Calling for the Attention of the International Society
of the Fate of Detained Journalist Jie Mu
The Wei Jingsheng Foundation received appeals from friends inside of
China, calling for the attention of the recently detained journalist
Jie Mu. The following is the summary and the latest updates about Mr.
Sun Lin, whose pen name is Jie Mu. He is a reporter inside of China
for BoXun News Agency, which was considering as a hostile news agency
by the Chinese government.
He was arrested on May 30 with his wife, Ms. He Fang, in JiangSu
Province. Since then, his wife was released. However, there is no
news about him yet, even his lawyer could not access him so far.
Before Jie Mu, there has never been an average Chinese citizen who,
with a camcorder and a 鈥渉ostile foreign TV鈥?station＇s microphone
and
gone out among average people and interviewed them. Jie Mu, along with
some colleagues from BoXun, went also to Tiananmen Square to conduct
interviews. Jie Mu and his colleagues are in an effort to establish an
example for Chinese people: every citizen is a reporter; everyone has
the right to interview and report the truth of the matter.
Media freedom is the bottleneck on the path to Chinese democracy and
freedom, Jie Mu is clear about this. He has chosen to take up an
undertaking that is of the greatest value. He put up the money to buy
a car, to buy a camcorder, and to pay for his travel expenses to report
for an Overseas TV station on the suffering of the Chinese people;
specifically on the violent demolition of homes, city management
striking citizens, and the inside story on social welfare coupons and
greedy officials, that after reporting on the violent demolition of
homes in Yangzhou a hitman was sent after Jie Mu to assassinate him.
Jie Mu reported on what was going on behind the scenes and angered the
local interest groups, so they spread words that they would teach him a
lesson; but the people organized themselves outside Jie Mu＇s house to
protect his safety.
Jie Mu used to work for a government TV station, because his "speech
was too extreme" he was dismissed. Jie Mu also started his own
magazine, but the government closed him down. Jie Mu was previously
wealthy, but in the end he gave up business to become a citizen
reporter. Jie Mu once donated money for the hunger strike students of
1989 democracy movement, for this he was punished. But that did not
change his mind at all. Since he was young Jie Mu has been through
much hardship, he served in the army as a martial arts expert. He
previously met with injustice when he faced a gang of bully police, in
the end the police pulled gun. They sent Jie Mu to a labor camp.
Jie Mu＇s father participated in the Long March, so his connections with
high-level officials are not few. Yet Jie Mu chose to resolutely push
for press freedom without concern for his personal safety. Jie Mu＇s
older sister and her husband (both cadres of the public security
bureau) were coerced by local officials to persuade Jie Mu to submit,
but Jie Mu refused. Jie Mu＇s wife He Fang, supports her husband just
as before, to the point that she would even be detained with him.
We wish the international society pay the attention on the fate of Jie
Mu, an outstanding representative for a free press in China.
(As of June 24, 2007. The Wei Jingsheng Foundation is responsible for
the translation of this English version, and is grateful to the
contribution from Mr. Cao Gen and Mr. Cao Xia.)
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