Liu Di (

Traditional Chinese A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

: 劉荻;

Simplified Chinese Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to: Mathematics Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one that is simpler (usually shorter), according to a well-founded ordering. Examples include: ...

: 刘荻;

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

: Liú Dí; born October 9, 1981), writing under the screen name " Stainless Steel Rat" (不锈钢老鼠), named after the assertive Harry Harrison science fiction character, became a symbol for

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

and

free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognise ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

since her detention in November 2002. Her screen-name is often translated as Stainless Steel Mouse.

Biography

Liu Di graduated as a

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

major from

Beijing Normal University Beijing Normal University (BNU) () is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education of China, and co-funded by the Ministry of Education and the B ...

. Liu's case comes during a crackdown on Internet content as the government struggles to gain control over a new and popular medium. The reasons for Liu's detention were satirizing the CCP online and calling for the release of other "

cyber-dissident A cyber-dissident is a professional journalist, an activist or citizen journalist who posts news, information, or commentary on the internet that implies criticism of a government or regime. At least two nonprofit organizations are currently w ...

s." She was freed from

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

Qincheng prison The Ministry of Public Security Qincheng Prison () is a maximum-security prison located in Qincheng Village, Xingshou, Changping District, Beijing in the People's Republic of China. The prison was built in 1958 with aid from the Soviet Union ...

on Friday, November 28, 2003. Two other "

s", Wu Yiran, and Li Yibin, were also freed from a jail for political detainees.

Biography

References

See also