Mar 2, 2006 - Emergency Action: Activist Disappeared / China
Take Action! Help find Hu Jia, a prominent Chinese activist who has been missing since February 16th. Summary Prominent environmentalist and HIV/AIDS activist Hu Jia went missing on the morning of February 16th. His current whereabouts are unclear, but it is feared that he has been detained by the Chinese authorities. His family has contacted various government departments, including the police, to ask where he is detained, but none have admitted holding him. Background Information Hu Jia is an outspoken advocate for people with living with HIV/AIDS, especially in China’s poor rural areas. He is the co-founder of the Beijing Aizhibing Institute of Health Education. He recently resigned from Loving Source—a non-governmental organization he co-founded in 2003 to help children orphaned by AIDS-related illnesses—in order to prevent the authorities from harassing the group. Hu Jia is also a veteran environmentalist, and was an active member of the Chinese environmental movement from 1995-2001. He was a leader of China's Green Camp from 1996 to 1997, helping promote student participation in environmental conservation. Hu Jia offered tremendous support to the development of one of China's best known environmental groups, Friends of Nature. He also helped to establish Greenpeace’s first Beijing office in 2000. One of Hu Jia’s greatest contributions to conservation work in China has been the attention he brought to saving the endangered Tibetan Antelope. He set up a Tibetan Antelope Information Center and ceaselessly raised awareness about antelope poaching on the Tibetan Plateau for making Shatoosh. Through his efforts, Hu Jia helped local conservationists and nature reserves in Xinjiang and Qinghai provinces obtain needed resources and funding to implement their work. Hu Jia has never hesitated to stand up against violations of human rights, particularly those of China’s most socially-vulnerable groups. Recommended Action: Please send the following letter to Prime Minister Wen Jiabao requesting that Hu Jia’s whereabouts is disclosed. Your Excellency, I am writing to ask the Chinese Government to take all necessary steps to locate Hu Jia and inform his family of his whereabouts. Hu Jia has been missing since 16 February, and his location is unknown. He has a known medical condition which requires that he take medicine daily. If detained, he should be given access to appropriate medical treatment and released immediately unless he is charged with a recognizable criminal offence. Please help locate Hu Jia. Sincerely, XXX Addresses Prime Minister Wen Jiabao The State Council, No. 9 Xihuangchenggen Beijie Beijing, 100032 People's Republic of China c/o Chinese Embassy in the USA Political Affairs Office, Minister Counselor Cai Run, Fax: (202)-7457473 Governmental Affairs, Minister Counselor Su Ge, Fax: (202)-2655284 Tel:(202) 328-2500 Email: chinaembassy_us@fmprc.gov.cn
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