Chinese Write Letter to Government About Author Gao Xingjian
BEIJING, OCT. 27, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- More than 60 dissidents appealed to the government to allow author Gao Xingjian, the 2000 Nobel Prize winner in literature, to return to China, and to withdraw the prohibition on the circulation of his works.
More than 60 dissidents from the provinces of Shaanxi, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang, appealed to the Chinese government to allow author Gao Xingjian, 2000 Nobel Prize for Literature, to return to China, and withdraw the prohibition on the circulation of his works.
The Center for Human Rights and Democracy of Hong Kong reports that in an open letter, a group of intellectuals and other figures made an official request to Beijing to revise its judgment on Gao.
According to the signatories, among whom is Lin Mu, former secretary of the last general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, the award given to Gao is "an honor for Chinese writers."
Mo Yan, author of "Red Sorghum," stressed "Gao's enormous contribution to Chinese drama." Wang Anyi, another writer, said it is important "that a Chinese contribute to human culture."
The dissidents accuse Beijing of suppressing the freedom of expression and have launched an appeal in favor of liberty of press, by inviting Gao to visit China. Gao also received an invitation from the Hong Kong government, where the Nobel recipient will be invited to hold several academic seminars.
Pirated copies of Gao's work continue to circulate in Chinese cultural circles.
After the Nobel prize was announced, China's ministry of foreign affairs and a spokesman of the official association of Chinese writers accused the Swedish Academy of having awarded the prize "for political reasons," likewise denying Gao's Chinese identity.
Gao Xingjian, 60, published much of his work in China, but he suffered strong pressures and censures. He emigrated in 1987 and, since 1998, is a French citizen. He is the first Chinese to win the Nobel in literature.
Gao, who says he was never actively involved in politics, began to write during China's Cultural Revolution, but he was forced to burn his first manuscripts after his wife denounced him to the authorities.
Zenit - The World Seen From Rome
27. oktober 2000