Luke Gedeon

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Call to Action
China is quickly and peacefully becoming a modern, capitalist democracy. Well, quickly in comparison to its five thousand year history, at least. Few nations (none?) have made this transition peacefully. China might. To make this huge transition, though, it is going to need a lot of support from the rest of the world. Even more importantly the people of China need our support in this difficult period of Chinese history.

Caring for China was founded to help the people of China to survive and thrive in this moment of difficulty and… opportunity.

You can help us help the people of China in many ways. We have listed a few below. Join us as we pursue these goals and discover even more opportunities.

Support Chinese advocates of change working in China.
People in China who criticize the government are often sent to prison, but many others suffer a fate that is almost worse. In a prison or work camp, you know where you stand and that things probably won’t get much worse. There is little left to fear.

Most advocates of change, though, live with a constant threat that things really could get much worse. They could be put on the local black-list where no one is allowed to hire them. They may not be able to buy or rent property. They could be called in for interrogation. They could be forced to migrate to a different region. They need our help to continue to spread their message. Sometimes they just need food.

The Caring for China Center works with over eight hundred Chinese advocates of change in China. If you would like to help, we can help you find creative ways.

Ask your government representatives to be fair and considerate in dealing with China.
Many politicians, and media for that matter, are continuously criticizing the nation as a whole. China is a great nation filled with great people and is even led by many great men. China is not perfect, but neither is any other nation. The system of government they have chosen is very susceptible to corruption at all levels, but many government officials really do want the best for the people they represent. They are trying to do the best they can with the history they have inherited.

We should encourage them to keep doing better, but we will be more effective if we do that with kindness. The Caring for China Center was founded by Xu Wenli a former political prisoner who still loves his country very much despite his sixteen years in prison. If he is advocating change from within and encouragement rather than attack from without, and he is, we should definitely pay attention.

If you are in a position to influence government officials or would like to join the campaign for a rational approach to government-to-government relations, we would be glad to work with you.

At the same time, continue to press for the release of individual prisoners.
The Chinese government continues to imprison anyone that says anything they do not like, but they are also willing to release most prisoners if enough people ask for their release by name. They want to keep their biggest customers happy, but to take advantage of this you have to be very specific.

We are seeing very encouraging results on this front. People are getting much shorter sentences. This makes it much safer for people to call for change and to expose corrupt officials. China still has a long way to go but we are definitely making great progress.

Support local Chinese exiles.
Freedom from prison sometimes comes at the price of being banned from ever returning home to China. Others manage to leave other ways and avoid prison, but also can never return. Exiles have it tough. They frequently do not know the language well, do not have a degree from a well known university, do not have any business contacts, and have to deal with an immigration system designed to keep people out.

If you have enough money you can buy your way in, but besides the fact that this is unethical, the organizations doing this, in the US at least, are associated with the Chinese Communist Party. It is strange. Immigrants claim to be oppressed democracy advocates to get through US immigrations and then join pro-communist protests after gaining residency.

The Caring for China Center is careful to only work with exiles who are faithful to the cause of free speech, democracy, rule of law, and other basic human freedoms. If you are interested in helping exiles find a place to live and work, start businesses, continue writing about change in China, or helping in any other way, we will help you help them.