中国公益图书馆被关停 组织者称受到政府压力

A nongovernmental organization that had run a rural library project with as many as 22 libraries across China has announced that it is closing down, citing “tremendous pressure” from the local authorities.

一间曾运营一个乡村图书馆项目的非政府机构宣布关停，表示不堪来自地方当局的“巨大的压力”。该项目曾在全中国拥有多达22个图书馆。

Since 2007, Liren — which means helping someone find his way — had devoted itself to providing children in underprivileged areas with free access to books and fostering independent thinking. Its founder, Li Yingqiang, who studied economics at Peking University, had started by building a library in his own former school in Hubei Province. From there, the group formed partnerships with other primary and secondary schools, donating books and sending volunteers to help run libraries and organize reading sessions for students. Some Liren libraries that did not have partnerships with local schools were run by volunteers from private premises.

自2007年，立人一直致力于为相对贫困地区的孩子们提供可供免费阅读的书籍及培养独立思考能力。曾在北京大学读经济学的机构创始人李英强从在湖北省的母校成立一所图书馆为起点，启动了这个项目。自此，这个组织与其他小学及中学建立合作关系、捐赠书籍，并派志愿者协助图书馆运营并为学生组织读书会。一些没有和当地学校合作的立人图书馆则由志愿者在私人住宅运营。

In an open letter posted last week on its social media accounts, the group said it had ceased operations at nine libraries in early September, in most cases after rural schools terminated their partnerships. In one case, a library run by a volunteer from his home in Huaibin County, Henan Province was shut down by the local civil affairs department, which the group said did not give a reason for its actions.

在一封上周发布在社交媒体账户的公开信中，该组织表示，自9月初，九家图书馆的运营已经终止——其中多数情况是乡村学校终止了与立人的合作关系。在一例关停事件中，一个由河南省淮滨县一名志愿者用自家房屋运营的图书馆，被当地民政局取缔。该组织表示，民政局没有给出取缔理由。

An official who gave only his surname, Jian, at the Huaibin civil affairs department said such matters were handled by the cultural affairs department, but the person who answered the telephone there said he knew nothing about it. Calls to the county’s education department went unanswered.

淮滨县民政局一位只透露了自己姓简的官员表示，这种事件由文化局处理。但是文化局一名接听电话的职员表示他不知道这个事件。淮滨县教育局的电话无人接听。

The nine libraries whose relationship with Liren has just ended bring to 19 the number that have left the group’s network since 2011. In August, several schools told Liren they were ending the partnership, and by September, all Liren libraries had undergone inspections by officials from the local cultural affairs and education departments or public security bureaus. However, volunteers said the officials did not find any illegal publications or activity.

已从该机构乡村图书馆网络中消失的图书馆增至了19个。8月，几所学校向立人表示它们要终止合作。至9月，所有立人图书馆都经历了来自当地文化局、教育局官员或公安局的检查。然而，志愿者说，官员们没有发现任何违法出版物或不法活动。

In their online letter, which was posted Thursday night, the group said: “We condemn the authorities for putting tremendous pressure on Liren, shutting down our branches, illegally seizing books, and threatening or even sending away our staffers and volunteers,” the letter read. The organization had 28 staff members and volunteers before it shut down.

在周四晚间发布的公开信中，该组织说道：我们向“逼迫立人图书馆，关停分馆，非法扣留图书，威胁甚至遣返员工志愿者的有关当局发出我们的抗议和谴责”。该机构在停止运营前有28名员工及志愿者。

The letter, which was on Sina Weibo and the messaging app WeChat, had been deleted by Friday morning. The group said it did not delete the n’s board members said they are confused by the inspections and the schools’ decisions to end partnerships, saying neither the schools nor the authorities had provided a satisfying explanation. “Honestly, I have no idea why so many of our branches were shut down,” Mr. Li said in a telephone interview.

这封发布于微博和微信上的公开信于周五早上被删除，该组织说其并未删除发文。立人理事会成员表示，他们对检查和学校终止合作的决定很是困惑，无论是学校还是官方都未给出一个令人满意的解释。“实话说，我不知道为什么我们那么多分馆都被关了，”李英强在电话采访中说。

“We have been very careful. We never solicited foreign donations,” he said, although the group had received small donations from abroad, mostly from overseas Chinese. Chinese nongovernmental organizations with funding from overseas are often subject to close government scrutiny.

“我们一向非常谨慎。我们从来没有主动寻求过境外捐赠，”他说，尽管该机构曾接受小笔境外捐赠，但捐赠都来自海外华人。接受海外资助的中国非政府组织通常会受到政府的严密监控。

Mr. Li said the fact that he is a Christian might have caused some sensitivity, but he said he never used the organization to preach to students. The Chinese authorities have shown diminishing tolerance for Christianity in recent years.

李英强说，他基督徒的身份或许制造了一些敏感性，但他说他从未利用该机构向学生传教。中国当局对基督教的忍耐度在近几年一直在走下坡路。

Mr. Li said it was possible that the group’s stated goal — “helping rural teenagers grow into healthy, normal modern citizens” — might have raised some concern. “The word ‘citizen’ might have worried some people,” he said. “Citizen” is a sensitive word in China because of its association with citizens’ rights, including freedom of speech.

李英强说，该组织公开设立的目标——“帮助乡村青少年成长为健康、正常的现代公民”——可能引发了一定担忧。“‘公民’这个词可能比较让人担心，”他说。“公民”一词因其与公民权利的联系在中国成为敏感词。公民权利包括言论自由。

He estimated that around 40,000 readers, mainly rural primary and secondary school students, were affected by Liren’s shutdown.

他估计立人的关停会影响约4万名读者，主要是小学和初中生。

Zhai Meng, who ran a Liren library in Zezhou County, ShanXi Province, said officials from the local cultural affairs department conducted two inspections of the library in August, both “appearing to be targeting foreign publications.”

山西省泽州县一家立人图书馆的负责人翟猛说，当地文化局官员8月对该图书馆实施了两次检查，都“像是冲着境外读物来的”。

The officials singled out a Japanese comic book, an issue of Time magazine given by a donor in Nanjing and several copies of the Hong Kong magazine Phoenix Weekly, Mr. Zhai said. He said the officials also asked Liren to change the name of its publication, Liren Weekly, or Liren Zhoukan, saying the character “kan,” meaning “publication,” should not be used. Private publications are tightly regulated in China.

官员们挑出了一本日本漫画、一本由一位南京捐赠者捐赠的《时代周刊》及几期香港杂志《凤凰周刊》，翟猛说。他说官员们还让立人更改其刊物《立人周刊》的名字，说“刊”这个字不应该使用。在中国，私人出版物被严格管制。

Mr. Zhai said the officials also wanted to know whether the library had received foreign donations, which it hadn’t.

翟猛说，官员们想知道该图书馆是否接受过境外捐赠——他们并未接受过境外捐赠。

Calls to Zezhou County’s education and cultural affairs departments were not answered.

泽州县教育局及文化局的电话无人接听。

Zhang Yang, principal of the Xiabamiao Middle School in Xiabamiao township, Sichuan Province, which recently ended its partnership with Liren, said the termination was simply a staffing adjustment.

四川省下巴庙镇下巴庙中学的校长张扬说，终止合作不过是一次职员调整。下巴庙中学近期终止了与立人的合作。

“We now have more teachers,” he said in a telephone interview. “Before we didn’t have enough teachers to manage the library, so we asked volunteers from Liren to do it. Now we can have our own teachers do it.” He denied any government pressure.

“我们现在老师多了，”他在电话采访中说。“以前我们没有足够的老师来管理图书馆，所以我们让立人的志愿者去管理。现在我们可以让我们自己的老师去管理了。”他否认政府施压。

However, Peng Xiong, who ran the school library when it was affiliated with Liren, said he was sure the decision did not originate with the school.

然而，与该校合作的立人图书馆的负责人彭雄则说，他确信终止合作的决定并非来源于校方。

“I could tell by the way the school talked about this, that it was not they themselves who wanted to end the partnership,” even though, he said, the principal never explicitly mentioned orders from government departments.

“从学校谈起这个事请的方式，我就能看出来，不是他们想终止合作的，”他说，尽管校长从未明确谈及来自政府部门的指令。

Hong Huating, who ran Liren’s Zhuoying Library in Guangdong Province, said the school told him the library building was slated for renovations. “Basically they meant we wouldn’t be welcome back in when the renovation was done,” he said in a telephone interview.

位于广东省的立人卓英图书馆负责人洪华挺说，学校告诉他，图书馆所在大楼将被装修。“基本上他们的意思也就是装修以后也不欢迎我们回来了，”他在电话采访中说。

Some Liren libraries will leave their books with the local schools, while others are removing them, volunteers said.

一些立人图书馆将把书籍留给当地学校，其他一些将把书籍带走，志愿者们说。

The group has started an online protest on Weibo under the hashtag “Liren has been shut down, I have something to say,” in which board members and Weibo users upload photos of themselves holding signs.

该组织在微博上用话题“立人图书馆被关，我有话说”发起了一个网上抗议活动——理事会成员和微博网友纷纷上传了他们手举标语的照片。

“Building one more library is better than constructing hundreds of real estate developments,” wrote a Weibo user who participated in the protest.

“多建一座图书馆，胜过建百座房地产，”一位参加网上抗议的网友写道。