01:15 pm
Life under House Arrest in China: Hu Jia and Zeng Jinyan
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like for those standing up to the ChiComs, if you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to be under house arrest, watch this extraordinary samizdat videos from Hu Jia and Zeng Jinyan, two Chinese human rights activists who also are husband and wife. Hu currently is in jail and Zeng is constantly harassed.
You can find more here and here. A version that shows the highlights of all four videos can be found here.
Today, there’s word that Hu and Zeng may be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize:
This year’s Nobel peace prize will most likely be awarded to a Chinese dissident to highlight China’s human rights record in the wake of the Olympic Games, according to experts who closely follow the workings of the award.
A likely candidate to receive the prize, the winner of which will be announced on October 10 in Oslo, is Hu Jia, a Chinese activist who has campaigned on democracy, the environment and the rights of HIV/Aids patients. Hu is serving three-and-a-half years in jail for “inciting to subvert state power”.
“The prize will go this year to a Chinese dissident and I believe the most likely [recipient] will be Hu Jia, perhaps together with his wife [Zeng Jinyan],” said Stein Toennesson, director of the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo, and a close observer of the peace prize. “He has become the most well known Chinese dissident now and it has been a very long time since anyone [related to China] has won the prize.” The last occasion was the Dalai Lama in 1989.
The list of those nominated is always fodder for entertainment. This year’s list includes 164 individuals and 33 organizations. No Jerry Lewis, but believe it or not, Vladimir Putin was nominated. So was the Esperanto language. I know a certain professor friend of mine in St. Louis who will be delighted to hear about the latter.
In all seriousness, let’s hope that this is not merely a rumor, but the truth. Human rights activists in China are all but forgotten, swept aside by the glitz and glamour of the Olympics.