Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, the President of the People’s Republic of China
Cheng Yonghua, the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Japan
Guo Shengkun, the Minister of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China
Wang Xiaohong, the Director of Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau
Chi Qiang, the Chief Procurator of Beijing People’s Procuratorate

Statement: Call for immediate release of five young feminist activists from detentions

We, the Asia-Japan Women Resource Center (AJWRC), a Tokyo-based NGO working for gender equality and gender justice, have been in solidarity with grassroots women’s movements in Asia and all over the world. On March 6th and 7th, just before International Women’s Day, five young feminist activists (Li Tingting, Zheng Churan, Wu Rongrong, Wang Man and Wei Tingting) in Beijing, Guangzhou and Hangzhou, China were detained for planning a campaign against sexual harassment on public buses. We are shocked to hear this news and we are gravely concerned about the effects of detention on their safety, health and wellbeing.
The maximum period of detention in China is 37 days and they are scheduled to reach the end of this period on the upcoming 12th of April. Their release cannot wait.
We call for the immediate release of these five feminist activists.

These five young feminist activists have played important roles in addressing many important challenges in China and internationally, including the rights of sexual minorities, sexual harassment, gender-based violence, discrimination against people with diseases and disabilities, labor rights and safety, and the poverty of women and children. Many of these challenges are universal and they have continued to learn, create actions and write appeals to Chinese society, calling for people around the world to work together and act for change. Their campaigns always focused on making China better for the people within it, geared towards global justice; they never aimed to “pick quarrels and provoke troubles”. Their activities for gender equality and women’s human rights have greatly encouraged other women working on similar issues and have sparked much interest and many sympathies towards their goals.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China. The Beijing Platform for Action, adopted at this conference 20 years ago, was a major turning point in the history of women and men in China. It set out strategic objectives and actions around women and poverty, education, training, health, and violence against women as well as many other areas. Under the Beijing Platform for Action, governments and NGOs all around the world have continued their efforts to achieve gender equality and gender justice and to protect women’s human rights. The detained five young feminists grew up in such progress of efforts and certainly will form a solid foundation for the future processes in attaining gender equality.

This year the United Nations, the governments, and civil society are celebrating the Beijing +20 and reaffirming their commitments to work on its unachieved objectives. China will also co-host the Global Leaders’ Commitment Forum on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment with UN Women this September. Achieving the commitments of the Beijing +20 cannot be done without grassroots action and requires the participation of feminist activists, like Li Tingting, Zheng Churan, Wu Rongrong, Wang Man and Wei Tingting. Gender equality cannot be achieved without dialogue and partnership among governments and civil society groups. The international community expects China to fulfill their role in achieving the global goal of gender equality. Therefore, we call on the Chinese government to release these five feminist activists immediately and to respond to the expectations of the World.
April 8th, 2015
Asia-Japan Women’s Resource Center

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To sign as Organization

・Please send email to ajwrc.shomei(@)gmail.com
– Include your organization’s name and contact information
– With subject of email as “Statement: Call for immediate release of five young feminist activists from detentions”
・Deadline: April 11, 2015
・E-mail: ajwrc.shomei(@)gmail.com