Screenshots

Hao Wu ( 吴皓 ) is my colleague, the China Editor, at Global Voices Online, a community for international bloggers affiliated to Berkman Centre for Internet & Society, Harvard Law School.

We are running a global petition to ask China for his immediate release. I am making an appeal to Screenshots readers to give us the support from Malaysia.

Here's a statement from Global Voices Online:

Hao Wu, a Chinese documentary filmmaker and blogger who lived in the U.S. between 1992 and 2004, was detained by the Beijing division of China’s State Security Bureau on the afternoon of Wednesday, Febuary 22, 2006.

On that afternoon in Beijing, Hao had met with a congregation of a Christian church not recognized by the Chinese government, as part of the filming of his next documentary.

Hao had also been in phone contact with Gao Zhisheng, a lawyer specializing in human rights cases. Gao confirmed to one of Hao’s friends that the two had been in phone contact and planned to meet on Feb. 22, but that their meeting never took place after Gao advised against it.

On Friday, Feb. 24, Hao’s editing equipment and several videotapes were removed from the apartment where he had been staying. Hao has been in touch his family since Feb. 22, but judging from the tone of the conversations, he wasn’t able to speak freely. One of Hao’s friends has been interrogated twice since his detention. Beijing’s Public Security Bureau (the police) has confirmed that Hao has been detained, but have declined to specify the charges against him.

The reason for Hao’s detention is unknown. One of the possibilities is that the authorities who detained Hao want to use him and his video footage to prosecute members of China’s underground Churches. Hao is an extremely principled individual, who his friends and family believe will resist such a plan. Therefore, we are very concerned about his mental and physical well-being.

As of April 14th, 2006, Hao has been held for 52 days without being charged with a crime, in clear violation of Chinese procedure. Numerous requests by Hao's family for information have been denied by the State Security Bureau.

Hao Wu's friends and colleagues at Global Voices Online - where Hao served as China editor - in cooperation with his sister Wu Na have organized a website, a letter writing campaign and this petition to ask the Chinese government for his immediate release.

More information about Hao Wu's detention is available at http://freehaowu.org (or a mirror site, http://ethanzuckerman.com/haowu

Screenshots is making an appeal, requesting you to lend us support by signing the online petition here.