The PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award is a powerful tool in PEN America’s year-round efforts to end the persecution of writers

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Dear Friend,

Today marks the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, when Chinese forces killed an unknown number of demonstrators clamoring for reform. On the anniversary, of course, we cannot help but think of the protesters flooding our own city streets to demand racial justice in the face of anti-Black violence and police brutality, and the militarized and abusive police response that many of these protesters have been met with. Profoundly aware of the protections that shield us from the horrors faced by Chinese students in 1989, we are also on notice that nothing can be taken for granted, not even here.

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As we mark this anniversary, now more than ever, we look to the heroes who speak out, those who risk their lives and safety to tell the truth and call for change. Today, I am proud to announce that we are bestowing our 2020 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award ([link removed][UNIQID]) on Chinese essayist and human rights defender Xu Zhiyong ([link removed][UNIQID]) .

Xu has been held incommunicado since February, when he was detained just months after penning an essay calling on President Xi Jinping to resign over his government's fumbling of the COVID-19 crisis and other failures of leadership. Xu, like so many before him, was doing the lifesaving work of speaking out. And China's response was to lock him away, silencing his voice and sending a chilling message to all others who might dare to speak.

It's a daunting moment for free expression, and yet Xu's bracing essays critiquing the Chinese Communist Party leadership for its economic, migration, and human rights policies are a reminder that against steep odds, there is bravery to be found.

In short, he's got guts. He had to have known that speaking his mind would land him in prison.

Today, we announce this award with the hope that Xu will be released. Indeed, of the 47 jailed writers we've honored since 1987, 41 have been released due in part to the attention this Award brings. ([link removed][UNIQID]&mc_cid=a9d152251d&mc_eid=[UNIQID]) We hope this announcement raises his profile globally and calls to account leaders who seek to punish whistleblowers.

Whether here in the U.S. or abroad, Xu is an exemplar of the kind of writer we should all strive to protect and uplift at this uncertain time. We are hopeful for his release, and hopeful for the future.

In solidarity,
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Suzanne Nossel
CEO, PEN America

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