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AAAS Human Rights Action Network

Letter of Appeal from the AAAS Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility

15 December 1998

Dear Sirs:

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the largest organization of natural and social scientists in the United States, and the world's largest federation of scientific organizations, with 143,000 individual members and 275 affiliated groups. Our AAAS Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility was formed in 1976 to protect the human rights of scientists and to deal with issues relating to scientific freedom worldwide.

As we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we are writing to you on behalf of the Committee to follow up on our letter of 31 August 1998 expressing our deep concern about the arrests of Lin Hai, a software engineer, and Wang Youcai, a physicist. It is our understanding that both men were arrested solely for exercising their internationally recognized right to the peaceful expression of their opinions by using the Internet to promote democracy in China.

According to information received by the Committee, Lin Hai was arrested on 25 March 1998 for providing 30,000 Chinese e-mail addresses to a US-based pro-democracy organization. We have been informed that Lin's trial on the charge of "inciting to overthrow state power" took place in secret in Shanghai on 4 December 1998. It is our understanding that the verdict is expected to be announced soon.

The Committee also continues to be concerned about Wang Youcai, a leader of the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations. According to our sources, he is scheduled to go to trial on 17 December in the Hangzhou Intermediate Court on the charge of "inciting to overthrow state power." It is our understanding that among his alleged crimes is sending e-mail messages to Chinese dissidents in the US.

The Committee would like to point out that the arrests of Lin Hai and Wang Youcai constitute serious violations of international human rights standards enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted without opposition by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948. They include:

* Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person (Article 3);
* no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile (Article 9);
* everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers (Article 19); and
* everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association (Article 20).


The Committee calls on you to assure that Lin Hai and Wang Youcai are released immediately and unconditionally on the grounds that they were arrested solely for exercising their internationally recognized rights to freedom of expression and association. We also urge Chinese officials to cease their interference with electronic communications by ordinary citizens.

Sincerely,



Irving Lerch, Chair Mary Gray, Chair
Committee on Scientific Committee on Scientific
Freedom and Responsibility Freedom and Responsibility

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