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A Chinese democracy advocate who hoped to meet Aung San Suu Kyi has been barred from flying to Burma.
Wang Zhongxia holds up a t-shirt he made to promote Charter ’08
“We chose to travel to Burma because we wanted to see Aung San Suu Kyi,” Wang Zhongxia (left) told The Irrawaddy.“I was told that because of an order by the Beijing Public Security Department, I am not allowed to leave the country,” he said. “They refused to show me anything in writing.”
Five years ago, Wang was a signatory of the Charter ’08, a manifesto initiated by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo and signed by hundreds of intellectuals, which called for democracy, constitutional rule and the respect for human rights in China. Wang produced t-shirts promoting the Charter in Beijing. ….
In 2010, Wang caused a stir when he threw 60 half-yuan banknotes at a Yunnan provincial propaganda official during a public talk in Beijing. The half-yuan notes are a reference to Internet commentators in China who post comments favorable to the government online and get paid half a yuan (US $0.08) for each post by propaganda organs.
“I think it’s ridiculous,” Wang said. “Chinese can travel to the United States, but (I) can’t travel to Burma.”
Irrawaddy is a grantee of the National Endowment for Democracy, the Washington-based democracy assistance group.
