Chinese political activist wins Freedom of Thought award

Hu Jia, a prominent Chinese human rights activist and dissident, is the winner of this year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. China’s ambassador to the EU had warned that selecting Hu Jia would, “bring serious damage to China-EU relations.” China issued a similar warning to Norway when Hu Jia was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The European Parliament has awarded the Sakharov Prize annually since 1988. The prize honours individuals or organizations for their efforts on behalf of human rights and against oppression and injustice. Previous recipients include Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi and the Belarusian Association of Journalists. The prize is worth 50,000 Euros (US$65,000).

Born Jul. 25, 1973, in Beijing, Hu Jia graduated from the Beijing School of Economics majoring in information engineering. In Jan. 2006, he married Zeng Jinyan. They have a one-year-old daughter.

Mr Hu has acted as a coordinator of the “barefoot lawyers’ movement.” He has campaigned on environmental issues, on democracy and on HIV/AIDS. He has called for an official enquiry into the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

In 2007, Mr Hu was placed under house arrest after he and his wife made “Prisoners of Freedom City,” a documentary detailing their lives of constant surveillance. It showed the couple under police guard even when Zeng Jinyan went to hospital to give birth.

In the run-up to the Beijing Olympics, Mr Hu published an open letter to the Chinese government entitled “The Real China and the Olympics.” This letter called for an end to human rights abuses in the country.

In Feb. 2008, Hu was arrested and charged with, “inciting subversion of state power and the socialist system.” The charges related to articles and interviews in which he was critical of the authorities. The official Xinhua news agency reported he had, “spread malicious rumours, libel and instigation.” Human rights groups say the arrest was part of the crack down on dissent before the Olympics. He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on Apr. 3, 2008.

The President of the European Parliament Hans-Gert Pottering described Mr Hu as one of the, “real defenders of human rights in the People’s Republic of China.” Pottering said, “By awarding the Sakharov Prize to Hu Jia, the European Parliament firmly and resolutely acknowledges the daily struggle for freedom of all Chinese human rights defenders.”

A Chinese foreign ministry representative told a Beijing press conference, “To issue an award to such a criminal is interference in China’s judicial sovereignty and totally against the initial purpose of this prize.”

Zeng Jinyan told the London Times, “I think Hu Jia would be very happy because his work has now received everyone’s validation.” However, she said that Mr Hu was suffering in prison from cirrhosis of the liver and anaemia.

To mark the 20th anniversary of the Sakharov Prize, the European Parliament has invited all previous winners to a special event in Strasbourg on Tuesday, Dec. 16. This year’s prize will be awarded the following day.

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