Nominations open for the 2019 Lin Zhao Freedom Award

Lin Zhao was a Chinese
Christian unjustly imprisoned 
and executed for her faith.
(Photo: ChinaAid)

(Midland, Texas—Dec. 9, 2019) ChinaAid is accepting nominations for the second annual Lin Zhao Freedom Award, established to commemorate Lin Zhao’s democratic visions and moral courage, as well as her non-violent principles. At the same time, this award will provide moral and financial support to those individuals who have paid a huge price for their work.

Lin Zhao (1932-1968), formerly known as Peng Lingzhao, was a Christian from Suzhou, China. She was first arrested in October 1960, for her participation in the planning of the underground publication “Xinghuo/Spark” and her poem “The Suffering Day of Prometheus.” During her imprisonment in the Tilanqiao Prison, she used her own blood to write a book against Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party’s “Tyranny Enslavement.”

On April 29, 1968, Lin Zhao was sentenced to death in prison and executed by shooting on the same day.

In 1980, the Shanghai Higher People’s Court revoked the ruling of the Military Commission and declared Lin Zhao not guilty on the grounds of mental illness. A year later, this decision was found to be inappropriate by the Shanghai Higher People’s Court upon reviewing the case again. Therefore, the Court revoked the 1980 ruling as well as the 1968 ruling and acquitted Lin Zhao of all charges.

Her legacy lives on today. Her blood writings showed a strong woman with a persistent conscience and uncompromisable integrity who remained fearless in the face of death.

Last year was the 50th anniversary of Lin Zhao’s murder and the inaugural year of ChinaAid’s Lin Zhao Freedom Award. The three recipients included dissident Chen Wei and, as a collective, Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, Sichuan, received ChinaAid’s Courage Award. The other awardee, who must remain anonymous, is the pastor of a house church in China.

To commemorate the life, death, and memory of Lin Zhao, ChinaAid Association will continue to award the Lin Zhao Freedom Award to recognize domestic Chinese citizens who are committed to promoting contemporary Chinese civil society and to progressing rule of law.

The nominees need to meet two basic conditions: (1) Adhering to the spirit of non-violence against injustice and oppression as promoted by Lin Zhao, promoting freedom and democracy, truth and reconciliation, and doing an excellent job in promoting rule of law and civil society in contemporary China. (2) Have suffered unjust treatments and persecutions in the process. Potential winners may include: democracy activists who are suffering from serious persecution, such as imprisonment or being monitored or house arrests, and rule of law advocates.

The Lin Zhao Freedom Award will select winners each year, issue an award certificate, and award a 25,000 RMB [approximately $3,593.97 USD] prize. If the winner cannot come to receive the award in person, the award will be given to the winner’s family. If the winner or family members are unwilling to disclose their names due to safety concerns, the award will be given anonymously, and a corresponding announcement will be issued. All award results will be kept as historical data and will be made public at an appropriate time when the consent of the living winner is given or after the death of the winner.

The Lin Zhao Freedom Award nomination form has been designed, and the dedicated mailbox, [email protected], should be used to submit the nomination form. The nomination period will be from this date until Jan. 31, 2020. Each nomination form should be used for only one nominee. However, one nominator can submit several nomination forms to nominate several nominees at the same time.

China Aid Association and the Lin Zhao Freedom Award Selection Committee will keep the information of each nominator and nominee strictly confidential. The Selection Committee consists of five members, two representatives from ChinaAid and three committee members from outside the organization. They will review the nomination materials received and decide the final recipient of the award by majority vote.

The second annual winner of the Lin Zhao Freedom Award will announced in 2020/

We sincerely welcome friends at home and abroad from all walks of life who are practicing and paying attention to China’s democracy and the transformation process of the rule of law to nominate actively.

The Lin Zhao Freedom Award Nomination Form
Nominee
Information
Name: Sex      Age     Birth Place
            
Email (optional)    Phone (optional)
Nominee’s exemplary work (details can be provided via the website link)




           


















Nominator Information Name:
Email: Phone:

Note: Please send this form to the Lin Zhao Freedom Award nomination to [email protected].

Your participation is sincerely appreciated!



ChinaAid Media Team
Cell: +1 (432) 553-1080 | Office: +1 (432) 689-6985 | Other: +1 (888) 889-7757
Email: [email protected]
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Nominations open for the 2019 Lin Zhao Freedom Award

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