Wei Jingsheng

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Wei.
Wei Jingsheng
Born 20 May 1950 (1950-05-20) (age 61)
Beijing, People's Republic of China
Nationality Chinese
Occupation Writer, democracy activist, former Red Guard
Known for Leader in Democracy Wall Movement
Parents Wei Zhilin
Awards 1994 Olof Palme Prize
1996 Sakharov Prize

Wei Jingsheng (Chinese: 魏京生; pinyin: Wèi Jīngshēng; born May 20, 1950) is a Chinese activist known for his involvement in the Chinese democracy movement, most prominent for authoring the document Fifth Modernization on the "Democracy Wall" in Beijing in 1978. He is generally known for getting arrested and spending 15 years in prison due to the document.[1] However, some sources suggest he was imprisoned to ensure Communist Party leader Deng Xiaoping a political victory during the Sino-Vietnamese War.[2]

Still a Chinese citizen, Wei is now based in the New York City area.

Contents

Early years

In 1966 Wei joined the Red Guards as a 16 year-old student during the Cultural Revolution.[3] In 1973 he was an electrician in Beijing's Zoo.[3]

When Deng Xiaoping came to power and during the failing Cultural Revolution, Wei attacked the government of the Communist Party of China becoming one of the first few daring to denounce Paramount leader Deng Xiaoping.[1] Most notably he described Deng as a dictator.[1]

Authorship

On December 5, 1978 Wei posted on the Democracy Wall in Beijing the Fifth Modernization stating "democracy" to be added to the list of Four Modernizations, which includes industry, agriculture, science and technology and national defense.[1] Wei Jingsheng is known for his editorial work in a short-lived magazine Exploration (探索) in 1979.

He had also published a letter under his name in March 1979 denouncing the inhuman conditions of the Chinese Qincheng Prison, where the 10th Panchen Lama was imprisoned.[4] However, there have been unsubstantiated claims that a major part of Wei's essay came from other anonymous authors with personal experiences involving Qincheng.

Arrest and imprisonment

Wei is generally known for getting arrested and spending 15 years in prison due to the Fifth Modernization document.[1]

However some sources suggest other reasons. On February 17, 1979 the Sino-Vietnam conflict broke out. Deng Xiaoping knew that an international war could have a strong impact on domestic politics if China would win the war.[2] As the Sino-Vietnamese War was proceeding, Wei and other political activists were arrested. Wei Jingsheng was charged with attempt to sell military secrets to a British correspondent.[2] In November 1979 Wei was sentenced to 15 years in prison term.[2]

He stayed in prison until September 14, 1993, when he was released just one week prior to a vote by the International Olympic Committee over whether to award the 2000 Summer Olympics to Beijing or Sydney. Wei soon became politically active after his release, and Chinese officials repeatedly warned him that his political activities were in violation of his parole agreement, and he could be arrested again.[5] On February 27, 1994, Wei met with United States Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights John H. Shattuck to discuss human rights conditions in China. Wei was arrested the following week along with 15 other democracy and labor activists.[6] Although released shortly afterward and sent into exile in Tianjin, Wei was arrested once more on April 1, 1994 when he tried to return to Beijing. Charged with plotting against the state, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison, but he would only remain in jail until November 16, 1997, when he was released for "medical reasons" and promptly deported to the United States.[6] He was sent to the United States due to international pressure, especially the request by then US President Bill Clinton.[1]

Awards

In 1996, Wei Jingsheng was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. He is a winner of numerous other human rights and democracy awards, including the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award in 1996, the National Endowment for Democracy Award in 1997, the Olof Palme Memorial Prize in 1994, and the International Activist Award by the Gleitsman Foundation, etc. In 2008, he was chosen as one of the 15 Champions of World Democracy by the Europe-based magazine A Different View.[7] He has been praised in numerous places with titles such as "Father of Chinese Democracy" and "Nelson Mandela of China". Thousands of entries about him can be found on the Internet in various languages. In 2009 he was one of two hundred nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize.[8]

His writings have been translated and published in the 1997 book "The Courage to Stand Alone: Letters from Prison and Other Writings."

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Schell, Orville. Shambaugh, David L. [1999] (1999). The China reader: the reform era. Random House, Inc. ISBN 0679763872, 9780679763871.
  2. ^ a b c d Yang, Benjamin. [1998] (1998). Deng: a political biography. M.E. Sharpe publishing. ISBN 1563247224, 9781563247224. pg 207.
  3. ^ a b www.boxun.com. "www.boxun.com." 魏京生 Retrieved on 2010-12-12.
  4. ^ Excerpts from Qincheng: A Twentieth Century Bastille, published in Exploration, March 1979
  5. ^ Suettinger, Robert. Beyond Tiananmen: The Politics of U.S.-China Relations, 1989-2000. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2003
  6. ^ a b Mann, James. About Face: A History of America's Curious Relationship with China from Nixon to Clinton 1st ed. New York: Alfred Knopf: Distributed by Random House, 1999.
  7. ^ A Different View, Issue 19, January 2008.
  8. ^ "And the other Nobel Peace Prize nominees were". The Independent (London). 2009-10-12. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/and-the-other-nobel-peace-prize-nominees-were-1801350.html. 

External links