PEN America released its 2024 Freedom of Expression Index on Thursday (24th). China once again topped the list of "the country with the most imprisoned writers in the world", ranking first for the sixth consecutive year.
According to the index, China imprisoned 118 authors in 2024, 11 more than the 107 in 2023, making it the country with the largest increase.
It is worth noting that one-third of the writers imprisoned in China are online authors; among the 118, 9 are women and 33 are detained without formal charges; nearly half are ethnic minority writers, especially Uyghurs, Tibetans and Mongolians, who are mainly arrested and imprisoned on vague charges of "separatism".
"Chinese authorities are using 'national security' as an excuse to punish free speech and suppress writers who address democratic issues or criticize government policies," said Karin Deutsch Karlekar, director of PEN America's monitoring of risks to writers.
The latest index also shows that the Chinese government has expanded its censorship scope in recent years, including online pornography and economic topics. The PEN Club noted that three writers, using the pen names "Yuan Shang Bai Yun Jian," "Yi Xie," and "Ci Liu," were arrested for writing gay erotica on the Taiwanese adult literature website Haitang Literature. Furthermore, online articles discussing the economy have also begun to be censored.
The writer's health is in jeopardy, and he faces harsh treatment in prison.
The report also reveals the dire conditions faced by imprisoned writers in China. In February 2024, Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun received a suspended death sentence, having experienced a rapid decline in health since his detention in 2019. In October of the same year, essayist Xu Zhiyong began a hunger strike to protest his harsh prison conditions. Tibetan writer Thupten Lodoe was hospitalized in June due to a serious illness.
Ilham Tohti, a Uyghur scholar and recipient of the PEN Freedom of Expression Award, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2014 and has served 10 years of his sentence. He has been out of reach since 2017. Tibetan poet Gendun Lhundrub was released in November 2024 but remains under close surveillance and restricted movement. Mongolian writer Lhamjab A. Borjigin has been detained by Chinese authorities in Mongolia since 2023 and has not been released to date.
Hong Kong's National Security Law is being upgraded again, further restricting writers' freedom
The report notes that freedom of expression in Hong Kong continues to shrink. In March 2024, the Hong Kong government passed Article 23, criminalizing any conduct broadly interpreted as endangering national security. For example, former Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China Vice Chairperson Zou Xingtong was arrested along with five other authors on charges of violating the National Security Law for social media posts. Subsequently, media outlets revealed that many schools began censoring and even removing books from shelves to avoid crossing legal red lines.
At the end of the same year, the trial of Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai, charged with "collusion with foreign forces," was reopened. Jimmy Lai has been detained since 2020, and his case is seen as a significant indicator of the state of press freedom and the rule of law in Hong Kong.
Cross-border repression spreads, making it difficult for dissidents to protect themselves abroad
PEN America also noted that the Chinese authorities' surveillance and repression efforts extend beyond China's borders. In 2024, several human rights organizations exposed China's transnational crackdown against exiled writers and dissidents in Japan, Europe, and North America. Victims revealed that while they were overseas, they were causing harassment and retaliation against their relatives in China.
PEN is calling for global attention to the 375 writers convicted for their speech, emphasizing that they should not be imprisoned for their writing. "When regimes attempt to control historical narratives and the truth, the presence of writers becomes even more crucial," said Karleka. "We strongly urge governments to release all writers convicted for their speech and end this systematic oppression."
In addition to China, the countries with the highest number of imprisoned writers in the 2024 Freedom of Expression Index include: Iran (43rd), Saudi Arabia (23rd), Vietnam (23rd), Israel (21st), Russia (18th), Turkey (18th), Belarus (15th), Egypt (10th), and Myanmar (10th).
PEN America's Freedom of Expression Index, established in 2019, tracks writers and journalists imprisoned for writing, publishing, and reporting. Any detention exceeding 48 hours counts. The index shows that the number of imprisoned writers worldwide has risen annually since its inception, reaching 375 in 2024, with 16% of these imprisoned writers being women. The "Writers at Risk Database" also includes other risk factors, such as murder, enforced disappearance, exile, and deportation. The database currently covers 975 active cases in 83 countries.
