Committee of Concerned Scientists

An international non-profit organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of our colleagues around the world.

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50 Students Detained in Huizhou on August 24, 2018 Following a Peaceful Demonstration Are Missing

September 15, 2018

Students who were engaged in a peaceful demonstration in support of workers at a factory in Shenzhen were rounded up and have not been seen nor heard from since that time. The workers were fighting for their rights as working conditions at the company were reported as problematic, and they had been attempting to form a union. CCS sent an inquiry to the President of China requesting information on the whereabouts of the students and advocating for their immediate release.

September 15, 2018

His Excellency Xi Jinping
President
The State Council General Office
2 Fuyoujie
Xichengqu, Beijingshi 100017
People’s Republic of China

Your Excellency:

The Committee of Concerned Scientists is an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world.

We write to express our grave concerns for a group of 50 students who were detained in Huizhou, near Shenzhen, in Guangdong province on Friday, August 24, 2018. These students, who appear to have been engaged in peaceful political activity in support of workers at the Jasic Technology factory in Shenzhen, were rounded up early in the morning of August 24, and their whereabouts remain unknown to us.

Five factory workers were also arrested during this raid, and in a separate operation, two other students and two other factory workers were detained as well. Jasic Technology is a stock-market listed company that manufactures welding equipment for export. We understand there have been serious complaints about working conditions, and that there has been significant labor unrest since seven workers were fired for attempting to form an independent union in July.

As academics and scholars, we believe that it is vital to protect the rights of students to speak out and to associate freely. China has an international obligation to respect these rights, both for its students and for workers in its factories.

We seek information as to the status of these students, and to understand the reasons for their detention. If they are to be charged with a crime, we urge that they be given access to their families, to independent legal representation, and to any medical care they may need. If they have been arrested and jailed for their peaceful political activities, then they must be released immediately and unconditionally.

Thank you for your attention to this most important matter, and we look forward to receiving your response.

Sincerely,
Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich, Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander Greer
Co-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists

cc.:
Ambassador Cui Tiankai
Embassy of the People’s Republic of China
3505 International Place, NW
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: 1-202-495-2266
Fax: 1-202-495-2138
Email: chinaembpress_us@mfa.gov.cn OR chineseembassyspokesperson@gmail.com

Filed Under: China Tagged With: China, factory, missing, shenzen, students, union, workers

Who We Are

Co-chairs

Joel L. Lebowitz, Rutgers University

Paul H. Plotz, M.D., Washington, DC

Walter Reich, George Washington University

Eugene Chudnovsky, Lehman College

Alexander Greer, Brooklyn College

Vice-chairs

Astronomy – Arno Penzias, New Enterprises Associates*

Biology – Max E. Gottesman, Columbia University

Chemistry – Zafra Lerman, MIMSAD Inc.

Computer Science – Rachelle Heller, The George Washington University

Computer Science – Jack Minker, University of Maryland, College Park

Engineering – Philip Sarachik, NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering

Mathematics – Simon Levin, Princeton University

Medical Sciences – J. Joseph Blum, Duke University

Honorary Board Members

Nancy Andrews, Duke University

David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology*

Alan J. Bard, University of Texas

Jacob Bigeleisen (deceased), SUNY, Stony Brook

Raoul Bott (deceased), Harvard University

Owen Chamberlain (deceased), University of California, Berkeley

Stanley Deser, Brandeis University

Edward Gerjuoy, University of Pittsburg

David Gross, (2004 Nobel Prize in Physics), Kavil Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara*

Pierre Hohenberg (deceased), New York University

Walter Kohn (deceased), University of California, Santa Barbara*

James Langer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Peter Lax, New York University

Louis Nirenberg, New York University

Marshall Nirenberg (deceased), National Institutes of Health*

Honorary Board Members

John C. Polanyi, University of Toronto*

Stuart Rice, University of Chicago

Sir Richard J. Roberts, (1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology & Medicine), New England Biolabs*

Myriam Sarachick, City College of New York

Harold Scheraga, Cornell University

Sylvan Schweber (deceased), Brandeis University

Maxine Singer, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Alfred I. Tauber, Boston University

Steven Weinberg, University of Texas, Austin*

Myrna Weissman, Columbia University

Rosalyn S. Yalow (deceased), Mount Sinai School of Medicine*

* Nobel laureate

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Committee of Concerned Scientists

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Easton, PA 18043
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abender@concernedscientists.org

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