Excerpts: Statement of Protest on Suspension of Freezing Point

The following statement was issued by journalists Li Datong and Lu Yuegang on the morning of Feb. 17, 2006:

On January 24, 2006, the Communist Youth League Central Committee made the decision to suspend the Freezing Point weekly supplement for reorganization. As Li Datong described in his January 25 open letter of protest, the entire process not only lacked constitutional and legal foundations, but even the proper administrative procedures were completely disregarded. It was full of secret schemes and meticulous plots. A friend commented, "The bureaucrats have attained technical perfection, but in terms of values they are absurd and laughable." That's for sure.

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What do the people want? They want freedom of the press and freedom of speech as granted by the constitution, information that has value in the world they live in, the investigation and disclosure of injustice, checks on the powerful and support of the weak, and the deep reflection needed for the survival and development of the nation. Using taxpayers' money to print a newspaper and pay for its subscriptions, and then frequently allowing it to be packed with rubbish by Central Propaganda Department officials is an abuse of power and a crime! If not stopped, the spirit and creativity of the people will never shine, and the arrival of civil society will grow ever more distant.

While working at Freezing Point, we felt quite anxious. We dared not be sluggish. The good name garnered from well-received reports and features was simply the result of adhering to professional journalistic standards to the best of our ability, and our work with other colleagues at Freezing Point. Here, we wish to express our gratitude towards our colleagues at Freezing Point. Without their first-rate performance, we would not have the Freezing Point of today. If our efforts to protect our rights bring them inconvenience in their jobs or lives, we can only offer our deepest apologies. That was not our intent. We take complete responsibility for what we have signed with our names, and it is unrelated to them.

How many sleepless nights writing and editing articles? How many tense and joyous Tuesdays and Wednesdays? ... Here, we want to say to our colleagues at Freezing Point: we are nostalgic for the happy days spent with you. We love you.

Next, we wish to thank all domestic and foreign authors of Freezing Point articles over the last eleven years. We will never forget the support, hope, tranquility, understanding, intellect and passion contained in these articles. We will forever treasure these moving stories of the past.

Li Datong has worked at China Youth Daily for 28 years. Lu Yuegang has worked there for 20 years. We are both old journalists. Here, we wish to quote a sentence from Freezing Point's memorial to the esteemed former editor-in-chief of the China Youth Daily, Wang Shi: "Old newspapermen never die, they just float away."

We firmly believe that no power can smother humankind's hope and pursuit of freedom.

Freezing Point has fallen. Freezing Point is innocent. Freezing Point will be reborn!

Early morning. February 17, 2006