Wei Jingsheng (
ChineseA Chinese character, also known as a Han character , is a logogram used in writing Chinese , Japanese , less frequently Korean , and formerly Vietnamese , and other languages...
: 魏京生;
PinyinPinyin , or more formally Hanyu Pinyin , is currently the most commonly used romanization system for Standard Mandarin. Hanyu means the Chinese language, and pinyin means "phonetics", or more literally, "spelling sound" or "spelled sound"...
：Wèi Jīngshēng; born May 20, 1950) is an activist in the
Chinese democracy movementThe Chinese democracy movement is a loosely organized political movement in China against continued one-party rule by the Communist Party of China. The movement began during Beijing Spring in 1978 and played an important role in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989...
, most prominent for authoring the document
Fifth ModernizationThe Fifth Modernization was a signed wall poster placed by Wei Jingsheng on December 5, 1978 on the Democracy Wall in Beijing. It was the first poster that openly advocated further individual liberties. It caused a spectacle, espousing that freedom was the only "modernization" that really mattered,...
on the "
Democracy Wall- China :The Democracy Wall was a long brick wall on Xidan Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, which became the focus for democratic dissent. Beginning in December 1978, in line with the Communist Party of China's policy of "seeking truth from facts," activists in the Democracy movement — such as...
" in
BeijingBeijing is a metropolis in northern China and the capital of the People's Republic of China...
in 1978.
He had joined the
Red GuardsRed Guards were a mass movement of civilians, mostly students and other young people in the China, who were mobilized by Mao Zedong in 1966 and 1967, during the Cultural Revolution.-Origins:...
as a sixteen-year-old student during the
Cultural RevolutionThe Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution was a period of widespread social and political upheaval in the People’s Republic of China between 1966 and 1976, resulting in nation-wide chaos and economic disarray.It was launched by Mao Zedong, the chairman of the Communist Party of China, on May 16,...
. When
Deng XiaopingDeng Xiaoping was a prominent Chinese politician, statesman, theorist, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng became a reformer who led China towards market economics...
came to power and repudiated the Cultural Revolution, Wei Jingsheng, then a twenty-eight-year-old electrician in
BeijingBeijing is a metropolis in northern China and the capital of the People's Republic of China...
's Zoo, attacked the dictatorship of the
Communist Party of ChinaThe Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and the ruling political party of the People's Republic of China and the world's largest political party...
, becoming one of the first few daring to denounce Deng and his will to maintain a
dictatorshipA dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator, without hereditary ascension. It has three possible meanings:...
in China.
Wei Jingsheng (
ChineseA Chinese character, also known as a Han character , is a logogram used in writing Chinese , Japanese , less frequently Korean , and formerly Vietnamese , and other languages...
: 魏京生;
PinyinPinyin , or more formally Hanyu Pinyin , is currently the most commonly used romanization system for Standard Mandarin. Hanyu means the Chinese language, and pinyin means "phonetics", or more literally, "spelling sound" or "spelled sound"...
：Wèi Jīngshēng; born May 20, 1950) is an activist in the
Chinese democracy movementThe Chinese democracy movement is a loosely organized political movement in China against continued one-party rule by the Communist Party of China. The movement began during Beijing Spring in 1978 and played an important role in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989...
, most prominent for authoring the document
Fifth ModernizationThe Fifth Modernization was a signed wall poster placed by Wei Jingsheng on December 5, 1978 on the Democracy Wall in Beijing. It was the first poster that openly advocated further individual liberties. It caused a spectacle, espousing that freedom was the only "modernization" that really mattered,...
on the "
Democracy Wall- China :The Democracy Wall was a long brick wall on Xidan Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, which became the focus for democratic dissent. Beginning in December 1978, in line with the Communist Party of China's policy of "seeking truth from facts," activists in the Democracy movement — such as...
" in
BeijingBeijing is a metropolis in northern China and the capital of the People's Republic of China...
in 1978.
Biography
He had joined the
Red GuardsRed Guards were a mass movement of civilians, mostly students and other young people in the China, who were mobilized by Mao Zedong in 1966 and 1967, during the Cultural Revolution.-Origins:...
as a sixteen-year-old student during the
Cultural RevolutionThe Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution was a period of widespread social and political upheaval in the People’s Republic of China between 1966 and 1976, resulting in nation-wide chaos and economic disarray.It was launched by Mao Zedong, the chairman of the Communist Party of China, on May 16,...
. When
Deng XiaopingDeng Xiaoping was a prominent Chinese politician, statesman, theorist, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng became a reformer who led China towards market economics...
came to power and repudiated the Cultural Revolution, Wei Jingsheng, then a twenty-eight-year-old electrician in
BeijingBeijing is a metropolis in northern China and the capital of the People's Republic of China...
's Zoo, attacked the dictatorship of the
Communist Party of ChinaThe Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and the ruling political party of the People's Republic of China and the world's largest political party...
, becoming one of the first few daring to denounce Deng and his will to maintain a
dictatorshipA dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator, without hereditary ascension. It has three possible meanings:...
in China. Wei's and others' public
dissentDissent is a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or an entity...
worried Deng who was anxious to consolidate his power. Apart from the
Fifth Modernization ("第五个现代化") authorship, Wei Jingsheng is known for his editorial work in a short-lived magazine
Exploration (《探索》) in 1979.
Wei Jingsheng was arrested March 29, 1979 for "Passing military secrets", and was condemned to 15 years of prison. He had also published a letter under his name in March 1979 denouncing the inhuman conditions of the Chinese
Qincheng PrisonQincheng Prison is a maximum-security prison located in the Changping District northwest of Beijing in the People's Republic of China. The prison was built in 1958 with aid from the Soviet Union and it is the only prison belonging to the Ministry of Public Security.The majority of inmates are...
, where the 10th
Panchen LamaThe Panchen Lama is the second highest ranking Lama after the Dalai Lama in the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism . The successive Panchen lamas form a tulku reincarnation lineage which are said to be the incarnations of Amitabha Buddha...
was imprisoned. However, a major part of Wei's essay came from other anonymous authors with personal experiences involving Qincheng. Those parts were published by Wei without their consent. Mary Holzman declared that Wei completed his research and wrote his essay of investigative journalism within a week, which makes it highly doubtful that Wei wrote the essay himself, as he simply did not have the factual knowledge present in the text.
Although they could not bring any formal charges against him for his attacks on the Communist system, the government exaggerated Wei's correspondence with foreigners about the Chinese-Vietnamese War and charged him with treason. He stayed in prison until 14 September 1993, when he was released because the PRC wanted to show their new openness before the
International Olympic CommitteeThe International Olympic Committee is an organization based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas on 23 June 1894. Its membership consists of the 205 National Olympic Committees....
. The Olympics were a huge event for Chinese nationalism and when they lost their bid to Sydney, Australia, the country was deflated. Wei, once again looked at as a scapegoat, was thrown in jail once more after China lost the Olympic bid. Charged with plotting against the state he was to remain in jail until November 16, 1997, when he was released for "medical reasons" and promptly deported to the United States. He was sent to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
due to international pressure, especially the request by then US President
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president; only Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were younger when entering office...
.
DissidentA dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....
s who are widely known in the West, such as Wei Jingsheng,
Fang LizhiFang Lizhi was a professor of astrophysics and vice president of the University of Science and Technology of China whose liberal ideas inspired the pro-democracy student movement of 1986-87 and, finally, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989...
, and Wang Dan are typically
deportedDeportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The expulsion of natives is also called banishment, exile, or penal transportation. Deportation is an ancient practice: Khosrau I, Sassanid King of Persia, deported 292,000 citizens, slaves, and conquered people...
when the Chinese government is really under pressure. Although Chinese criminal law does not contain any provisions for
exilingExile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened by prison or death upon return...
citizens, it is carried out informally by giving these well known dissidents a severe jail sentence and subsequently granting medical parole before sending them out in exile.
In 1996, Wei Jingsheng was awarded the
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of ThoughtThe Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named after Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, was established in December 1988 by the European Parliament as a means to honour individuals or organizations who had dedicated their lives to the defence of human rights and freedoms.The Sakharov...
. He is a winner of numerous other human rights and democracy awards, including the
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights AwardThe Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award was created by the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial in 1984 to honour individuals around the world who show courage and have made a significant contribution to human rights in their country....
in 1996, the
National Endowment for DemocracyThe National Endowment for Democracy, or NED, is a U.S. non-profit organization that was founded in 1983, to promote democracy by providing cash grants funded primarily through an annual allocation from the U.S. Congress...
Award in 1997, the
Olof PalmeSven Olof Joachim Palme was a Swedish politician.Palme was the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 until his assassination in 1986. He was also the Prime Minister of Sweden twice during this period, heading a Privy Council Government from 1969 to 1976 and a cabinet government...
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 ViewA Different View is the monthly political magazine of the International Association for Political Science Students . A Different View, also known as ADV, was launched in November 2005.- Content :...
. 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 it was announced he was a runner up for the Nobel Peace prize.
Besides the well publicized essay he wrote in 1978,
the Fifth Modernization, he is the author of "Courage to Stand Alone -- letters from Prison and Other Writings", which compiles his articles written initially on toilet paper in jail. He has weekly commentary on Radio Free Asia, and many other news media.
From his prison, Wei Jingsheng wrote to
Deng XiaopingDeng Xiaoping was a prominent Chinese politician, statesman, theorist, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng became a reformer who led China towards market economics...
many letters that were smuggled out secretly and published.
Hence, in 1992, he wrote a long letter about
TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average...
, which questioned the
suzeraintySuzerainty is a situation in which a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary some limited domestic autonomy. The superior entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a suzerain...
of the
Qing DynastyThe Qing Dynasty , also known as the Manchu Dynasty, was the last ruling dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912...
over Tibet. He believed Tibet should become a part of India.
External links