华人民共和国北京市中南海国家主席办公室
国务院总理温家宝先生
中华人民共和国北京市西城区文津街11号100800
尊敬的胡主席、温总理：
立即释放北京著名作家刘晓波 停止迫害《零八宪章》联署人士
北京著名作家刘晓波，因与超过300名中国内地作家、律师、学者及知识分子起草及联署《零八宪章》，于2008年12月8日被公 安人员带走，然后在北京近郊被“监视居住”超过六个月之后于2009年6月23日以“涉嫌煽动颠覆国家政权罪”被正式逮捕，所以我特此来函对刘晓波被带走 一事表示极度关注。
另外，我亦关注到，其他内地知识分子因联署《零八宪章》，而被公安人员不合理地问话或骚扰。
刘晓波先生以及其他联署《零八宪章》的人士，只是合理地行使他们的言论自由，完全合乎中华人民共和国宪法第35条的规定。是次联署行动一直是以和平方式进行，表达联署人士要求进一步改善中华人民共和国的人权、民主及法治的状况。
因此，我们促请中国政府立即释放刘晓波，停止骚扰联署《零八宪章》的其他人士。
专此奉达，祈希亮察！
（联署）
To:------------
President Hu Jintao
President’s Office
Zhongnaihai
Beijing
People’s Republic of China
Premier Wen Jiabao
Guowuyuan
11 Wenjinjie
Xicheng District, Beijing 100800
People’s Republic of China
Re: Demand Immediate Release of Beijing Writer Dr. Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波) and Stop Harassing Signatories of Charter 08
Dear President Hu and Premier Wen,
I am deeply concerned about that Beijing writer Dr Liu Xiaobo was taken away by public security officers on 8 December for being one of the drafters of Charter 08 (http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22210), which was first co-cosigned by over 300 mainland Chinese writers, lawyers, academics and public intellectuals. Dr Liu was then under “residential surveillance” for more than six months. He was formally arrested on 23 June 2009 and was “suspected of committing the crime of inciting subversion of state power”.
I am also concerned that other mainland intellectuals who co-signed the Charter were unreasonably interrogated or harassed by public security officers.
Dr Liu and the people who co-signed the Charter only exercised their freedom of speech, which is enshrined in Article 35 of the PRC Constitution. Their action was a peaceful expression of their views on demanding further improvement of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in the People's Republic of China.
Therefore, I call on the Chinese government to immediately release Dr. Liu and stop harassing other people who co-signed Charter 08.
Thank you very much for your attention.
Yours sincerely,
国家主席胡锦涛先生
中华人民共和国北京市中南海国家主席办公室
国务院总理温家宝先生
中华人民共和国北京市西城区文津街11号100800
尊敬的胡主席、温总理：
立即释放北京著名作家刘晓波 停止迫害《零八宪章》联署人士
北京著名作家刘晓波，因与超过300名中国内地作家、律师、学者及知识分子起草及联署《零八宪章》，于2008年12月8日被公 安人员带走，然后在北京近郊被“监视居住”超过六个月之后于2009年6月23日以“涉嫌煽动颠覆国家政权罪”被正式逮捕，所以我特此来函对刘晓波被带走 一事表示极度关注。
另外，我亦关注到，其他内地知识分子因联署《零八宪章》，而被公安人员不合理地问话或骚扰。
刘晓波先生以及其他联署《零八宪章》的人士，只是合理地行使他们的言论自由，完全合乎中华人民共和国宪法第35条的规定。是次联署行动一直是以和平方式进行，表达联署人士要求进一步改善中华人民共和国的人权、民主及法治的状况。
因此，我们促请中国政府立即释放刘晓波，停止骚扰联署《零八宪章》的其他人士。
专此奉达，祈希亮察！
（联署）
To:------------
President Hu Jintao
President’s Office
Zhongnaihai
Beijing
People’s Republic of China
Premier Wen Jiabao
Guowuyuan
11 Wenjinjie
Xicheng District, Beijing 100800
People’s Republic of China
Re: Demand Immediate Release of Beijing Writer Dr. Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波) and Stop Harassing Signatories of Charter 08
Dear President Hu and Premier Wen,
I am deeply concerned about that Beijing writer Dr Liu Xiaobo was taken away by public security officers on 8 December for being one of the drafters of Charter 08 (http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22210), which was first co-cosigned by over 300 mainland Chinese writers, lawyers, academics and public intellectuals. Dr Liu was then under “residential surveillance” for more than six months. He was formally arrested on 23 June 2009 and was “suspected of committing the crime of inciting subversion of state power”.
I am also concerned that other mainland intellectuals who co-signed the Charter were unreasonably interrogated or harassed by public security officers.
Dr Liu and the people who co-signed the Charter only exercised their freedom of speech, which is enshrined in Article 35 of the PRC Constitution. Their action was a peaceful expression of their views on demanding further improvement of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in the People's Republic of China.
Therefore, I call on the Chinese government to immediately release Dr. Liu and stop harassing other people who co-signed Charter 08.
Thank you very much for your attention.
Yours sincerely,
Petition
致
国家主席胡锦涛先生
中华人民共和国北京市中南海国家主席办公室
国务院总理温家宝先生
中华人民共和国北京市西城区文津街11号100800
尊敬的胡主席、温总理：
立即释放北京著名作家刘晓波 停止迫害《零八宪章》联署人士
北京著名作家刘晓波，因与超过300名中国内地作家、律师、学者及知识分子起草及联署《零八宪章》，(http://www.crd-net.org /Article/lingbaxianzhang/200812/20081209130050_12266.html)，于2008年12月8日被公安人员带走，然后在北京近郊被“监视居住”超过六个月之后于2009年6月23日以“涉嫌煽动颠覆国家政权罪”被正式逮捕，所以我特此来函对刘晓波被带走一事表示极度关注。
另外，我亦关注到，其他内地知识分子因联署《零八宪章》，而被公安人员不合理地问话或骚扰。
刘晓波先生以及其他联署《零八宪章》的人士，只是合理地行使他们的言论自由，完全合乎中华人民共和国宪法第35条的规定。是次联署行动一直是以和平方式进行，表达联署人士要求进一步改善中华人民共和国的人权、民主及法治的状况。
因此，我们促请中国政府立即释放刘晓波，停止骚扰联署《零八宪章》的其他人士。
专此奉达，祈希亮察！
（联署）
President Hu Jintao
President’s Office
Zhongnaihai
Beijing
People’s Republic of China
Premier Wen Jiabao
Guowuyuan
11 Wenjinjie
Xicheng District, Beijing 100800
People’s Republic of China
Re: Demand Immediate Release of Beijing Writer Dr. Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波) and Stop Harassing Signatories of Charter 08
Dear President Hu and Premier Wen,
I am deeply concerned about that Beijing writer Dr Liu Xiaobo was taken away by public security officers on 8 December for being one of the drafters of Charter 08 (http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22210), which was first co-cosigned by over 300 mainland Chinese writers, lawyers, academics and public intellectuals. Dr Liu was then under “residential surveillance” for more than six months. He was formally arrested on 23 June 2009 and was “suspected of committing the crime of inciting subversion of state power”.
I am also concerned that other mainland intellectuals who co-signed the Charter were unreasonably interrogated or harassed by public security officers.
Dr Liu and the people who co-signed the Charter only exercised their freedom of speech, which is enshrined in Article 35 of the PRC Constitution. Their action was a peaceful expression of their views on demanding further improvement of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in the People's Republic of China.
Therefore, I call on the Chinese government to immediately release Dr. Liu and stop harassing other people who co-signed Charter 08.
Thank you very much for your attention.
Yours sincerely,
.
国家主席胡锦涛先生
中华人民共和国北京市中南海国家主席办公室
国务院总理温家宝先生
中华人民共和国北京市西城区文津街11号100800
尊敬的胡主席、温总理：
立即释放北京著名作家刘晓波 停止迫害《零八宪章》联署人士
北京著名作家刘晓波，因与超过300名中国内地作家、律师、学者及知识分子起草及联署《零八宪章》，(http://www.crd-net.org /Article/lingbaxianzhang/200812/20081209130050_12266.html)，于2008年12月8日被公安人员带走，然后在北京近郊被“监视居住”超过六个月之后于2009年6月23日以“涉嫌煽动颠覆国家政权罪”被正式逮捕，所以我特此来函对刘晓波被带走一事表示极度关注。
另外，我亦关注到，其他内地知识分子因联署《零八宪章》，而被公安人员不合理地问话或骚扰。
刘晓波先生以及其他联署《零八宪章》的人士，只是合理地行使他们的言论自由，完全合乎中华人民共和国宪法第35条的规定。是次联署行动一直是以和平方式进行，表达联署人士要求进一步改善中华人民共和国的人权、民主及法治的状况。
因此，我们促请中国政府立即释放刘晓波，停止骚扰联署《零八宪章》的其他人士。
专此奉达，祈希亮察！
（联署）
President Hu Jintao
President’s Office
Zhongnaihai
Beijing
People’s Republic of China
Premier Wen Jiabao
Guowuyuan
11 Wenjinjie
Xicheng District, Beijing 100800
People’s Republic of China
Re: Demand Immediate Release of Beijing Writer Dr. Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波) and Stop Harassing Signatories of Charter 08
Dear President Hu and Premier Wen,
I am deeply concerned about that Beijing writer Dr Liu Xiaobo was taken away by public security officers on 8 December for being one of the drafters of Charter 08 (http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22210), which was first co-cosigned by over 300 mainland Chinese writers, lawyers, academics and public intellectuals. Dr Liu was then under “residential surveillance” for more than six months. He was formally arrested on 23 June 2009 and was “suspected of committing the crime of inciting subversion of state power”.
I am also concerned that other mainland intellectuals who co-signed the Charter were unreasonably interrogated or harassed by public security officers.
Dr Liu and the people who co-signed the Charter only exercised their freedom of speech, which is enshrined in Article 35 of the PRC Constitution. Their action was a peaceful expression of their views on demanding further improvement of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in the People's Republic of China.
Therefore, I call on the Chinese government to immediately release Dr. Liu and stop harassing other people who co-signed Charter 08.
Thank you very much for your attention.
Yours sincerely,
.
Comments
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李怡：姑息主義讓專制政權更肆無忌憚(《蘋果日報》，27/06/2009) 劉曉波參與起草的《零八憲章》，對政改的建議溫和，只求政權改善，而絕無顛覆共產黨政權之意。中共把他扣留及隔離六個多月，相信都在苦苦找尋對他入罪的證據。現在對他正式逮捕，固然同面對 60 周年國慶而各地群體抗爭事件不斷增加有關，但從國際政治的角度來看，則同國際姑息主義抬頭有莫大關係。自美國奧巴馬上台後，即一改布殊政府對極權國家的強硬態度，以柔軟身段，軟弱無力的說詞…
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林和立：中共警告知識分子 不要搞「網播革命」 —— 再談劉曉波案(《明報》，29/06/2009) 胡溫當局以「煽動顛覆國家政權罪」正式逮捕異議分子劉曉波博士，表面原因是貫徹在所謂 2009「特敏感」年的「保穩防亂」工程，盡量減低在「十一」慶祝共和國 60 周年前的雜音。但中共高層此次加碼打壓這位國際知名，且政治取向溫和的知識分子，深層意義卻更令人擔憂。第一，中南海在警告國內所有知識界，包括專業人士與 NGO 活躍分子，不可再越…
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王丹：中共審判劉曉波說明了什麼？(《明報》，26/06/2009) 拖了 7 個月，中共終於決定將劉曉波正式逮捕。這個事件說明了幾個問題：第一，儘管中國的社會在演變，儘管中國的經濟在增長，但是，中共的極權主義本質，他們以國家暴力維護自己的統治的執政方式，其實並沒有改變。劉曉波作為一介書生，能夠做到的無非就是寫文章和發表聲明，一貫溫和立場的他從來反對暴力革命，在國家安全部門嚴密監控下的他也不可能從事秘密組織活動，即使如此，他還是被冠以…
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馮廣寧：讓我們用微笑鄙視強權(節錄《蘋果日報》，26/06/2009，作者：內地大學生、《零八憲章》聯署人) 拘捕劉曉波有違憲法米蘭昆德拉在《笑忘書》裡寫道：「人與強權的鬥爭，就是記憶與遺忘的鬥爭。」劉曉波沒有遺忘，他記憶着百多年來國人為爭取憲政、民主和自由所付出的汗水、淚水和青春。劉曉波不是英雄，他是這個社會的良心；他犧牲自己的自由，為了換取國人更多的自由；他沒有在六四後退卻，他堅守着一個知識分子的道德良知，為中國的進步孜孜努力；…
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劉曉波控煽動顛覆國家 丁子霖記協譴責以言入罪 泛民今遊行(節錄《明報》，25/06/2009) 《零八憲章》起草人之一、內地著名異見人士劉曉波在被扣查 6 個多月後，前天被當局以涉嫌「煽動顛覆國家政權罪」正式逮捕，其妻劉霞昨晨接獲北京市檢察機關簽署的「批准逮捕」書面通知。對於劉曉波被正式逮捕，獨立中文筆會、天安門母親丁子霖、本港記協及泛民等組織或人士均表示強烈抗議和譴責當局「以言入罪」。 53 歲的劉曉波在 2008 年 12 月《零…
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劉霞：為一名中國異見分子呼冤(《明報》，18/04/2009，劉霞：劉曉波妻子) 編按：中國著名異見人士劉曉波去年 12 月被中國當局帶走， 美國《華盛頓郵報》於 4 月 16 日刊出其妻子劉霞 (現居於北京) 的文章，請求美國總統奧巴馬協助，要求中國政府釋放劉曉波。以下為本報翻譯：我的丈夫劉曉波是《零八憲章》的主要起草人。以前捷克的《七七憲章》為模範，《零八憲章》要求在中國實行全面政治改革，包括建立民主政府和保障普世公認的人權。憲…
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國際人權日前 中國拘留人權活躍者(節錄「BBC」，09/12/2008) 中國的人權組織說，中國五名人權活躍人士在周三的人權日之前被扣留問話，當中包括經常批評政府的作家劉曉波。在香港的中國人權民運信息中心說，劉曉波在周一晚上被北京公安帶走，另一名被帶走的是政治評論家張祖樺。信息中心說，這兩人原定在星期三國際人權日及簽署《世界人權宣言》60 周年這一天舉行論壇，並發表中國《零八憲章》。這個「憲章」獲得了 303 名著名學者及作家…
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劉曉波：在中國經濟一枝獨秀的背後 (下)(節錄「BBC」，27/10/2008) 社會成本所以，中國經濟領域的巨大變化，表面上是廣泛而深刻的，實質上卻是跛足而膚淺的，其主要特徵是量的擴大而不是質的提升。隨著經濟的高速增長，社會生活和人性品質的綜合質量，並沒有同步提升，道德水準、思想活力、社會關懷和公共參與，都遠遠不如八十年代，中國正在向那種最壞的裙帶資本主義狂奔。 權貴們幾乎是肆無忌憚地瓜分著由所謂的國有資產轉化而來的黨產…
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劉曉波：在中國經濟一枝獨秀的背後 (中)(節錄「BBC」，27/10/2008) 策略剖析寡頭獨裁的統治策略分解為五個相互聯系的方面：一是以民族主義為新的意識形態紐帶，把大國外交和大國崛起的官方口號與反美反日反台獨捆綁在一起。與此同時，引導整個社會向皇權時代回歸，偉大的帝王與偉大的盛世變成大眾文化的主旋律。大動亂之後的發展經濟是休息養生，對未來的小康承諾是溫飽知足，和諧社會是傳統太平盛世的翻版，八榮八恥的德治迎合儒家傳統。 …
劉曉波的理想無法禁錮
◎ 張祖樺
● 編者按：本文作者張祖樺為大陸民間憲政學家，零八憲章的起草人簽署人之一。他指出劉曉波因零八憲章而被捕，是違憲非法的以言治罪，連滿清都不如。
《零八憲章》簽署人、中國著名異議作家劉曉波先生在去年世界人權日前夕（十二月八日深夜）被警方從家中帶走後，一直被關押在秘密地點，當局對外的說法是「監視居住」，卻一直拒不說明為什麼要對一個合法公民進行秘密「監視居住」，法律依據何在？等了半年多，結果等來的是官方的慣用說詞：「據公安機關偵查掌握，近年來，劉曉波以造謠、誹謗等方式煽動顛覆國家政權、推翻社會主義制度，違反了《中華人民共和國刑法》，涉嫌煽動顛覆國家政權罪，北京市公安機關依法對劉曉波立案偵查，二○○九年六月二十三日經檢察機關批准逮捕。」（新華每日電訊）
言而無信以言治罪怎能服人？
什麼叫「煽動顛覆國家政權罪」？明擺著是「以言治罪」。中國《憲法》第三十五條明文規定：「中華人民共和國公民有言論、出版、集會、結社、遊行、示威的自由。」第四十一條同時規定「中華人民共和國公民對於任何國家機關和國家工作人員，有提出批評和建議的權利；對於任何國家機關和國家工作人員的違法失職行為，有向有關國家機關提出申訴、控告或者檢舉的權利，但是不得捏造或者歪曲事實進行誣告陷害。」
一個公民行使言論自由，對公共事件和國家事務發表評論和意見，對國家機關和國家工作人員提出批評和建議，乃是他的天賦人權，亦是受到憲法保護的基本權利。對這樣的公民治罪，不是「以言治罪」是什麼？不是違憲違法是什麼？不是公然踐踏人權、蹂躪法治又是什麼？當局的這種執法犯法，無視人權和人的自由的做法，恰恰印證了《零八憲章》中指出的近年來中國的「政治進步」迄今為止大多停留在紙面上；有法律而無法治，有憲法而無憲政，仍然是有目共睹的政治現實。
中國政府今年四月十三日發佈的《國家人權行動計畫（二○○九─二○一○年）》中也明示要「採取有力措施，暢通各種管道，保障公民的表達權利」。「保障公民對國家機關和國家工作人員提出批評、建議、申訴、控告、檢舉的權利，發揮人民團體、社會組織和新聞媒體對國家機關和國家工作人員的監督作用。」信誓旦旦，言猶在耳，怎麼馬上就拋到一邊，棄若敝屣？如此言而無信，大言不慚，怎麼能取信於國民和國際社會？
《世界人權宣言》第十九條明示「人人有權享有主張和發表意見的自由；此項權利包括持有主張而不受干涉的自由，和通過任何媒介和不論國界尋求、接受和傳遞消息和思想的自由」。《公民權利和政治權利國際公約》第十九條規定「一、人人有權持有主張，不受干涉。
二、人人有自由發表意見的權利；此項權利包括尋求、接受和傳遞各種消息和思想的自由，而不論國界，也不論口頭的、書寫的、印刷的、採取藝術形式的、或通過他所選擇的任何其他媒介。」
這些都是中國政府早已簽署的國際人權法的基本內容。於理於法都應負責任地遵守。豈能說一套做一套，對外一套對內一套？總是搞這樣的「兩手」陽謀，公然踐踏人權蹂躪法治，怎麼還好意思侈談甚麼「尊重和保障人權」、「建設法治國家」、「發展政治文明」、「做一個負責制的大國」呢？豈不令三尺孩童都會笑掉大牙？
針對零八憲章而獲罪非常荒唐
天下人皆知劉曉波是因參與起草和聯署《零八憲章》而繫獄。《零八憲章》是一份和平、理性、充滿善意、富有建設性與前瞻性的對中國問題的系統思考和表達的文本。參與起草和連署的公民完全是依法踐行自己的言論與思想自由的權利，表現出中國公民的拳拳愛國之心和對中國社會發展與政治進步的深切責任感。杜光先生說得好：給《零八憲章》加上「煽動顛覆國家政權」的罪名，是非常荒唐的。《零八憲章》是一個理性的、和解的、合作的宣言，它提出的六條價值理念和十九點基本主張，指出深化改革的方向和途徑，同時，也為執政黨提供了改善自身的良好機會。
《零八憲章》正是一幅「經過民主主義」的路線圖。只有滿懷愛國之心而又才智洋溢的人，才有可能寫出如此切中時弊的社會改革方案。把劉曉波這樣的智者愛國者誣為「煽動顛覆國家政權」，是最典型的顛倒是非、混淆黑白。
逮捕劉曉波，打壓《零八憲章》，實質是堅持一黨專政，堵塞民主憲政革新之路。這等作為連百年前的滿清王朝都不如，其結果必然是適得其反，搬起石頭砸自己的腳。劉曉波可以被囚禁，但他追求的理想、《零八憲章》的精神卻絕不可能被禁錮，因為它深植在每個簽署人的心中，深植在千千萬萬中國人發自內心的渴望裡。
李怡：姑息主義讓專制政權更肆無忌憚(《蘋果日報》，27/06/2009) 劉曉波參與起草的《零八憲章》，對政改的建議溫和，只求政權改善，而絕無顛覆共產黨政權之意。中共把他扣留及隔離六個多月，相信都在苦苦找尋對他入罪的證據。現在對他正式逮捕，固然同面對 60 周年國慶而各地群體抗爭事件不斷增加有關，但從國際政治的角度來看，則同國際姑息主義抬頭有莫大關係。自美國奧巴馬上台後，即一改布殊政府對極權國家的強硬態度，以柔軟身段，軟弱無力的說詞…
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潘小濤：60 年前的中共是劉曉波同路人(節錄《明報》，26/06/2009) 我最敬重的其中一位中國學者、思想家劉曉波先生，被北京公安帶走半年多後，6 月 23 日正式被捕。官方新華社稱，「近年來劉曉波以造謠、誹謗等方式，煽動顛覆國家政權、推翻社會主義制度」、「涉嫌煽動顛覆國家政權罪」，意味劉曉波案正式進入司法程序，極可能在國慶 60 周年前被審判。 多年來，北京國家安全局及公安局從沒放鬆過劉曉波，對他的行蹤瞭若指掌，對他的文章更是用放…
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林和立：中共警告知識分子 不要搞「網播革命」 —— 再談劉曉波案(《明報》，29/06/2009) 胡溫當局以「煽動顛覆國家政權罪」正式逮捕異議分子劉曉波博士，表面原因是貫徹在所謂 2009「特敏感」年的「保穩防亂」工程，盡量減低在「十一」慶祝共和國 60 周年前的雜音。但中共高層此次加碼打壓這位國際知名，且政治取向溫和的知識分子，深層意義卻更令人擔憂。第一，中南海在警告國內所有知識界，包括專業人士與 NGO 活躍分子，不可再越…
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王丹：中共審判劉曉波說明了什麼？(《明報》，26/06/2009) 拖了 7 個月，中共終於決定將劉曉波正式逮捕。這個事件說明了幾個問題：第一，儘管中國的社會在演變，儘管中國的經濟在增長，但是，中共的極權主義本質，他們以國家暴力維護自己的統治的執政方式，其實並沒有改變。劉曉波作為一介書生，能夠做到的無非就是寫文章和發表聲明，一貫溫和立場的他從來反對暴力革命，在國家安全部門嚴密監控下的他也不可能從事秘密組織活動，即使如此，他還是被冠以…
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馮廣寧：讓我們用微笑鄙視強權(節錄《蘋果日報》，26/06/2009，作者：內地大學生、《零八憲章》聯署人) 拘捕劉曉波有違憲法米蘭昆德拉在《笑忘書》裡寫道：「人與強權的鬥爭，就是記憶與遺忘的鬥爭。」劉曉波沒有遺忘，他記憶着百多年來國人為爭取憲政、民主和自由所付出的汗水、淚水和青春。劉曉波不是英雄，他是這個社會的良心；他犧牲自己的自由，為了換取國人更多的自由；他沒有在六四後退卻，他堅守着一個知識分子的道德良知，為中國的進步孜孜努力；…
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劉曉波控煽動顛覆國家 丁子霖記協譴責以言入罪 泛民今遊行(節錄《明報》，25/06/2009) 《零八憲章》起草人之一、內地著名異見人士劉曉波在被扣查 6 個多月後，前天被當局以涉嫌「煽動顛覆國家政權罪」正式逮捕，其妻劉霞昨晨接獲北京市檢察機關簽署的「批准逮捕」書面通知。對於劉曉波被正式逮捕，獨立中文筆會、天安門母親丁子霖、本港記協及泛民等組織或人士均表示強烈抗議和譴責當局「以言入罪」。 53 歲的劉曉波在 2008 年 12 月《零…
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劉霞：為一名中國異見分子呼冤(《明報》，18/04/2009，劉霞：劉曉波妻子) 編按：中國著名異見人士劉曉波去年 12 月被中國當局帶走， 美國《華盛頓郵報》於 4 月 16 日刊出其妻子劉霞 (現居於北京) 的文章，請求美國總統奧巴馬協助，要求中國政府釋放劉曉波。以下為本報翻譯：我的丈夫劉曉波是《零八憲章》的主要起草人。以前捷克的《七七憲章》為模範，《零八憲章》要求在中國實行全面政治改革，包括建立民主政府和保障普世公認的人權。憲…
*
國際人權日前 中國拘留人權活躍者(節錄「BBC」，09/12/2008) 中國的人權組織說，中國五名人權活躍人士在周三的人權日之前被扣留問話，當中包括經常批評政府的作家劉曉波。在香港的中國人權民運信息中心說，劉曉波在周一晚上被北京公安帶走，另一名被帶走的是政治評論家張祖樺。信息中心說，這兩人原定在星期三國際人權日及簽署《世界人權宣言》60 周年這一天舉行論壇，並發表中國《零八憲章》。這個「憲章」獲得了 303 名著名學者及作家…
*
劉曉波：在中國經濟一枝獨秀的背後 (下)(節錄「BBC」，27/10/2008) 社會成本所以，中國經濟領域的巨大變化，表面上是廣泛而深刻的，實質上卻是跛足而膚淺的，其主要特徵是量的擴大而不是質的提升。隨著經濟的高速增長，社會生活和人性品質的綜合質量，並沒有同步提升，道德水準、思想活力、社會關懷和公共參與，都遠遠不如八十年代，中國正在向那種最壞的裙帶資本主義狂奔。 權貴們幾乎是肆無忌憚地瓜分著由所謂的國有資產轉化而來的黨產…
*
劉曉波：在中國經濟一枝獨秀的背後 (中)(節錄「BBC」，27/10/2008) 策略剖析寡頭獨裁的統治策略分解為五個相互聯系的方面：一是以民族主義為新的意識形態紐帶，把大國外交和大國崛起的官方口號與反美反日反台獨捆綁在一起。與此同時，引導整個社會向皇權時代回歸，偉大的帝王與偉大的盛世變成大眾文化的主旋律。大動亂之後的發展經濟是休息養生，對未來的小康承諾是溫飽知足，和諧社會是傳統太平盛世的翻版，八榮八恥的德治迎合儒家傳統。 …
劉曉波的理想無法禁錮
◎ 張祖樺
● 編者按：本文作者張祖樺為大陸民間憲政學家，零八憲章的起草人簽署人之一。他指出劉曉波因零八憲章而被捕，是違憲非法的以言治罪，連滿清都不如。
《零八憲章》簽署人、中國著名異議作家劉曉波先生在去年世界人權日前夕（十二月八日深夜）被警方從家中帶走後，一直被關押在秘密地點，當局對外的說法是「監視居住」，卻一直拒不說明為什麼要對一個合法公民進行秘密「監視居住」，法律依據何在？等了半年多，結果等來的是官方的慣用說詞：「據公安機關偵查掌握，近年來，劉曉波以造謠、誹謗等方式煽動顛覆國家政權、推翻社會主義制度，違反了《中華人民共和國刑法》，涉嫌煽動顛覆國家政權罪，北京市公安機關依法對劉曉波立案偵查，二○○九年六月二十三日經檢察機關批准逮捕。」（新華每日電訊）
言而無信以言治罪怎能服人？
什麼叫「煽動顛覆國家政權罪」？明擺著是「以言治罪」。中國《憲法》第三十五條明文規定：「中華人民共和國公民有言論、出版、集會、結社、遊行、示威的自由。」第四十一條同時規定「中華人民共和國公民對於任何國家機關和國家工作人員，有提出批評和建議的權利；對於任何國家機關和國家工作人員的違法失職行為，有向有關國家機關提出申訴、控告或者檢舉的權利，但是不得捏造或者歪曲事實進行誣告陷害。」
一個公民行使言論自由，對公共事件和國家事務發表評論和意見，對國家機關和國家工作人員提出批評和建議，乃是他的天賦人權，亦是受到憲法保護的基本權利。對這樣的公民治罪，不是「以言治罪」是什麼？不是違憲違法是什麼？不是公然踐踏人權、蹂躪法治又是什麼？當局的這種執法犯法，無視人權和人的自由的做法，恰恰印證了《零八憲章》中指出的近年來中國的「政治進步」迄今為止大多停留在紙面上；有法律而無法治，有憲法而無憲政，仍然是有目共睹的政治現實。
中國政府今年四月十三日發佈的《國家人權行動計畫（二○○九─二○一○年）》中也明示要「採取有力措施，暢通各種管道，保障公民的表達權利」。「保障公民對國家機關和國家工作人員提出批評、建議、申訴、控告、檢舉的權利，發揮人民團體、社會組織和新聞媒體對國家機關和國家工作人員的監督作用。」信誓旦旦，言猶在耳，怎麼馬上就拋到一邊，棄若敝屣？如此言而無信，大言不慚，怎麼能取信於國民和國際社會？
《世界人權宣言》第十九條明示「人人有權享有主張和發表意見的自由；此項權利包括持有主張而不受干涉的自由，和通過任何媒介和不論國界尋求、接受和傳遞消息和思想的自由」。《公民權利和政治權利國際公約》第十九條規定「一、人人有權持有主張，不受干涉。
二、人人有自由發表意見的權利；此項權利包括尋求、接受和傳遞各種消息和思想的自由，而不論國界，也不論口頭的、書寫的、印刷的、採取藝術形式的、或通過他所選擇的任何其他媒介。」
這些都是中國政府早已簽署的國際人權法的基本內容。於理於法都應負責任地遵守。豈能說一套做一套，對外一套對內一套？總是搞這樣的「兩手」陽謀，公然踐踏人權蹂躪法治，怎麼還好意思侈談甚麼「尊重和保障人權」、「建設法治國家」、「發展政治文明」、「做一個負責制的大國」呢？豈不令三尺孩童都會笑掉大牙？
針對零八憲章而獲罪非常荒唐
天下人皆知劉曉波是因參與起草和聯署《零八憲章》而繫獄。《零八憲章》是一份和平、理性、充滿善意、富有建設性與前瞻性的對中國問題的系統思考和表達的文本。參與起草和連署的公民完全是依法踐行自己的言論與思想自由的權利，表現出中國公民的拳拳愛國之心和對中國社會發展與政治進步的深切責任感。杜光先生說得好：給《零八憲章》加上「煽動顛覆國家政權」的罪名，是非常荒唐的。《零八憲章》是一個理性的、和解的、合作的宣言，它提出的六條價值理念和十九點基本主張，指出深化改革的方向和途徑，同時，也為執政黨提供了改善自身的良好機會。
《零八憲章》正是一幅「經過民主主義」的路線圖。只有滿懷愛國之心而又才智洋溢的人，才有可能寫出如此切中時弊的社會改革方案。把劉曉波這樣的智者愛國者誣為「煽動顛覆國家政權」，是最典型的顛倒是非、混淆黑白。
逮捕劉曉波，打壓《零八憲章》，實質是堅持一黨專政，堵塞民主憲政革新之路。這等作為連百年前的滿清王朝都不如，其結果必然是適得其反，搬起石頭砸自己的腳。劉曉波可以被囚禁，但他追求的理想、《零八憲章》的精神卻絕不可能被禁錮，因為它深植在每個簽署人的心中，深植在千千萬萬中國人發自內心的渴望裡。
China's Charter 08零八憲章
《零八憲章》是為了紀念2008年12月10日《世界人權宣言》發表60周年由劉曉波等人起草並由303位中國各界人士首批簽署的一份宣言，旨在促進中國民主化進程，改善人權狀況。由於內容敏感，迄12月11日止發起人中已有兩人因此事被中華人民共和國政府逮捕。到目前為止，在《零八憲章》上簽名的有八千多人，還有一些人陸續在網上簽名。不過由於網站受到當局干擾，所以即使在網上簽名也已經不容易。
起草人在宣言開頭解釋了發佈《零八憲章》的立場：
今年是中國立憲百年，《世界人權宣言》公布60周年，「民主牆」誕生30周年，中國政府簽署《公民權利和政治權利國際公約》10周年。在經歷了長期的人權災難和艱難曲折的抗爭歷程之後，覺醒的中國公民日漸清楚地認識到，自由、平等、人權是人類共同的普世價值；民主、共和、憲政是現代政治的基本制度架構。
過程
零八憲章由中國303名各界人士發起並簽署。為因應世界人權宣言60周年，中國的維權人士呼籲在自由、平等、人權的普世價值下，在中國實施民主、共和、憲政的現代政治架構。原定於2008年12月10日簽署《世界人權宣言》60周年這一天舉行論壇，並發表中國《零八憲章》。不過因為當局的逮捕行動而終止。
簽署者除發起人劉曉波以外，尚有鮑彤、丁子霖、戴晴、於浩成、浦志強、張祖樺、茅於軾、冉雲飛、劉逸明等，包括一些中國著名異見人士與維權人士。[5]
宣言內容
《零八憲章》分「前言」、「我們的基本理念」、「我們的基本主張」和「結語」等四部分，主要內容是闡述自由、人權、民主、憲政等概念，主張修改憲法、實行分權制衡，實現立法民主，司法獨立，主張結社、集會、言論、宗教自由，宣言共提出6點理念與19點的主張。
基本理念
* 自由：言論、出版、信仰、集會、結社、遷徙、罷工和遊行示威等權利
* 人權：人是國家的主體，國家服務於人民，政府為人民而存在。
* 平等：公民不論社會地位、職業、性別、經濟狀況、種族、膚色、宗教或政治信仰，其人格、尊嚴、自由都是平等的。
* 共和：要求「大家共治，和平共生」，分權制衡與利益平衡。
* 民主：主權在民和民選政府。
* 憲政：主張以法治限制政府權力和行為的邊界。
十九點基本主張
《零八憲章》提出了十九點基本主張，包括：
1. 修改憲法
2. 分權制衡
3. 立法民主
4. 司法獨立
5. 公器公用
6. 人權保障
7. 公職選舉
8. 城鄉平等
9. 結社自由
10. 集會自由
11. 言論自由
12. 宗教自由
13. 公民教育
14. 財產保護
15. 財稅改革
16. 社會保障
17. 環境保護
18. 聯邦共和
19. 轉型正義
內容觸及了政治改革、經濟改革、城鄉差距與環境保護等諸多方面。
政府壓制
《零八憲章》發布至今，不斷有人加入簽署者行列。與此同時，中國政府也在採取打壓行動。首先是《零八憲章》共同起草人之一劉曉波被起訴。北京大學法學院教授賀衛方最近被調往新疆石河子支教。雖然原因無法確定，但有人認為可能和憲章有關。另外一位在《零八憲章》上簽名的北大教授夏業良受到很大的壓力，在兩個學術組織的職務被撤銷。
其他許多簽署人也被警方傳喚，要求他們退出。據維權網報導，3月23日，四川自貢市簽署人羅世模被當地警方刑事傳喚，問及有關簽署《零八憲章》的情況。另外，廣東省韶關民運人士羅勇泉因為簽署《零八憲章》4月1日遭韶關市南雄縣國保大隊傳喚，這已經是半個月來第二次。
據很多簽署人反映，警方在傳訊他們的時候都做了筆錄，問話內容圍繞《零八憲章》共同起草人劉曉波以及簽署前後的情況。
在海外，該聲明則得到了余英時、哈金、陳一諮、方勵之、胡平、宋永毅、蘇曉康、萬潤南、王丹等多位著名人士的支持。
簽署人表示，他們這樣做，是為了表達他們就中國未來向何處去這個問題的一種共識，希望民眾了解他們的民主訴求，但他們並不奢求能夠很快實現所追求的目標.
中共在國內各媒體網站對此憲章全面封鎖，禁止報導。有消息稱北京大學法學院以黨委名義發布群郵件要求該院學生抵制零八憲章。
國際反應
2009年3月11日，在布拉格開幕的2009年「同一個世界」人權電影節開幕式上，捷克前總統哈維爾親自將「人與人」（Homo Homini）人權獎授予劉曉波和《零八憲章》簽署群體。由於劉曉波因故不能出席，參與簽署《零八憲章》的中國哲學家徐友漁、學者崔衛平和律師莫少平代替劉曉波接受了這一獎項。
China's Charter 08
Translated from the Chinese by Perry Link
The document below, signed by more than two thousand Chinese citizens, was conceived and written in conscious admiration of the founding of Charter 77 in Czechoslovakia, where, in January 1977, more than two hundred Czech and Slovak intellectuals formed a
loose, informal, and open association of people...united by the will to strive individually and collectively for respect for human and civil rights in our country and throughout the world.
The Chinese document calls not for ameliorative reform of the current political system but for an end to some of its essential features, including one-party rule, and their replacement with a system based on human rights and democracy.
The prominent citizens who have signed the document are from both outside and inside the government, and include not only well-known dissidents and intellectuals, but also middle-level officials and rural leaders. They chose December 10, the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as the day on which to express their political ideas and to outline their vision of a constitutional, democratic China. They want Charter 08 to serve as a blueprint for fundamental political change in China in the years to come. The signers of the document will form an informal group, open-ended in size but united by a determination to promote democratization and protection of human rights in China and beyond.
Following the text is a postscript describing some of the regime's recent reactions to it.
—Perry Link
I. FOREWORD
A hundred years have passed since the writing of China's first constitution. 2008 also marks the sixtieth anniversary of the promulgation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the thirtieth anniversary of the appearance of the Democracy Wall in Beijing, and the tenth of China's signing of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We are approaching the twentieth anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre of pro-democracy student protesters. The Chinese people, who have endured human rights disasters and uncountable struggles across these same years, now include many who see clearly that freedom, equality, and human rights are universal values of humankind and that democracy and constitutional government are the fundamental framework for protecting these values.
By departing from these values, the Chinese government's approach to "modernization" has proven disastrous. It has stripped people of their rights, destroyed their dignity, and corrupted normal human intercourse. So we ask: Where is China headed in the twenty-first century? Will it continue with "modernization" under authoritarian rule, or will it embrace universal human values, join the mainstream of civilized nations, and build a democratic system? There can be no avoiding these questions.
The shock of the Western impact upon China in the nineteenth century laid bare a decadent authoritarian system and marked the beginning of what is often called "the greatest changes in thousands of years" for China. A "self-strengthening movement" followed, but this aimed simply at appropriating the technology to build gunboats and other Western material objects. China's humiliating naval defeat at the hands of Japan in 1895 only confirmed the obsolescence of China's system of government. The first attempts at modern political change came with the ill-fated summer of reforms in 1898, but these were cruelly crushed by ultraconservatives at China's imperial court. With the revolution of 1911, which inaugurated Asia's first republic, the authoritarian imperial system that had lasted for centuries was finally supposed to have been laid to rest. But social conflict inside our country and external pressures were to prevent it; China fell into a patchwork of warlord fiefdoms and the new republic became a fleeting dream.
The failure of both "self- strengthening" and political renovation caused many of our forebears to reflect deeply on whether a "cultural illness" was afflicting our country. This mood gave rise, during the May Fourth Movement of the late 1910s, to the championing of "science and democracy." Yet that effort, too, foundered as warlord chaos persisted and the Japanese invasion [beginning in Manchuria in 1931] brought national crisis.
Victory over Japan in 1945 offered one more chance for China to move toward modern government, but the Communist defeat of the Nationalists in the civil war thrust the nation into the abyss of totalitarianism. The "new China" that emerged in 1949 proclaimed that "the people are sovereign" but in fact set up a system in which "the Party is all-powerful." The Communist Party of China seized control of all organs of the state and all political, economic, and social resources, and, using these, has produced a long trail of human rights disasters, including, among many others, the Anti-Rightist Campaign (1957), the Great Leap Forward (1958–1960), the Cultural Revolution (1966–1969), the June Fourth [Tiananmen Square] Massacre (1989), and the current repression of all unauthorized religions and the suppression of the weiquan rights movement [a movement that aims to defend citizens' rights promulgated in the Chinese Constitution and to fight for human rights recognized by international conventions that the Chinese government has signed]. During all this, the Chinese people have paid a gargantuan price. Tens of millions have lost their lives, and several generations have seen their freedom, their happiness, and their human dignity cruelly trampled.
During the last two decades of the twentieth century the government policy of "Reform and Opening" gave the Chinese people relief from the pervasive poverty and totalitarianism of the Mao Zedong era, and brought substantial increases in the wealth and living standards of many Chinese as well as a partial restoration of economic freedom and economic rights. Civil society began to grow, and popular calls for more rights and more political freedom have grown apace. As the ruling elite itself moved toward private ownership and the market economy, it began to shift from an outright rejection of "rights" to a partial acknowledgment of them.
In 1998 the Chinese government signed two important international human rights conventions; in 2004 it amended its constitution to include the phrase "respect and protect human rights"; and this year, 2008, it has promised to promote a "national human rights action plan." Unfortunately most of this political progress has extended no further than the paper on which it is written. The political reality, which is plain for anyone to see, is that China has many laws but no rule of law; it has a constitution but no constitutional government. The ruling elite continues to cling to its authoritarian power and fights off any move toward political change.
The stultifying results are endemic official corruption, an undermining of the rule of law, weak human rights, decay in public ethics, crony capitalism, growing inequality between the wealthy and the poor, pillage of the natural environment as well as of the human and historical environments, and the exacerbation of a long list of social conflicts, especially, in recent times, a sharpening animosity between officials and ordinary people.
As these conflicts and crises grow ever more intense, and as the ruling elite continues with impunity to crush and to strip away the rights of citizens to freedom, to property, and to the pursuit of happiness, we see the powerless in our society—the vulnerable groups, the people who have been suppressed and monitored, who have suffered cruelty and even torture, and who have had no adequate avenues for their protests, no courts to hear their pleas—becoming more militant and raising the possibility of a violent conflict of disastrous proportions. The decline of the current system has reached the point where change is no longer optional.
II. OUR FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
This is a historic moment for China, and our future hangs in the balance. In reviewing the political modernization process of the past hundred years or more, we reiterate and endorse basic universal values as follows:
Freedom. Freedom is at the core of universal human values. Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, freedom in where to live, and the freedoms to strike, to demonstrate, and to protest, among others, are the forms that freedom takes. Without freedom, China will always remain far from civilized ideals.
Human rights. Human rights are not bestowed by a state. Every person is born with inherent rights to dignity and freedom. The government exists for the protection of the human rights of its citizens. The exercise of state power must be authorized by the people. The succession of political disasters in China's recent history is a direct consequence of the ruling regime's disregard for human rights.
Equality. The integrity, dignity, and freedom of every person—regardless of social station, occupation, sex, economic condition, ethnicity, skin color, religion, or political belief—are the same as those of any other. Principles of equality before the law and equality of social, economic, cultural, civil, and political rights must be upheld.
Republicanism. Republicanism, which holds that power should be balanced among different branches of government and competing interests should be served, resembles the traditional Chinese political ideal of "fairness in all under heaven." It allows different interest groups and social assemblies, and people with a variety of cultures and beliefs, to exercise democratic self-government and to deliberate in order to reach peaceful resolution of public questions on a basis of equal access to government and free and fair competition.
Democracy. The most fundamental principles of democracy are that the people are sovereign and the people select their government. Democracy has these characteristics: (1) Political power begins with the people and the legitimacy of a regime derives from the people. (2) Political power is exercised through choices that the people make. (3) The holders of major official posts in government at all levels are determined through periodic competitive elections. (4) While honoring the will of the majority, the fundamental dignity, freedom, and human rights of minorities are protected. In short, democracy is a modern means for achieving government truly "of the people, by the people, and for the people."
Constitutional rule. Constitutional rule is rule through a legal system and legal regulations to implement principles that are spelled out in a constitution. It means protecting the freedom and the rights of citizens, limiting and defining the scope of legitimate government power, and providing the administrative apparatus necessary to serve these ends.
III. WHAT WE ADVOCATE
Authoritarianism is in general decline throughout the world; in China, too, the era of emperors and overlords is on the way out. The time is arriving everywhere for citizens to be masters of states. For China the path that leads out of our current predicament is to divest ourselves of the authoritarian notion of reliance on an "enlightened overlord" or an "honest official" and to turn instead toward a system of liberties, democracy, and the rule of law, and toward fostering the consciousness of modern citizens who see rights as fundamental and participation as a duty. Accordingly, and in a spirit of this duty as responsible and constructive citizens, we offer the following recommendations on national governance, citizens' rights, and social development:
1. A New Constitution. We should recast our present constitution, rescinding its provisions that contradict the principle that sovereignty resides with the people and turning it into a document that genuinely guarantees human rights, authorizes the exercise of public power, and serves as the legal underpinning of China's democratization. The constitution must be the highest law in the land, beyond violation by any individual, group, or political party.
2. Separation of Powers. We should construct a modern government in which the separation of legislative, judicial, and executive power is guaranteed. We need an Administrative Law that defines the scope of government responsibility and prevents abuse of administrative power. Government should be responsible to taxpayers. Division of power between provincial governments and the central government should adhere to the principle that central powers are only those specifically granted by the constitution and all other powers belong to the local governments.
3. Legislative Democracy. Members of legislative bodies at all levels should be chosen by direct election, and legislative democracy should observe just and impartial principles.
4. An Independent Judiciary. The rule of law must be above the interests of any particular political party and judges must be independent. We need to establish a constitutional supreme court and institute procedures for constitutional review. As soon as possible, we should abolish all of the Committees on Political and Legal Affairs that now allow Communist Party officials at every level to decide politically sensitive cases in advance and out of court. We should strictly forbid the use of public offices for private purposes.
5. Public Control of Public Servants. The military should be made answerable to the national government, not to a political party, and should be made more professional. Military personnel should swear allegiance to the constitution and remain nonpartisan. Political party organizations must be prohibited in the military. All public officials including police should serve as nonpartisans, and the current practice of favoring one political party in the hiring of public servants must end.
6. Guarantee of Human Rights. There must be strict guarantees of human rights and respect for human dignity. There should be a Human Rights Committee, responsible to the highest legislative body, that will prevent the government from abusing public power in violation of human rights. A democratic and constitutional China especially must guarantee the personal freedom of citizens. No one should suffer illegal arrest, detention, arraignment, interrogation, or punishment. The system of "Reeducation through Labor" must be abolished.
7. Election of Public Officials. There should be a comprehensive system of democratic elections based on "one person, one vote." The direct election of administrative heads at the levels of county, city, province, and nation should be systematically implemented. The rights to hold periodic free elections and to participate in them as a citizen are inalienable.
8. Rural–Urban Equality. The two-tier household registry system must be abolished. This system favors urban residents and harms rural residents. We should establish instead a system that gives every citizen the same constitutional rights and the same freedom to choose where to live.
9. Freedom to Form Groups. The right of citizens to form groups must be guaranteed. The current system for registering nongovernment groups, which requires a group to be "approved," should be replaced by a system in which a group simply registers itself. The formation of political parties should be governed by the constitution and the laws, which means that we must abolish the special privilege of one party to monopolize power and must guarantee principles of free and fair competition among political parties.
10. Freedom to Assemble. The constitution provides that peaceful assembly, demonstration, protest, and freedom of expression are fundamental rights of a citizen. The ruling party and the government must not be permitted to subject these to illegal interference or unconstitutional obstruction.
11. Freedom of Expression. We should make freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and academic freedom universal, thereby guaranteeing that citizens can be informed and can exercise their right of political supervision. These freedoms should be upheld by a Press Law that abolishes political restrictions on the press. The provision in the current Criminal Law that refers to "the crime of incitement to subvert state power" must be abolished. We should end the practice of viewing words as crimes.
12. Freedom of Religion. We must guarantee freedom of religion and belief, and institute a separation of religion and state. There must be no governmental interference in peaceful religious activities. We should abolish any laws, regulations, or local rules that limit or suppress the religious freedom of citizens. We should abolish the current system that requires religious groups (and their places of worship) to get official approval in advance and substitute for it a system in which registry is optional and, for those who choose to register, automatic.
13. Civic Education. In our schools we should abolish political curriculums and examinations that are designed to indoctrinate students in state ideology and to instill support for the rule of one party. We should replace them with civic education that advances universal values and citizens' rights, fosters civic consciousness, and promotes civic virtues that serve society.
14. Protection of Private Property. We should establish and protect the right to private property and promote an economic system of free and fair markets. We should do away with government monopolies in commerce and industry and guarantee the freedom to start new enterprises. We should establish a Committee on State-Owned Property, reporting to the national legislature, that will monitor the transfer of state-owned enterprises to private ownership in a fair, competitive, and orderly manner. We should institute a land reform that promotes private ownership of land, guarantees the right to buy and sell land, and allows the true value of private property to be adequately reflected in the market.
15. Financial and Tax Reform. We should establish a democratically regulated and accountable system of public finance that ensures the protection of taxpayer rights and that operates through legal procedures. We need a system by which public revenues that belong to a certain level of government—central, provincial, county or local—are controlled at that level. We need major tax reform that will abolish any unfair taxes, simplify the tax system, and spread the tax burden fairly. Government officials should not be able to raise taxes, or institute new ones, without public deliberation and the approval of a democratic assembly. We should reform the ownership system in order to encourage competition among a wider variety of market participants.
16. Social Security. We should establish a fair and adequate social security system that covers all citizens and ensures basic access to education, health care, retirement security, and employment.
17. Protection of the Environment. We need to protect the natural environment and to promote development in a way that is sustainable and responsible to our descendants and to the rest of humanity. This means insisting that the state and its officials at all levels not only do what they must do to achieve these goals, but also accept the supervision and participation of nongovernmental organizations.
18. A Federated Republic. A democratic China should seek to act as a responsible major power contributing toward peace and development in the Asian Pacific region by approaching others in a spirit of equality and fairness. In Hong Kong and Macao, we should support the freedoms that already exist. With respect to Taiwan, we should declare our commitment to the principles of freedom and democracy and then, negotiating as equals and ready to compromise, seek a formula for peaceful unification. We should approach disputes in the national-minority areas of China with an open mind, seeking ways to find a workable framework within which all ethnic and religious groups can flourish. We should aim ultimately at a federation of democratic communities of China.
19. Truth in Reconciliation. We should restore the reputations of all people, including their family members, who suffered political stigma in the political campaigns of the past or who have been labeled as criminals because of their thought, speech, or faith. The state should pay reparations to these people. All political prisoners and prisoners of conscience must be released. There should be a Truth Investigation Commission charged with finding the facts about past injustices and atrocities, determining responsibility for them, upholding justice, and, on these bases, seeking social reconciliation.
China, as a major nation of the world, as one of five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, and as a member of the UN Council on Human Rights, should be contributing to peace for humankind and progress toward human rights. Unfortunately, we stand today as the only country among the major nations that remains mired in authoritarian politics. Our political system continues to produce human rights disasters and social crises, thereby not only constricting China's own development but also limiting the progress of all of human civilization. This must change, truly it must. The democratization of Chinese politics can be put off no longer.
Accordingly, we dare to put civic spirit into practice by announcing Charter 08. We hope that our fellow citizens who feel a similar sense of crisis, responsibility, and mission, whether they are inside the government or not, and regardless of their social status, will set aside small differences to embrace the broad goals of this citizens' movement. Together we can work for major changes in Chinese society and for the rapid establishment of a free, democratic, and constitutional country. We can bring to reality the goals and ideals that our people have incessantly been seeking for more than a hundred years, and can bring a brilliant new chapter to Chinese civilization.
—Translated from the Chinese by Perry Link
POSTSCRIPT
The planning and drafting of Charter 08 began in the late spring of 2008, but Chinese authorities were apparently unaware of it or unconcerned by it until several days before it was announced on December 10. On December 6, Wen Kejian, a writer who signed the charter, was detained in the city of Hangzhou in eastern China and questioned for about an hour. Police told Wen that Charter 08 was "different" from earlier dissident statements, and "a fairly grave matter." They said there would be a coordinated investigation in all cities and provinces to "root out the organizers," and they advised Wen to remove his name from the charter. Wen declined, telling the authorities that he saw the charter as a fundamental turning point in history.
Meanwhile, on December 8, in Shenzhen in the far south of China, police called on Zhao Dagong, a writer and signer of the charter, for a "chat." They told Zhao that the central authorities were concerned about the charter and asked if he was the organizer in the Shenzhen area.
Later on December 8, at 11 PM in Beijing, about twenty police entered the home of Zhang Zuhua, one of the charter's main drafters. A few of the police took Zhang with them to the local police station while the rest stayed and, as Zhang's wife watched, searched the home and confiscated books, notebooks, Zhang's passport, all four of the family's computers, and all of their cash and credit cards. (Later Zhang learned that his family's bank accounts, including those of both his and his wife's parents, had been emptied.) Meanwhile, at the police station, Zhang was detained for twelve hours, where he was questioned in detail about Charter 08 and the group Chinese Human Rights Defenders in which he is active.
It was also late on December 8 that another of the charter's signers, the literary critic and prominent dissident Liu Xiaobo, was taken away by police. His telephone in Beijing went unanswered, as did e-mail and Skype messages sent to him. As of the present writing, he's believed to be in police custody, although the details of his detention are not known.
On the morning of December 9, Beijing lawyer Pu Zhiqiang was called in for a police "chat," and in the evening the physicist and philosopher Jiang Qisheng was called in as well. Both had signed the charter and were friends of the drafters. On December 10—the day the charter was formally announced—the Hangzhou police returned to the home of Wen Kejian, the writer they had questioned four days earlier. This time they were more threatening. They told Wen he would face severe punishment if he wrote about the charter or about Liu Xiaobo's detention. "Do you want three years in prison?" they asked. "Or four?"
On December 11 the journalist Gao Yu and the writer Liu Di, both well-known in Beijing, were interrogated about their signing of the Charter. The rights lawyer, Teng Biao, was approached by the police but declined, on principle, to meet with them. On December 12 and 13 there were reports of interrogations in many provinces—Shaanxi, Hunan, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, and others—of people who had seen the charter on the Internet, found that they agreed with it, and signed. With these people the police focused on two questions: "How did you get involved?" and "What do you know about the drafters and organizers?"
The Chinese authorities seem unaware of the irony of their actions. Their efforts to quash Charter 08 only serve to underscore China's failure to uphold the very principles that the charter advances. The charter calls for "free expression" but the regime says, by its actions, that it has once again denied such expression. The charter calls for freedom to form groups, but the nationwide police actions that have accompanied the charter's release have specifically aimed at blocking the formation of a group. The charter says "we should end the practice of viewing words as crimes," and the regime says (literally, to Wen Kejian) "we can send you to prison for these words." The charter calls for the rule of law and the regime sends police in the middle of the night to act outside the law; the charter says "police should serve as nonpartisans," and here the police are plainly partisan.
Charter 08 is signed only by citizens of the People's Republic of China who are living inside China. But Chinese living outside China are signing a letter of strong support for the charter. The eminent historian Yu Ying-shih, the astrophysicist Fang Lizhi, writers Ha Jin and Zheng Yi, and more than 160 others have so far signed.
On December 12, the Dalai Lama issued his own letter in support of the charter, writing that "a harmonious society can only come into being when there is trust among the people, freedom from fear, freedom of expression, rule of law, justice, and equality." He called on the Chinese government to release prisoners "who have been detained for exercising their freedom of expression."
—Perry Link, December 18, 2008
起草人在宣言開頭解釋了發佈《零八憲章》的立場：
今年是中國立憲百年，《世界人權宣言》公布60周年，「民主牆」誕生30周年，中國政府簽署《公民權利和政治權利國際公約》10周年。在經歷了長期的人權災難和艱難曲折的抗爭歷程之後，覺醒的中國公民日漸清楚地認識到，自由、平等、人權是人類共同的普世價值；民主、共和、憲政是現代政治的基本制度架構。
過程
零八憲章由中國303名各界人士發起並簽署。為因應世界人權宣言60周年，中國的維權人士呼籲在自由、平等、人權的普世價值下，在中國實施民主、共和、憲政的現代政治架構。原定於2008年12月10日簽署《世界人權宣言》60周年這一天舉行論壇，並發表中國《零八憲章》。不過因為當局的逮捕行動而終止。
簽署者除發起人劉曉波以外，尚有鮑彤、丁子霖、戴晴、於浩成、浦志強、張祖樺、茅於軾、冉雲飛、劉逸明等，包括一些中國著名異見人士與維權人士。[5]
宣言內容
《零八憲章》分「前言」、「我們的基本理念」、「我們的基本主張」和「結語」等四部分，主要內容是闡述自由、人權、民主、憲政等概念，主張修改憲法、實行分權制衡，實現立法民主，司法獨立，主張結社、集會、言論、宗教自由，宣言共提出6點理念與19點的主張。
基本理念
* 自由：言論、出版、信仰、集會、結社、遷徙、罷工和遊行示威等權利
* 人權：人是國家的主體，國家服務於人民，政府為人民而存在。
* 平等：公民不論社會地位、職業、性別、經濟狀況、種族、膚色、宗教或政治信仰，其人格、尊嚴、自由都是平等的。
* 共和：要求「大家共治，和平共生」，分權制衡與利益平衡。
* 民主：主權在民和民選政府。
* 憲政：主張以法治限制政府權力和行為的邊界。
十九點基本主張
《零八憲章》提出了十九點基本主張，包括：
1. 修改憲法
2. 分權制衡
3. 立法民主
4. 司法獨立
5. 公器公用
6. 人權保障
7. 公職選舉
8. 城鄉平等
9. 結社自由
10. 集會自由
11. 言論自由
12. 宗教自由
13. 公民教育
14. 財產保護
15. 財稅改革
16. 社會保障
17. 環境保護
18. 聯邦共和
19. 轉型正義
內容觸及了政治改革、經濟改革、城鄉差距與環境保護等諸多方面。
政府壓制
《零八憲章》發布至今，不斷有人加入簽署者行列。與此同時，中國政府也在採取打壓行動。首先是《零八憲章》共同起草人之一劉曉波被起訴。北京大學法學院教授賀衛方最近被調往新疆石河子支教。雖然原因無法確定，但有人認為可能和憲章有關。另外一位在《零八憲章》上簽名的北大教授夏業良受到很大的壓力，在兩個學術組織的職務被撤銷。
其他許多簽署人也被警方傳喚，要求他們退出。據維權網報導，3月23日，四川自貢市簽署人羅世模被當地警方刑事傳喚，問及有關簽署《零八憲章》的情況。另外，廣東省韶關民運人士羅勇泉因為簽署《零八憲章》4月1日遭韶關市南雄縣國保大隊傳喚，這已經是半個月來第二次。
據很多簽署人反映，警方在傳訊他們的時候都做了筆錄，問話內容圍繞《零八憲章》共同起草人劉曉波以及簽署前後的情況。
在海外，該聲明則得到了余英時、哈金、陳一諮、方勵之、胡平、宋永毅、蘇曉康、萬潤南、王丹等多位著名人士的支持。
簽署人表示，他們這樣做，是為了表達他們就中國未來向何處去這個問題的一種共識，希望民眾了解他們的民主訴求，但他們並不奢求能夠很快實現所追求的目標.
中共在國內各媒體網站對此憲章全面封鎖，禁止報導。有消息稱北京大學法學院以黨委名義發布群郵件要求該院學生抵制零八憲章。
國際反應
2009年3月11日，在布拉格開幕的2009年「同一個世界」人權電影節開幕式上，捷克前總統哈維爾親自將「人與人」（Homo Homini）人權獎授予劉曉波和《零八憲章》簽署群體。由於劉曉波因故不能出席，參與簽署《零八憲章》的中國哲學家徐友漁、學者崔衛平和律師莫少平代替劉曉波接受了這一獎項。
China's Charter 08
Translated from the Chinese by Perry Link
The document below, signed by more than two thousand Chinese citizens, was conceived and written in conscious admiration of the founding of Charter 77 in Czechoslovakia, where, in January 1977, more than two hundred Czech and Slovak intellectuals formed a
loose, informal, and open association of people...united by the will to strive individually and collectively for respect for human and civil rights in our country and throughout the world.
The Chinese document calls not for ameliorative reform of the current political system but for an end to some of its essential features, including one-party rule, and their replacement with a system based on human rights and democracy.
The prominent citizens who have signed the document are from both outside and inside the government, and include not only well-known dissidents and intellectuals, but also middle-level officials and rural leaders. They chose December 10, the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as the day on which to express their political ideas and to outline their vision of a constitutional, democratic China. They want Charter 08 to serve as a blueprint for fundamental political change in China in the years to come. The signers of the document will form an informal group, open-ended in size but united by a determination to promote democratization and protection of human rights in China and beyond.
Following the text is a postscript describing some of the regime's recent reactions to it.
—Perry Link
I. FOREWORD
A hundred years have passed since the writing of China's first constitution. 2008 also marks the sixtieth anniversary of the promulgation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the thirtieth anniversary of the appearance of the Democracy Wall in Beijing, and the tenth of China's signing of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We are approaching the twentieth anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre of pro-democracy student protesters. The Chinese people, who have endured human rights disasters and uncountable struggles across these same years, now include many who see clearly that freedom, equality, and human rights are universal values of humankind and that democracy and constitutional government are the fundamental framework for protecting these values.
By departing from these values, the Chinese government's approach to "modernization" has proven disastrous. It has stripped people of their rights, destroyed their dignity, and corrupted normal human intercourse. So we ask: Where is China headed in the twenty-first century? Will it continue with "modernization" under authoritarian rule, or will it embrace universal human values, join the mainstream of civilized nations, and build a democratic system? There can be no avoiding these questions.
The shock of the Western impact upon China in the nineteenth century laid bare a decadent authoritarian system and marked the beginning of what is often called "the greatest changes in thousands of years" for China. A "self-strengthening movement" followed, but this aimed simply at appropriating the technology to build gunboats and other Western material objects. China's humiliating naval defeat at the hands of Japan in 1895 only confirmed the obsolescence of China's system of government. The first attempts at modern political change came with the ill-fated summer of reforms in 1898, but these were cruelly crushed by ultraconservatives at China's imperial court. With the revolution of 1911, which inaugurated Asia's first republic, the authoritarian imperial system that had lasted for centuries was finally supposed to have been laid to rest. But social conflict inside our country and external pressures were to prevent it; China fell into a patchwork of warlord fiefdoms and the new republic became a fleeting dream.
The failure of both "self- strengthening" and political renovation caused many of our forebears to reflect deeply on whether a "cultural illness" was afflicting our country. This mood gave rise, during the May Fourth Movement of the late 1910s, to the championing of "science and democracy." Yet that effort, too, foundered as warlord chaos persisted and the Japanese invasion [beginning in Manchuria in 1931] brought national crisis.
Victory over Japan in 1945 offered one more chance for China to move toward modern government, but the Communist defeat of the Nationalists in the civil war thrust the nation into the abyss of totalitarianism. The "new China" that emerged in 1949 proclaimed that "the people are sovereign" but in fact set up a system in which "the Party is all-powerful." The Communist Party of China seized control of all organs of the state and all political, economic, and social resources, and, using these, has produced a long trail of human rights disasters, including, among many others, the Anti-Rightist Campaign (1957), the Great Leap Forward (1958–1960), the Cultural Revolution (1966–1969), the June Fourth [Tiananmen Square] Massacre (1989), and the current repression of all unauthorized religions and the suppression of the weiquan rights movement [a movement that aims to defend citizens' rights promulgated in the Chinese Constitution and to fight for human rights recognized by international conventions that the Chinese government has signed]. During all this, the Chinese people have paid a gargantuan price. Tens of millions have lost their lives, and several generations have seen their freedom, their happiness, and their human dignity cruelly trampled.
During the last two decades of the twentieth century the government policy of "Reform and Opening" gave the Chinese people relief from the pervasive poverty and totalitarianism of the Mao Zedong era, and brought substantial increases in the wealth and living standards of many Chinese as well as a partial restoration of economic freedom and economic rights. Civil society began to grow, and popular calls for more rights and more political freedom have grown apace. As the ruling elite itself moved toward private ownership and the market economy, it began to shift from an outright rejection of "rights" to a partial acknowledgment of them.
In 1998 the Chinese government signed two important international human rights conventions; in 2004 it amended its constitution to include the phrase "respect and protect human rights"; and this year, 2008, it has promised to promote a "national human rights action plan." Unfortunately most of this political progress has extended no further than the paper on which it is written. The political reality, which is plain for anyone to see, is that China has many laws but no rule of law; it has a constitution but no constitutional government. The ruling elite continues to cling to its authoritarian power and fights off any move toward political change.
The stultifying results are endemic official corruption, an undermining of the rule of law, weak human rights, decay in public ethics, crony capitalism, growing inequality between the wealthy and the poor, pillage of the natural environment as well as of the human and historical environments, and the exacerbation of a long list of social conflicts, especially, in recent times, a sharpening animosity between officials and ordinary people.
As these conflicts and crises grow ever more intense, and as the ruling elite continues with impunity to crush and to strip away the rights of citizens to freedom, to property, and to the pursuit of happiness, we see the powerless in our society—the vulnerable groups, the people who have been suppressed and monitored, who have suffered cruelty and even torture, and who have had no adequate avenues for their protests, no courts to hear their pleas—becoming more militant and raising the possibility of a violent conflict of disastrous proportions. The decline of the current system has reached the point where change is no longer optional.
II. OUR FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
This is a historic moment for China, and our future hangs in the balance. In reviewing the political modernization process of the past hundred years or more, we reiterate and endorse basic universal values as follows:
Freedom. Freedom is at the core of universal human values. Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, freedom in where to live, and the freedoms to strike, to demonstrate, and to protest, among others, are the forms that freedom takes. Without freedom, China will always remain far from civilized ideals.
Human rights. Human rights are not bestowed by a state. Every person is born with inherent rights to dignity and freedom. The government exists for the protection of the human rights of its citizens. The exercise of state power must be authorized by the people. The succession of political disasters in China's recent history is a direct consequence of the ruling regime's disregard for human rights.
Equality. The integrity, dignity, and freedom of every person—regardless of social station, occupation, sex, economic condition, ethnicity, skin color, religion, or political belief—are the same as those of any other. Principles of equality before the law and equality of social, economic, cultural, civil, and political rights must be upheld.
Republicanism. Republicanism, which holds that power should be balanced among different branches of government and competing interests should be served, resembles the traditional Chinese political ideal of "fairness in all under heaven." It allows different interest groups and social assemblies, and people with a variety of cultures and beliefs, to exercise democratic self-government and to deliberate in order to reach peaceful resolution of public questions on a basis of equal access to government and free and fair competition.
Democracy. The most fundamental principles of democracy are that the people are sovereign and the people select their government. Democracy has these characteristics: (1) Political power begins with the people and the legitimacy of a regime derives from the people. (2) Political power is exercised through choices that the people make. (3) The holders of major official posts in government at all levels are determined through periodic competitive elections. (4) While honoring the will of the majority, the fundamental dignity, freedom, and human rights of minorities are protected. In short, democracy is a modern means for achieving government truly "of the people, by the people, and for the people."
Constitutional rule. Constitutional rule is rule through a legal system and legal regulations to implement principles that are spelled out in a constitution. It means protecting the freedom and the rights of citizens, limiting and defining the scope of legitimate government power, and providing the administrative apparatus necessary to serve these ends.
III. WHAT WE ADVOCATE
Authoritarianism is in general decline throughout the world; in China, too, the era of emperors and overlords is on the way out. The time is arriving everywhere for citizens to be masters of states. For China the path that leads out of our current predicament is to divest ourselves of the authoritarian notion of reliance on an "enlightened overlord" or an "honest official" and to turn instead toward a system of liberties, democracy, and the rule of law, and toward fostering the consciousness of modern citizens who see rights as fundamental and participation as a duty. Accordingly, and in a spirit of this duty as responsible and constructive citizens, we offer the following recommendations on national governance, citizens' rights, and social development:
1. A New Constitution. We should recast our present constitution, rescinding its provisions that contradict the principle that sovereignty resides with the people and turning it into a document that genuinely guarantees human rights, authorizes the exercise of public power, and serves as the legal underpinning of China's democratization. The constitution must be the highest law in the land, beyond violation by any individual, group, or political party.
2. Separation of Powers. We should construct a modern government in which the separation of legislative, judicial, and executive power is guaranteed. We need an Administrative Law that defines the scope of government responsibility and prevents abuse of administrative power. Government should be responsible to taxpayers. Division of power between provincial governments and the central government should adhere to the principle that central powers are only those specifically granted by the constitution and all other powers belong to the local governments.
3. Legislative Democracy. Members of legislative bodies at all levels should be chosen by direct election, and legislative democracy should observe just and impartial principles.
4. An Independent Judiciary. The rule of law must be above the interests of any particular political party and judges must be independent. We need to establish a constitutional supreme court and institute procedures for constitutional review. As soon as possible, we should abolish all of the Committees on Political and Legal Affairs that now allow Communist Party officials at every level to decide politically sensitive cases in advance and out of court. We should strictly forbid the use of public offices for private purposes.
5. Public Control of Public Servants. The military should be made answerable to the national government, not to a political party, and should be made more professional. Military personnel should swear allegiance to the constitution and remain nonpartisan. Political party organizations must be prohibited in the military. All public officials including police should serve as nonpartisans, and the current practice of favoring one political party in the hiring of public servants must end.
6. Guarantee of Human Rights. There must be strict guarantees of human rights and respect for human dignity. There should be a Human Rights Committee, responsible to the highest legislative body, that will prevent the government from abusing public power in violation of human rights. A democratic and constitutional China especially must guarantee the personal freedom of citizens. No one should suffer illegal arrest, detention, arraignment, interrogation, or punishment. The system of "Reeducation through Labor" must be abolished.
7. Election of Public Officials. There should be a comprehensive system of democratic elections based on "one person, one vote." The direct election of administrative heads at the levels of county, city, province, and nation should be systematically implemented. The rights to hold periodic free elections and to participate in them as a citizen are inalienable.
8. Rural–Urban Equality. The two-tier household registry system must be abolished. This system favors urban residents and harms rural residents. We should establish instead a system that gives every citizen the same constitutional rights and the same freedom to choose where to live.
9. Freedom to Form Groups. The right of citizens to form groups must be guaranteed. The current system for registering nongovernment groups, which requires a group to be "approved," should be replaced by a system in which a group simply registers itself. The formation of political parties should be governed by the constitution and the laws, which means that we must abolish the special privilege of one party to monopolize power and must guarantee principles of free and fair competition among political parties.
10. Freedom to Assemble. The constitution provides that peaceful assembly, demonstration, protest, and freedom of expression are fundamental rights of a citizen. The ruling party and the government must not be permitted to subject these to illegal interference or unconstitutional obstruction.
11. Freedom of Expression. We should make freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and academic freedom universal, thereby guaranteeing that citizens can be informed and can exercise their right of political supervision. These freedoms should be upheld by a Press Law that abolishes political restrictions on the press. The provision in the current Criminal Law that refers to "the crime of incitement to subvert state power" must be abolished. We should end the practice of viewing words as crimes.
12. Freedom of Religion. We must guarantee freedom of religion and belief, and institute a separation of religion and state. There must be no governmental interference in peaceful religious activities. We should abolish any laws, regulations, or local rules that limit or suppress the religious freedom of citizens. We should abolish the current system that requires religious groups (and their places of worship) to get official approval in advance and substitute for it a system in which registry is optional and, for those who choose to register, automatic.
13. Civic Education. In our schools we should abolish political curriculums and examinations that are designed to indoctrinate students in state ideology and to instill support for the rule of one party. We should replace them with civic education that advances universal values and citizens' rights, fosters civic consciousness, and promotes civic virtues that serve society.
14. Protection of Private Property. We should establish and protect the right to private property and promote an economic system of free and fair markets. We should do away with government monopolies in commerce and industry and guarantee the freedom to start new enterprises. We should establish a Committee on State-Owned Property, reporting to the national legislature, that will monitor the transfer of state-owned enterprises to private ownership in a fair, competitive, and orderly manner. We should institute a land reform that promotes private ownership of land, guarantees the right to buy and sell land, and allows the true value of private property to be adequately reflected in the market.
15. Financial and Tax Reform. We should establish a democratically regulated and accountable system of public finance that ensures the protection of taxpayer rights and that operates through legal procedures. We need a system by which public revenues that belong to a certain level of government—central, provincial, county or local—are controlled at that level. We need major tax reform that will abolish any unfair taxes, simplify the tax system, and spread the tax burden fairly. Government officials should not be able to raise taxes, or institute new ones, without public deliberation and the approval of a democratic assembly. We should reform the ownership system in order to encourage competition among a wider variety of market participants.
16. Social Security. We should establish a fair and adequate social security system that covers all citizens and ensures basic access to education, health care, retirement security, and employment.
17. Protection of the Environment. We need to protect the natural environment and to promote development in a way that is sustainable and responsible to our descendants and to the rest of humanity. This means insisting that the state and its officials at all levels not only do what they must do to achieve these goals, but also accept the supervision and participation of nongovernmental organizations.
18. A Federated Republic. A democratic China should seek to act as a responsible major power contributing toward peace and development in the Asian Pacific region by approaching others in a spirit of equality and fairness. In Hong Kong and Macao, we should support the freedoms that already exist. With respect to Taiwan, we should declare our commitment to the principles of freedom and democracy and then, negotiating as equals and ready to compromise, seek a formula for peaceful unification. We should approach disputes in the national-minority areas of China with an open mind, seeking ways to find a workable framework within which all ethnic and religious groups can flourish. We should aim ultimately at a federation of democratic communities of China.
19. Truth in Reconciliation. We should restore the reputations of all people, including their family members, who suffered political stigma in the political campaigns of the past or who have been labeled as criminals because of their thought, speech, or faith. The state should pay reparations to these people. All political prisoners and prisoners of conscience must be released. There should be a Truth Investigation Commission charged with finding the facts about past injustices and atrocities, determining responsibility for them, upholding justice, and, on these bases, seeking social reconciliation.
China, as a major nation of the world, as one of five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, and as a member of the UN Council on Human Rights, should be contributing to peace for humankind and progress toward human rights. Unfortunately, we stand today as the only country among the major nations that remains mired in authoritarian politics. Our political system continues to produce human rights disasters and social crises, thereby not only constricting China's own development but also limiting the progress of all of human civilization. This must change, truly it must. The democratization of Chinese politics can be put off no longer.
Accordingly, we dare to put civic spirit into practice by announcing Charter 08. We hope that our fellow citizens who feel a similar sense of crisis, responsibility, and mission, whether they are inside the government or not, and regardless of their social status, will set aside small differences to embrace the broad goals of this citizens' movement. Together we can work for major changes in Chinese society and for the rapid establishment of a free, democratic, and constitutional country. We can bring to reality the goals and ideals that our people have incessantly been seeking for more than a hundred years, and can bring a brilliant new chapter to Chinese civilization.
—Translated from the Chinese by Perry Link
POSTSCRIPT
The planning and drafting of Charter 08 began in the late spring of 2008, but Chinese authorities were apparently unaware of it or unconcerned by it until several days before it was announced on December 10. On December 6, Wen Kejian, a writer who signed the charter, was detained in the city of Hangzhou in eastern China and questioned for about an hour. Police told Wen that Charter 08 was "different" from earlier dissident statements, and "a fairly grave matter." They said there would be a coordinated investigation in all cities and provinces to "root out the organizers," and they advised Wen to remove his name from the charter. Wen declined, telling the authorities that he saw the charter as a fundamental turning point in history.
Meanwhile, on December 8, in Shenzhen in the far south of China, police called on Zhao Dagong, a writer and signer of the charter, for a "chat." They told Zhao that the central authorities were concerned about the charter and asked if he was the organizer in the Shenzhen area.
Later on December 8, at 11 PM in Beijing, about twenty police entered the home of Zhang Zuhua, one of the charter's main drafters. A few of the police took Zhang with them to the local police station while the rest stayed and, as Zhang's wife watched, searched the home and confiscated books, notebooks, Zhang's passport, all four of the family's computers, and all of their cash and credit cards. (Later Zhang learned that his family's bank accounts, including those of both his and his wife's parents, had been emptied.) Meanwhile, at the police station, Zhang was detained for twelve hours, where he was questioned in detail about Charter 08 and the group Chinese Human Rights Defenders in which he is active.
It was also late on December 8 that another of the charter's signers, the literary critic and prominent dissident Liu Xiaobo, was taken away by police. His telephone in Beijing went unanswered, as did e-mail and Skype messages sent to him. As of the present writing, he's believed to be in police custody, although the details of his detention are not known.
On the morning of December 9, Beijing lawyer Pu Zhiqiang was called in for a police "chat," and in the evening the physicist and philosopher Jiang Qisheng was called in as well. Both had signed the charter and were friends of the drafters. On December 10—the day the charter was formally announced—the Hangzhou police returned to the home of Wen Kejian, the writer they had questioned four days earlier. This time they were more threatening. They told Wen he would face severe punishment if he wrote about the charter or about Liu Xiaobo's detention. "Do you want three years in prison?" they asked. "Or four?"
On December 11 the journalist Gao Yu and the writer Liu Di, both well-known in Beijing, were interrogated about their signing of the Charter. The rights lawyer, Teng Biao, was approached by the police but declined, on principle, to meet with them. On December 12 and 13 there were reports of interrogations in many provinces—Shaanxi, Hunan, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, and others—of people who had seen the charter on the Internet, found that they agreed with it, and signed. With these people the police focused on two questions: "How did you get involved?" and "What do you know about the drafters and organizers?"
The Chinese authorities seem unaware of the irony of their actions. Their efforts to quash Charter 08 only serve to underscore China's failure to uphold the very principles that the charter advances. The charter calls for "free expression" but the regime says, by its actions, that it has once again denied such expression. The charter calls for freedom to form groups, but the nationwide police actions that have accompanied the charter's release have specifically aimed at blocking the formation of a group. The charter says "we should end the practice of viewing words as crimes," and the regime says (literally, to Wen Kejian) "we can send you to prison for these words." The charter calls for the rule of law and the regime sends police in the middle of the night to act outside the law; the charter says "police should serve as nonpartisans," and here the police are plainly partisan.
Charter 08 is signed only by citizens of the People's Republic of China who are living inside China. But Chinese living outside China are signing a letter of strong support for the charter. The eminent historian Yu Ying-shih, the astrophysicist Fang Lizhi, writers Ha Jin and Zheng Yi, and more than 160 others have so far signed.
On December 12, the Dalai Lama issued his own letter in support of the charter, writing that "a harmonious society can only come into being when there is trust among the people, freedom from fear, freedom of expression, rule of law, justice, and equality." He called on the Chinese government to release prisoners "who have been detained for exercising their freedom of expression."
—Perry Link, December 18, 2008
劉曉波小檔案
刘晓波（1955年12月28日－ ），男，生于吉林长春。中国作家、前任独立中文笔会主席、持不同政见者、原北京师范大学中文系讲师，现居北京市。
1980年代中期，刘晓波因对李泽厚的批判而名震文坛，被称为“黑马”。后因参与六四事件、呼吁为六四平反和要求中国当局进行民主宪政改革而多次被捕。获释后大量发表文章，抨击时政、关注民间维权。这使得他成为中国当局重点监控的对象，在每年的一些敏感时期（如六四周年、两会、党代会等），中国当局对刘晓波实施某种程度的软禁，要求不得外出、访友，甚至切断其电话、网络的通讯。
生涯
* 1955年12月28日生于吉林省长春市。
* 1969年—1973年随父母下乡到内蒙古兴安盟科尔沁右翼前旗大石寨公社。
* 1974年7月作为知青插队到吉林省农安县三岗公社。
* 1976年11月长春市建筑公司当工人。
* 1977年—1982年在吉林大学中文系学习。1982年毕业，获文学学士学位。
* 1982年进入北京师范大学中文系读硕士学位，1984年毕业，获文艺学硕士学位。
* 1984年—1986年在北京师范大学中文系任教。
* 1986年—1988年在北京师范大学中文系读博士学位，1988年毕业获文艺学博士学位。
* 1988年8月—11月应邀赴挪威奥斯陆大学讲授中国当代文学。
* 1988年12月—1989年2月应邀赴美国夏威夷大学讲授中国哲学、中国当代政治与知识份子，并进行该专题的研究。
* 1989年3月—5月应邀赴美国哥伦比亚大学做访问学者，后因回国参加六四事件而中断。
* 1989年4月27日—6月4日在北京参加六四运动，是天安门四君子之一和发起者。
* 1989年6月6日—1991年1月因参与六四事件，犯下“反革命”罪而被捕。
* 1989年9月被开除公职。
* 1991年1月—1995年5月在北京从事写作及参与民运。
* 1995年5月18日—1996年1月被判刑，获释后继续从事民运及自由写作。
* 1996年10月8日—1999年10月7日被劳动教养3年。
* 1999年10月7日获释，之后一直在北京从事自由写作。
* 2003年11月当选为独立中文作家笔会第二届会长。
* 2005年11月2日，再次当选为独立中文笔会第三届会长。
* 2008年发起并起草了零八宪章，该宪章于同年12月10日世界人权日发表。
* 2008年12月9日因“涉嫌煽动颠覆国家政权罪”被刑事拘留。
* 2008年12月11日中国人权活动人士周四（12月11日）表示，他们担心，主张中国进行民主改革的异见人士刘晓波可能面临长期监禁。
* 2009年6月23日涉嫌煽动颠覆国家政权罪，经检察机关批准逮捕。劉曉波在2008年12月被當局拘押，7個月來一直處於「監視居住」狀態，據人權組織說他一直被扣留在北京郊區的一個酒店裡。 美國眾議院議長南希·佩洛西發表聲明，呼籲國際社會譴責中國拘捕劉曉波的舉動。
美国国会众议院决议案
2009年10月1号美国国会众议院以410票赞成，1票反对，通过一项旨呼吁北京当局立刻释放刘晓波的决议案。决议案说，2008年12月，刘晓波带头签署零八宪章声明，呼吁中国共产党放弃专政，推行民主。之后不久刘晓波就被拘捕，并且监禁至今。决议案指出，刘晓波已经对中国体制带来有意义的影响，并且鼓舞几百万人要求政府进行改革。
获奖情况
* 1990年获美国《人权观察》颁发的“海尔曼人权奖”
* 1996年再次获美国《人权观察》颁发的“海尔曼人权奖”
* 2003年中国民主教育基金会第十七届“杰出民主人士奖”
* 2004年12月21日获得无国界记者和法兰西基金会颁发的2004年度“捍卫言论自由奖”。
* 2004年第九届香港“人权新闻奖优异奖”，获奖文章为《“新闻腐败”不是新闻》，发表于《开放》月刊2004年1月号。
* 2005年第十届香港人权新闻奖大奖，获奖文章为《权贵的天堂 弱者的地狱》，发表于《开放》月刊2004年9月号。
* 2006年第十一届香港人权新闻奖优异奖，获奖文章为《汕尾血案的始末和背景》，发表于《开放》月刊2006年1月号。
* 2009年3月，获得同一个世界电影节的Homo Homini奖，该奖项由People in Need基金会组织设立，用于促进言论自由、民主以及人权。[4]
* 2009年4月，获得美国笔会颁发的2009年度巴巴拉·戈德史密斯自由写作奖。[5]
主要著作
* 《选择的批判──与李泽厚对话》 上海人民出版社1987年版
* 《审美与人的自由》 北京师范大学出版社1988年版
* 《形而上学的迷雾》 上海人民出版社1989年版
* 《未来的自由中国在民间》
* 《赤身裸体，走向上帝》 时代文艺出版社1989年版
* 《末日幸存者的独白》 台湾中国时报出版社1993年版
* 《中国当代政治与中国知识份子》 台北唐山出版社1990年版
* 《刘晓波刘霞诗选》 香港夏菲尔国际出版公司2000年版
* 《美人赠我蒙汗药》 用笔名老侠与王朔合著 长江文艺出版社2000年版
* 《向良心说谎的民族》 捷幼出版社2002年版
* 《未来的自由中国在民间》 劳改基金会2005年版
* 《单刃毒剑——中国当代民族主义批判》 博大出版社2006年6月出版
1980年代中期，刘晓波因对李泽厚的批判而名震文坛，被称为“黑马”。后因参与六四事件、呼吁为六四平反和要求中国当局进行民主宪政改革而多次被捕。获释后大量发表文章，抨击时政、关注民间维权。这使得他成为中国当局重点监控的对象，在每年的一些敏感时期（如六四周年、两会、党代会等），中国当局对刘晓波实施某种程度的软禁，要求不得外出、访友，甚至切断其电话、网络的通讯。
生涯
* 1955年12月28日生于吉林省长春市。
* 1969年—1973年随父母下乡到内蒙古兴安盟科尔沁右翼前旗大石寨公社。
* 1974年7月作为知青插队到吉林省农安县三岗公社。
* 1976年11月长春市建筑公司当工人。
* 1977年—1982年在吉林大学中文系学习。1982年毕业，获文学学士学位。
* 1982年进入北京师范大学中文系读硕士学位，1984年毕业，获文艺学硕士学位。
* 1984年—1986年在北京师范大学中文系任教。
* 1986年—1988年在北京师范大学中文系读博士学位，1988年毕业获文艺学博士学位。
* 1988年8月—11月应邀赴挪威奥斯陆大学讲授中国当代文学。
* 1988年12月—1989年2月应邀赴美国夏威夷大学讲授中国哲学、中国当代政治与知识份子，并进行该专题的研究。
* 1989年3月—5月应邀赴美国哥伦比亚大学做访问学者，后因回国参加六四事件而中断。
* 1989年4月27日—6月4日在北京参加六四运动，是天安门四君子之一和发起者。
* 1989年6月6日—1991年1月因参与六四事件，犯下“反革命”罪而被捕。
* 1989年9月被开除公职。
* 1991年1月—1995年5月在北京从事写作及参与民运。
* 1995年5月18日—1996年1月被判刑，获释后继续从事民运及自由写作。
* 1996年10月8日—1999年10月7日被劳动教养3年。
* 1999年10月7日获释，之后一直在北京从事自由写作。
* 2003年11月当选为独立中文作家笔会第二届会长。
* 2005年11月2日，再次当选为独立中文笔会第三届会长。
* 2008年发起并起草了零八宪章，该宪章于同年12月10日世界人权日发表。
* 2008年12月9日因“涉嫌煽动颠覆国家政权罪”被刑事拘留。
* 2008年12月11日中国人权活动人士周四（12月11日）表示，他们担心，主张中国进行民主改革的异见人士刘晓波可能面临长期监禁。
* 2009年6月23日涉嫌煽动颠覆国家政权罪，经检察机关批准逮捕。劉曉波在2008年12月被當局拘押，7個月來一直處於「監視居住」狀態，據人權組織說他一直被扣留在北京郊區的一個酒店裡。 美國眾議院議長南希·佩洛西發表聲明，呼籲國際社會譴責中國拘捕劉曉波的舉動。
美国国会众议院决议案
2009年10月1号美国国会众议院以410票赞成，1票反对，通过一项旨呼吁北京当局立刻释放刘晓波的决议案。决议案说，2008年12月，刘晓波带头签署零八宪章声明，呼吁中国共产党放弃专政，推行民主。之后不久刘晓波就被拘捕，并且监禁至今。决议案指出，刘晓波已经对中国体制带来有意义的影响，并且鼓舞几百万人要求政府进行改革。
获奖情况
* 1990年获美国《人权观察》颁发的“海尔曼人权奖”
* 1996年再次获美国《人权观察》颁发的“海尔曼人权奖”
* 2003年中国民主教育基金会第十七届“杰出民主人士奖”
* 2004年12月21日获得无国界记者和法兰西基金会颁发的2004年度“捍卫言论自由奖”。
* 2004年第九届香港“人权新闻奖优异奖”，获奖文章为《“新闻腐败”不是新闻》，发表于《开放》月刊2004年1月号。
* 2005年第十届香港人权新闻奖大奖，获奖文章为《权贵的天堂 弱者的地狱》，发表于《开放》月刊2004年9月号。
* 2006年第十一届香港人权新闻奖优异奖，获奖文章为《汕尾血案的始末和背景》，发表于《开放》月刊2006年1月号。
* 2009年3月，获得同一个世界电影节的Homo Homini奖，该奖项由People in Need基金会组织设立，用于促进言论自由、民主以及人权。[4]
* 2009年4月，获得美国笔会颁发的2009年度巴巴拉·戈德史密斯自由写作奖。[5]
主要著作
* 《选择的批判──与李泽厚对话》 上海人民出版社1987年版
* 《审美与人的自由》 北京师范大学出版社1988年版
* 《形而上学的迷雾》 上海人民出版社1989年版
* 《未来的自由中国在民间》
* 《赤身裸体，走向上帝》 时代文艺出版社1989年版
* 《末日幸存者的独白》 台湾中国时报出版社1993年版
* 《中国当代政治与中国知识份子》 台北唐山出版社1990年版
* 《刘晓波刘霞诗选》 香港夏菲尔国际出版公司2000年版
* 《美人赠我蒙汗药》 用笔名老侠与王朔合著 长江文艺出版社2000年版
* 《向良心说谎的民族》 捷幼出版社2002年版
* 《未来的自由中国在民间》 劳改基金会2005年版
* 《单刃毒剑——中国当代民族主义批判》 博大出版社2006年6月出版
- 《選擇的批判──與李澤厚對話》﹕上海人民出版社1987年版
- 《審美與人的自由》﹕北京師範大學出版社1988年版
- 《形而上學的迷霧》﹕上海人民出版社1989年版（此書剛出版即被禁）
- 《赤身裸體，走向上帝》﹕時代文藝出版社1989年版（此書剛出版即被禁）
- 《末日幸存者的獨白》﹕台灣中國時報出版社1993年版
- 《中國當代政治與中國知識份子》﹕台北唐山出版社1990年版
- 《劉曉波劉霞詩選》﹕香港夏菲爾國際出版公司2000年版
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