尊敬的歐洲議會議員，各位關注和努力推進人權的朋友們，女士們，先生們：
你們好！
非常感謝歐洲議會把2008年的"薩哈洛夫思想自由獎"（Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought）頒發給我的丈夫胡佳。由於目前胡佳仍然被關押在監獄，我們的通信受到審查，我們見面時隔着玻璃的通話也被監聽，胡佳和我沒有機會直接討論他獲獎一事。2008年11月21日我去北京市監獄訪問他時，我們分別事先受到警察的警告：不能談論薩哈洛夫獎一事，否則隔着玻璃通過電話的交談會被立即切斷。
不過，國保警察在我與胡佳見面前，把胡佳獲得薩哈洛夫獎一事告訴他，力圖說服他放棄薩哈洛夫獎，並為胡佳與他的父母安排了一次單獨見面，要求胡佳的父母就此做胡佳的勸服工作，此外還要求家屬發表公開信，承認胡佳是罪犯不配得獎。我分別從國保警察和胡佳的父母處了解到，胡佳得知他獲得2008年度的"薩哈洛夫思想自由獎"時，說了下列的話："國保警察是不是給了你們很多的壓力？……我的人權工作做得還不夠多，也許他們（歐洲議會）考慮了我在環保領域和愛滋病領域的努力……這個獎項對中國非常重要，相信不久的將來，會證明我是正確的……"他也在見面時隱晦地對我說："相信我，（無論怎樣的重壓），我（的信念）都不會改變。"
胡佳入獄將近一周年，我的護照被沒收不能參加歐洲議會此次頒獎典禮和20周年聚會，實在遺憾。替胡佳寫這份致謝辭，既讓我感到不幸，又讓我感到榮幸。中國如今正經歷着有史以來最開放的時代，但是我們許多同胞，和我的丈夫胡佳一樣，依舊因為他們的思想和言論被打壓乃至囚禁監牢，這是我們當下的悲哀與痛苦。幸運的是，世界各地的朋友一直沒有忘記我們，我收到了來自不同國家不同地區成百上千的明信片、問候卡、電郵。歐洲議會也以把2008年度薩哈洛夫思想自由獎頒給胡佳的方式，表達了對中國人權的關注與支持，表達了對中國維權人士的努力和奮鬥的肯定。
我認為，這個獎項是頒發給中國所有的維權者以及他們遭受磨難的家人的。不管政治環境多麼惡劣，在中國，始終有一批良心之士，孜孜不倦地追求司法公正、社會正義。在漫長和艱難的維權道路上，這些維權者和他們的家人，付出了極大的代價——被壓制、被孤立、被解僱、子女被迫失學或失業，被非法限制人身自由、被毆打、被構陷入獄、甚至被驅逐出境……他們當中，有記者、有作家、有律師、有自由職業者、有教師、有普通企業職工、有許許多多的農民和小商販。中國龐大的上訪者群體，便是一個典型的代表。為此，我遵從胡佳以前對我表述的意願，他曾經多次希望成立維權者家屬支持網絡，在目前無法做更多工作的情況下，我決定將胡佳的5萬歐元獎金捐出作為啟動資金，成立支持維權者家屬的基金會，致力於緩解維權者家屬們所承受的苦難。相互支持，共度難關。
胡佳被判刑入獄時，曾經有媒體的朋友問我：胡佳究竟做了什麼，導致他被判刑入獄？我思索了片刻，回答道：如果說他真的做了什麼重要的工作，那就是他堅持說了真話。是的，中國有許多優秀的前輩，在環保、愛滋病、維權領域和六四傷殘者、難屬救助等方面投入了大量的時間精力，做了非凡的工作，使得一大批弱勢群體受益。胡佳不是聖徒，他只是懷着一顆孩童般純真又關切的心，把他所見所聞如實地說出來，並且忘我地無畏地投入到需要他的每一份工作中。2001 年，當愛滋病在中國還是一個禁忌話題的時候，當愛滋病疫情是"國家機密"的時候，冒着被警察追捕的風險，他送寒衣到愛滋病農村地區，探望絕望中的病痛者，推動救助和治療工作。並對外界如實地說出愛滋病感染者、患者及其家人經歷的苦難，說出大量的農民因1980、1990年代賣血感染愛滋病的事實，說出當年公共衛生政策失誤的背景。隨着社會工作的深入和工作對象的拓展，他接觸到更多的嚴酷現實，胡佳不能坐視社會不公，一次又一次地公開呼籲，推動公眾關注。乃至2004年起，他越來越長時間地被綁架失蹤或軟禁在家。失去自由的胡佳，所做的最重要的一件事，也許就是及時地大聲地說出了他所知道的每一個真相。
在一個謊言帝國里，及時地、大聲地說真話，需要極大的勇氣，擔當難以意料的壓力甚至付出沉重的代價。真話越是稀缺，說真話越是重要。不說出真相，我們失去了純淨的血液，愛滋病、肝炎、SARS等傳染病繼續在不透明的狀況下奪取國人的生命；我們失去了乾淨的土地和水源，國營的、私營的、跨國公司的企業工廠繼續污染人類和動植物賴以生存的自然環境；我們失去了孩子，三聚氰胺牛奶雞蛋等有毒食品繼續傷害人們的身體，使下一代更加孱弱；我們失去了父母，他們要麼年老體衰繼續被關押在勞改營，要麼被改了名字被關押到精神病醫院；我們失去了家園，豆腐渣工程遍地起高樓，小天災大人禍，大天災慘絕人寰；我們失去了信仰，奴役同類以生存、以獲利，無數"黑工人"依舊失蹤；我們失去了幸福，司法不公、社會不義，龍的傳人卻生活在沒有安全感、惶恐不安、悲憤痛苦無助之中。這難道就是我們追求的"和諧""安定"的生活？
我們需要並且可以過上美好的生活。胡佳維權，是發乎他的天性。生而為人，天賦權利與自由神聖不可侵犯。維權，是維護人類尊嚴，拋棄一切對人的奴役、酷刑、有辱人格的殘忍待遇、恐懼和匱乏。維權，從維護自己的知情權開始，自由地思想，免於恐懼地表達自我。儘管屢屢遭受壓制打擊，胡佳也不畏懼；雖然身處監獄，歷經磨難，胡佳對中國的未來仍然充滿了樂觀和信心。我們在監獄見面時，胡佳曾經說：我希望自己是中國最後一個因言獲罪的人，我不希望任何人再因為說出自己的觀點而失去自由。
但現實仍然不容樂見，胡佳入獄後，不到半年的時間裏，曾宏玲、陳道軍、黃琦等人同樣是因為發表言論被關押、判刑。我們迫切地渴望中國能早日回歸到正常社會，成為民主、法治、自由的家園，以積極、和平、負責任的姿態出現在國際視野中。這個目標並不遙遠，但需要所有的人，無論身居國內還是海外，都誠實地說出真相，面對一個真實的中國去思考、解決問題；需要大家都積極地捍衛自己的權利，進而推動整個維權運動和法治進程，才能夠人人享有表達自由、信仰自由，便能免於匱乏、免於恐懼地生活在一個和平的家園。
我代表我的丈夫胡佳，再一次向歐洲議會表示感謝。向薩哈洛夫思想自由獎歷屆獲獎者，向推動人權、改進人權的勇者致敬！
胡佳之妻：曾金燕
2008年11月22日
（以上為文字版的致謝辭，以下為視頻版講話的字幕）
Dear friends, Hello,
I am Hu Jia's wife, Zeng Jinyan. Hu Jia is currently in prison and so is unable to come to the ceremony to receive his Sakharov Prize.
I don't have a passport so I cannot come to Europe either to attend the ceremony for the Sakharov Prize's 20th anniversary. We are deeply sorry about this.
The good news is that Hu Jia was transferred on 10 October 2008 from Chaobai prison in Tianjin to the Beijing municipal prison, and that the conditions in which he is being held have improved. As for his health, he is looking a little better. He seems to be in slightly better shape than he was in Chaobai prison.
However, he had two blood tests in the space of a month and we don't know what the results were. Although we asked for them, the results of the tests have not been given to the family. This behaviour worries us. It makes us fear that his cirrhosis has got worse.
I visited Hu Jia in the Beijing municipal prison on 21 November 2008. Before our meeting, we were both warned separately by the prison authorities that we were forbidden to talk about the fact that he had been awarded the Sakharov Prize.
So, during my visit, neither of us was able to talk about the prize. We weren't able to discuss it by letter either, as all our correspondence is inspected. Even if all we do is express a view about social phenomena or if Hu Jia talks about the prison, when the prison authorities are not happy with it, our letters are confiscated or Hu Jia's letters are returned to him. We very much hope to be able to communicate more normally, but for the time being it is very hard.
At the end of October 2008 or beginning of November, I am not exactly sure which, State Security police officers told Hu Jia he had won the Sakharov Prize.
And when I saw him on 21 November, I could sense that he was very happy about it. I know that Hu Jia spoke to his mother and to the policemen about it. These are more or less his words:
"Perhaps the European Parliament was thinking of the work I did in the areas of AIDS and the environment, because what I did in terms of human rights was very far from sufficient and I will need to redouble my efforts."
He also said this Sakharov Prize was very important for China and he was confident that the future would prove him right. Obviously, from my personal viewpoint, I hope he comes home as soon as possible. Hu Jia said one day that he hoped to be China's last prisoner of conscience but the reality is very different. Since the day of his trial, on 3 April, there have been others such as Huang Qi, Zeng Honglin and Chen Daojun who have been arrested by the authorities because their expressed their views publicly. And some of them have been tried and given prison sentences.
This shows that the situation of freedom of opinion is still absolutely appalling and that there is no reason for optimism.
But even in these circumstances, there are now a great many exceptional people and people of goodwill in Chinese society who are going to great lengths to find ways to make the real situation in China known, and to express deeply-felt views, and the Internet is providing them with a very interesting platform. But unfortunately there is sometimes a very high price to be paid for this.
If the truth be told, sometimes one's courage is not enough. Sometimes the price to be paid is very, very high. There have been cases in which, after human rights activists, writers and others have used their freedom of thought, their relatives have also been harassed by the police, have lost their jobs or have been put under house arrest. And more serious still, some have even been tried and convicted.
Hu Jia had himself been illegally kidnapped several times by the police since 2004, without any form of legal procedure. He was constantly followed and in the end he was given a prison sentence. And I, who am his wife, I am often harassed by the police. 05:49
Others are in the same situation, such as Chen Guangchen and his wife, Guo Feixiong and his wife, and even their child, who has been denied his right to education. Thanks to many appeals from different quarters, Guo Feixiong's children were later able to go back to school although in circumstances that are not very satisfactory.
For all these reasons, I would like to respect the desire that Hu Jia has expressed on many occasions. He has often said he would like to set up a support network to help the families of human rights activists. To provide moral support for the families, to ease their mental and life pressure to which they are subjected. So that they can be strong enough to face the pressure of the authorities in a more active and optimistic manner, and to discourage cruel revenge-taking on families.
I cannot at the moment do very much but I would like to use the 50,000 euros of Hu Jia's Sakharov Prize as start-up money, to establish a foundation to support the families of human rights activists and to finally realise what Hu Jia had always wanted.
Why is the human rights work done by Hu Jia so difficult?
I think this is mainly because China's legal system is not satisfactory. There are laws, there are all sorts of articles and regulations, some are well written, but they are not applied.
In reality, the situation of the rule of law is disastrous. The judicial system has no independence. Until 2004, Hu Jia devoted most of his activity to the problems of AIDS and the environment. He spent a lot of the time in the field, on campaigns, where people needed him to take concrete action.
Then, from 2004 onwards, the police regularly denied him his freedom of movement and he had no other choice but to participate in human rights movements from his home, writing articles and publishing reports from the field.
I think that during all these years, the most important and most interesting thing he did was to have constantly persisted in saying the truth. He never stopped writing about the phenomena he observed. He never stopped describing, one by one, all the realities that the Chinese media cannot say. He never stopped publishing all this on websites so that the public could learn about the reality of China and understand it.
In my view, this has been his greatest contribution.
If you look at China now, you see everyone talking, but lying is very widespread. Nonetheless, there are people who continue their quest for the truth. Because the school textbooks our children study, our newspapers and broadcast media, our libraries and all these documents and files, they all resemble what you find in the novel 1984. They are written in another language to describe a fictitious reality.
What is the real situation, the real China? We do not know.
That is why there is a group of thinking people, like Hu Jia, in China who have never abandoned their quest for the truth. But Hu Jia has paid a very heavy price.
Our child is now just one year old. This is a key period in her life but Hu Jia is not able to be at her side. It is very difficult for me to talk about this, but I think…
And then Hu Jia has also always been very optimistic. He said he thought China was experiencing the most open period of its history, that you had to seize the opportunity to more effectively promote a fairer, freer and more democratic society in China.
We can indeed see this in our daily life, although the government still has very tight control over the media and over freedom of association, and perhaps even tighter control with the use of new technology. But on the other hand, civil society also uses the new technology and the platform that the Internet provides to actively promote a fairer judicial system and a more just society, and to investigate and expose the real China.
And to carry out citizen education, to educate citizens about human rights. It is a real hope: whether the government wants it or not, and whether leading figures inside or outside China recognise it or not, China is moving at great speed towards an open and democratic society.
I would finally like to say that, whatever happens, we must maintain an active and optimist attitude and pursue our efforts to promote the rule of law in China, to promote democracy and freedom in China.
We are full of hope of soon being able to hail the arrival of an open China. We are full of energy for China to become a country at peace.
I would like to thank our European Parliament friends from the bottom of my heart. The European Parliament has from the outset taken an interest in Hu Jia's case and has deployed considerable efforts on behalf of freedom for Hu Jia and other Chinese human rights activists, efforts that demand respect.
It has also never stopped drawing attention to the need for freedom to become a reality for the people of China. Thank you, thank you very much.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all those friends who I have never seen. If you had not supported us for so long, if you had not taken an interest in our fate, if you had not constantly encouraged us, I think we would never have found the courage to confront such a difficult social reality.
It helps us to keep hope and to continue our efforts.
I thank you. Thank you for all the efforts you have undertaken for Hu Jia, for me and for our family. Thank you for your efforts on behalf of human rights activists and you contribution to the progress of Chinese society.
Thank you.
Thank you, thank you. And goodbye.
薩哈洛夫獎頒獎典禮上的視屏
Posted: 17 Dec 2008 05:24 AM PST
Sakharov Prize Award 08 - Hu Jia - Message from Zeng Jinyan
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