Following on from the arrest of Guo Quan last month, China have now arrested Liu Xiaobo on Monday. Liu was first jailed for his role in the Tiannanmem Square demonstrations in 1989 and this arrest came hours before the online launch of the "Charter 08".
The Charter signed by 300 scholars, journalists, freelance writers and activists in China marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by calling on greater freedom of expression and the end of one party system. The hope was to bring about democracy and human rights to China.
It most not be forgotten that the host of this years Olympics did promise the IOC and the World that it was going to improve their record on Human Rights as part of the decision to allow them to host th games. Little more than nothing has been done by the Chinese authorities in this direction. The arrest and detention of leading activist for change Liu Xiaobo, Zhang Zuhua, Chen Xi, Shen Younian and Du Heping over recent days shows that China really does need a change they can believe in.
The fact that leading activists for human rights activists in China are being detained over the 60th anniversary of the declaration that they are seeking to get recognised in their homeland shows the calculated contempt and rejection that Chinese authorities show for human rights and freedoms once again.
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