cz |  en

Every year, People in Need gives the Homo Homini award to people who have made an important contribution to promoting human rights, democracy and non-violent resolution of political conflicts.

 

Liu Xiaobo has been chosen for the Homo Homini in recognition of his comprehensive approach to promoting human rights and his persistent courage in fighting for freedom of speech in China over the last 20 years. Liu Xiaobo belongs to the notable group of Chinese intellectuals that organized Charter 08 and is a prominent figure within China’s growing pro-democracy movement, which has organized itself along the principle of using dialogue to achieve non-violent solutions in the face of unremitting persecution on the part of the government.

 

Although Liu Xiaobo has been repeatedly imprisoned over the years and has been living under continuous police surveillance, he has never ceased to stand up for his unjustly prosecuted and tortured colleagues. Liu Xiaobo has written and spoken freely about his fervent belief in the universality of human rights and the need for non-violent solutions. In addition, he deserves particular appreciation for his efforts to advocate equal treatment for the inhabitants of Chinese cities and rural areas and for the urgent need for greater environmental protection in China.

 

“In a moment when our prime minister and our ministers are negotiating with their EU colleagues and Chinese government planned EU – China summit to take place in Prague, we are strongly asking our government to insist on the release of Liu Xiaobo,” stated Simon Panek, a founder and the executive director of People in Need, who was a student leader during the Czech Velvet Revolution. “We will be pleased and honored if EU – China Summit will take place in the Czech Republic and we hope that genius loci of this beautiful historic city could inspire political leaders of EU and great country of China to look for solutions for current financial and economic crisis which affects with hardship and insecurity lives of millions of people in Europe, Asia and around the globe. At the same time, in a year when we are marking the 20th anniversary of the peaceful transition to freedom and democracy in this country and across the region, we could not forget the fate of Chinese dissidents who have done nothing else but expressed publicly their views and peacefully asked for the reasonable dialogue with the government. If the EU – China Summit is to take place in Prague which marks 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution it could take place under more auspicious circumstances and will for sure be more productive, if it will be preceded by the release of Liu Xiaobo,” concluded Mr. Panek.

 

In December 2008, Liu Xiaobo was detained and transported to an undisclosed location by the Chinese police, where he has remained to date, without any legal proceeding. His arrest occurred two days prior to the 60^th anniversary of the UN’s adoption of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The day of the anniversary, a group of Chinese dissidents issued a document, Charter 08, organized in the same spirit as the Czechoslovak Charter 77. Like Charter 77, Charter 08 appeals to the Chinese authorities to be law abiding and demands that political institutions and the Chinese constitution be reformed to ensure basic human rights and democracy. The significance of being able to award the Homo Homini award to an individual who has so clearly embodied the aspirations of the Charter 77 movement at the exact time when the Czech Republic has assumed the presidency of the European Union is not lost on those who have lived through the communist era.

 

The constitutional and institutional changes being proposed by Charter 08 have the potential to affect the lives of almost a fifth of humanity. Thousands of people who have signed Charter 08 have been persecuted by the Chinese state during the last few months, and thus, have found themselves in a situation quite similar to that of the Czech Chartists over thirty years ago. Therefore, the selection of this year’s recipient of the Homo Homini Award should also be seen as a symbolic gesture towards all of these individuals, who have displayed exceptional bravery and endured great personal risk by becoming signatories to Charter 08.

 

There will be a screening of documetary We. Young Chinese director's film follows men with different generational experiences who are convinced of the need for a fundamental reform of the political system in China.