U.N. General Assembly: Yu Jie

Yu Jie: Yu and other writers and activists were on a PEN International panel Friday highlighting a report on trends of the last five years in China's crackdown on free expression. It also marked the 20th anniversary of the U.N. General Assembly's designation of May 3 as World Press Freedom Day, according to Times Colonist. Yu came to the U.S. in January after receiving asylum. He was detained several times in China last year and said he was beaten so badly that he passed out. He has said he thinks Chinese authorities will not allow him back because he has accused them of torture and NEW YORK, N.Y. - Exiled Chinese author Yu Jie joined other writers including Salman Rushdie on the 20th observance of World Press Freedom Day in appealing to China to live up to its own constitution and laws guaranteeing freedom of expression, and calling on the public to put pressure on governments that crack down on writers. Other writers who signed onto the appeal included Mario Vargas Llosa, J.M. Coetzee, Marjane Satrapi, Wole Soyinka, Nadine Gordimer, Andrei Bitov and Tomas Transtromer. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.