Author Joanne Leedom-Ackerman and some of the world’s leading democracy and human rights experts will be holding a virtual webinar on Wednesday, July 29 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. EST to discuss China’s democracy movement and its response to threats from Beijing’s new control over Hong Kong.

This event will begin with a talk about The Journey of Liu Xiaobo: From Dark Horse to Nobel Laureate (Potomac Books, 2020) edited by Leedom-Ackerman and highlight Liu Xiaobo’s leadership and legacy in the Chinese community. Panelists include some of China’s top scholars, democracy activists, and friends of Xiaobo.

Register for this event here!

Liu Xiaobo’s lifelong commitment to individual freedom and to nonviolent action as an agent of change inspires still and is a cause for authorities to fear him even in death.”

—Joanne Leedom-Ackerman

Joanne Leedom-Ackerman is a novelist, short story writer, and journalist. She is vice president emeritus of PEN International and served as chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee while Liu was imprisoned. Leedom-Ackerman later served as the International Secretary of PEN International in the same years Liu Xiaobo was president of the Independent Chinese PEN Center (ICPC). 

The Journey of Liu Xiaobo draws together essays and reflections on the “Nelson Mandela of China.” The Dalai Lama, artist and activist Ai Weiwei, and a distinguished list of leading Chinese writers and intellectuals, including Zhang Zuhua, the main drafter of Charter 08, and Liu Xia, the wife of Liu Xiaobo, and noted China scholars, journalists, and political leaders from around the globe, including Yu Ying-shih, Perry Link, Andrew J. Nathan, Marco Rubio, and Chris Smith illuminate Liu’s journey from his youth and student years, through his indispensable activism, and to his defiant last days. Many of the pieces were written immediately after Liu’s death, adding to the emotions stirred by his loss.