Noted writers to challenge Chinese Gov’t at Brooklyn Public Library on Thursday
Sergio De La Pava, Jennifer Egan, Chang-Rae Lee, Victoria Redel, Jacob Weisberg, Alison Klayman, video message from Ai Weiwei
Noted American writers and artists will protest Beijing’s efforts to silence award-winning writer Ilham Tohti and other Chinese writers and artists on the plaza of Brooklyn Public Library on Thursday, April 10 at 7 p.m.
Tohti is the recipient of the 2014 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. After Tohti was honored by PEN, the Chinese government issued an angry defense of their prosecution of the peaceful Uyghur rights advocate and economist. Two days ago, Tohti’s daughter testified before the Congressional Executive Commission on China.
The protest will begin with short readings by Sergio De La Pava, Jennifer Egan, Chang-Rae Lee, Victoria Redel, Jacob Weisberg, and “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry” filmmaker Alison Klayman. Works include pieces by Chinese writers including Tohti; acclaimed artist Ai Weiwei, who cannot attend a retrospective of his work at the Brooklyn Museum this month because his passport is arbitrarily held by the Chinese government; Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo, who is serving an 11-year prison term for seven sentences written in 2008; and his wife, Liu Xia, an artist and poet who has been held under extralegal house arrest since her husband’s receipt of the prize.
Attendees will witness an outdoor projection of a never-before-seen video message from Ai Weiwei, accompanied by a lighted message to the Chinese government presented by the New York City Light Brigade.