June 6, 2011
By: Right to Nonviolent, Beirut, Lebanon
RN is pleased to announce that Dr. YANG Jianli has joined its international advisory Board, and that joint work for nonviolent change in China has actively started between RN in the Middle East and the Chinese democracy movement. After an initial speech May 1, 2011 by RN Chairman Mallat at a meeting convened by Dr. Yang in Los Angeles, Charles Adwan, RN’s representative in Washington, will join Dr. Yang and a large group of international NGOs at a demonstration for the restoration of civil rights before the UN headquarters in NY on June 4, 2011. Mallat welcomed Dr. Yang’s membership on the Board: ‘Dictatorship is a crime against humanity’ is the central message of our common struggle, he commented, and ‘it is no surprise that China is holding back all accountability for ME dictators as our nonviolent revolution unfolds. It is time to join our efforts across Asia, from Nouakchott to Beijing.’
Introducing a leading Chinese dissident
Dr. Yang Jianli is a Harvard Fellow and founding president of Initiatives for China, a pro-democracy movement committed to peaceful transition to democracy in China. A survivor of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, he is internationally recognized as a leading architect for democracy in China. Returning to China in 2002, following the completion of his studies at Harvard, to assist the labor movement with nonviolent strategies, Dr. Yang was imprisoned for ‘spying’ until his release in 2007 following an international outcry including a UN resolution and a unanimous vote of both houses of the US Congress.
Co-author of a democratic constitution for China, he is publisher of Yibao, Chinese E-Magazine of Ideas, Issues, and Commentary on Contemporary China, and lead organizer of the Interfaith/Interethnic Leadership Conference that in 2009 brought together the Dalai Lamai with Chinese intellectuals from the mainland. Dr. Yang co-chaired the Committee on Internet Freedom at the Geneva Human Rights and Democracy Summit in 2010, with his views on the impact of internet censorship on both Chinese and world security stimulating widespread discussion and coverage in leading publications including the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and Foreign Policy magazine. Dr. Yang holds a deep conviction that the path to democracy lies through the awakening of a unified citizen power or ‘Gong Min Li Liang’ among all the peoples under Chinese government rule, and believes that continued US leadership in holding China accountable for respecting the human and political rights of its citizens is a critical component for world stability and peaceful transition to a democratic society in China. Elected by Chinese independent thinkers one of the top 100 Chinese Public Intellectuals of 2009, 2010 and recognized by Chinese Twitter users as one of 50 Most Respected Chinese Citizens of 2009, 2010, Dr. Yang received a PhD in Mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley, and a PhD in Political Economy from Harvard University.
Press inquiries:
Lebanon +961 76787602
United States +1 801 915 5735
From the list administrator. In 2005, Lebanon’s Cedar Revolution charted the path to nonviolence in the Middle East. In 2009, the Iranian Green Revolution promised a similar course. Now the whole Middle East is poised for a 1989-like year of change. The people of Tunisia have ended a 23-year dictatorship without violence in January 2011, and the Egyptian people are following suit in the most promising Revolution to date. The Middle East Revolution underway must remain nonviolent to mark a historical break for human rights and democracy. Without them it remains incomplete. This list draws its inspiration from the ongoing tragic sacrifices and high hopes of participants in the unfinished Middle East revolution. It carries the message of nonviolence as the key instrument for change from China to Mauritania, with a focus on the Middle East. Several thousand recipients with an interest in nonviolent change across the world are on the list. Please disseminate as you see appropriate and send any comments or suggestions to Right to Nonviolence.