Visual Artists Guild announces the unveiling of a series of advertisement at several Embarcadero bus stop shelters in San Francisco on Tuesday, April 8.  These advertisements are to appeal to the government of the Peoples Republic of China for the release of human rights activist Hu Jia from prison in China and for the release of his wife Zeng Jinyan from house arrest in Beijing before the start of this summer's Olympic games in Beijing.
         The advertisements are to coincide with the Olympic torch relay to be held in San Francisco on Wednesday, April 9.   The torch relay route is scheduled to be held along the Embarcadero. 
         The locations of the ads are as follows:
                Embarcadero and Brannon
                Embarcadero and Folsom
                Embarcadero and Broadway
                Embarcadero and Chestnut
         Both Hu and Zeng are activists-bloggers involved in HIV prevention and helping HIV/AIDS sufferers as well as in protecting the environment.  Zeng was included by Time magazine in its 2007 list of the world's 100 most influencial people.
        Hu has been sentenced to three years and six months in prison for "subversion" in order to silence his dissent before the Beijing 2008 Olympics in August this year.  Zeng, a young mother, remains under house arrest with the couple's baby daughter. 
        For futher information, please contact Ann Lau, Chair of Visual Artists Guild at 310-539-0234 or e-mail alau@visual-artists-guild.org.