PRESS ADVISORY - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 8 PM
DETAILS BELOW
Event Tonight 8 p.m. Grand Park
           Visual Artists Guild mourns the passing of Nobel Peace Laureate, Liu Xiaobo today while still under the guard of the Chinese government in a hospital in China.
           Liu Xiaobo had spent a greater part of his life urging for political reform in China.  His 2008 manifesto, Charto 08 calls for democratic reform and resulted in his being sentenced on Christmas day 2009 to 11 years in prison.  In 2010 he was awarded the Nobel Peace prize.  During the Nobel award ceremony, an empty chair became the representation of Liu.  He is only the second Nobel Peace laureate who died in custody since the German Carl von Ossietzky who was awarded the peace prize in 1935 for opposing Nazism and died in 1938.
           Visual Artists Guild will remember what Liu Xiaobo said at his Final Statement, "I have no enemies and no hatred... Hatred only eats away at a person's intelligence and conscience and an enemy mentality can poison the spirit of an entire people (as the experience of our country during Mao era clearly shows.)
           As Visual Artists Guild's mission in championing the right of freedom of speech and expression, we will forever be guided by Liu Xiaobo's Final Statement, "Free expression is the base of human rights, the root of human nature and the mother of truth.  To kill free speech is to insult human rights, to stifle human nature, and to suppress truth."
           May Liu Xiaobo rest in peace.
           At this time we call on the government of China to release Liu Xia from house arrest, allow her to leave China if she so wishes.
Ann Lau
Chair, Visual Artists Guild

WHAT:  Candelight Memorial for Nobel Peace Laureate, Liu Xiaobo
WHEN: Today, July 13 2017 , 8 p.m.
              2017年7月13日下午8時
WHERE:
              Grand Park,
              200 N Grand Ave, Los Angeles, 90012
              between Hill and Broadway, Metro Civic Center, Grand Park
SPONSORING ORGANIZATION:
              Hong Kong Forum Paul Ip 626-524-5685
              Los Angeles China Democracy Platform  Weiming Chen 702-750-6066
              Visual Artists Guild  Ann Lau 310-433-0697

           視覺藝術家協會今天哀悼諾貝爾和平獎獲得者劉曉波,劉曉波死於中國政府監督下的一家醫院。
           劉曉波一生推動中國的政治改革。他在2008年零八憲章 呼籲進行民主改革,導致他在2009年聖誕節被判處11年監禁。 2010年,他被授予諾貝爾和平獎。在諾貝爾獎頒獎典禮上,空椅成為他代表。自從1935授予和平獎的德國反對納粹主義的Dee Carl von Ossietzky在1938監禁期死亡, 劉曉波是第二位諾貝爾和平獎獲得者死於監禁中。
           視覺藝術家協會 不會忘記劉曉波在他"最後陳述"說的話,“我沒有敵人,也沒有仇恨...因為,仇恨會腐蝕一個人的智慧和良知,敵人意識將毒化一個民族的精神,煽動起你死 我活的殘酷鬥爭." (正如毛澤東時代那樣殘酷鬥爭.)
           視覺藝術家協會的使命捍衛言論表達自由的權利,我們將永遠以劉曉波的“最後陳述"為指導,“表達自由,人權之基,人性之本,真理之母。封殺言論自由,踐踏 人權,窒息人性,壓抑真理".
           劉曉波安息。
           在這個時候,我們呼籲中國政府釋放劉霞, 停止軟禁她,如果她願意的話讓她離開中國。
劉雅雅
視覺藝術家協會