Wei Jingsheng facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wei Jingsheng
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| 魏京生 | |
Wei at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on the 25th anniversary of the Sakharov Prize, 20 November 2013
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| Born | 20 May 1950 Beijing, China
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| Education | High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China |
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| Known for | Leader of Democracy Wall Movement |
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| Wei Jingsheng | |||||||||
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| Chinese | 魏京生 | ||||||||
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Wei Jingsheng (Chinese: 魏京生; born May 20, 1950) is a Chinese human rights activist. He is known for his role in the Chinese democracy movement. He became famous for writing an essay called "The Fifth Modernization". This essay was put up on the Democracy Wall in Beijing in 1978.
Because of his writings, Wei was arrested. The government said he was doing "counter-revolutionary" things. He was held as a political prisoner for many years. From 1979 to 1993, he was in prison. He was briefly let out in 1993. But he kept speaking out to reporters. So, he was put in prison again from 1994 to 1997. In total, he spent 18 years in different prisons. On November 16, 1997, he was sent to the United States. This was for medical reasons. Wei is still a Chinese citizen. In 1998, he started the Wei Jingsheng Foundation. It works to improve human rights and support democracy in China.
Contents
Early Life and Discoveries
Wei was the oldest of four children. His parents worked for the Chinese Communist Party. In 1966, when he was 16, Wei joined the Red Guards. This was during the Cultural Revolution. He lived in faraway rural areas in Northern China. There, he talked to farmers. They told him about the widespread famines that happened years before. These famines were during the Great Leap Forward.
Wei learned how the communist government under Mao Zedong caused these famines. This made him question the system he lived under. He later wrote about this time. He said he felt like he "suddenly awakened from a long dream." But everyone else seemed to be "still plunged in darkness." In 1973, he started working as an electrician at the Beijing Zoo.
The Democracy Wall Movement
Wei did not share his feelings publicly until 1978. He decided to join the new Democracy Wall movement in Beijing. On December 5, 1978, he put his essay on the wall. It was called "The Fifth Modernization." Wei's essay was a reply to Deng Xiaoping's idea of the Four Modernizations.
Deng Xiaoping wanted to modernize China in four areas. These were industry, agriculture, science and technology, and national defense. Wei's essay said that democracy should also be a goal for China. He believed it was the "fifth modernization."
Wei signed the essay with his real name and address. This made his essay very famous. It was brave because he was not anonymous. It was also the only essay that named Deng Xiaoping. It also called him a dictator. Wei wrote:
We want to be the masters of our own destiny. We need no gods or emperors. We don't believe in saviors of any kind... We do not want to be tools for dictators. We want to modernize the lives of the people. Democracy, freedom, and happiness for all are our only goals.
Wei had different ideas from most people in the Democracy Wall movement. Many thought the problem was between leaders and the people. But Wei believed that a government with total control was the real problem. He was one of the few activists who spoke against Marxism. He also spoke against a Marxist party leading the country.
Arrest and Time in Prison
Wei was also known for his work on a magazine called Explorations (探索). It was only around for a short time in 1979. In March 1979, he wrote a letter in the magazine. In it, he spoke out against the bad conditions in Beijing's Qincheng Prison. The 10th Panchen Lama was held there.
His writings against the government led to his arrest and imprisonment. Orville Schell, a writer who studies China, wrote about this. He said Wei and other activists quickly put out a special magazine edition. It was called "Do We Want Democracy or a New Dictatorship?"
Soon after, Wei and about 30 other Democracy Wall activists were arrested. In October, Wei Jingsheng was put on trial. He was accused of giving military secrets to a foreigner. He was also accused of trying to overthrow the government.
For speaking his mind, Wei was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He spent a total of 18 years in different Chinese prisons. During this time, he wrote letters explaining his ideas. These letters were put into a book. It was called The Courage to Stand Alone: Letters from Prison and Other Writings. Some letters were for Deng Xiaoping. Others were for his family.
He stayed in prison until September 14, 1993. He was let out just one week before the International Olympic Committee voted. They were deciding if Beijing or Sydney would host the 2000 Summer Olympics. Wei kept speaking out, even though he could be arrested again.
On February 27, 1994, Wei met with John Shattuck. He was a US Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights. They talked about human rights in China. Wei also met with reporters. The next week, Wei was arrested again. Fifteen other democracy and labor activists were also arrested. He was released soon after and sent away to Tianjin. But Wei was arrested again on April 1, 1994. This happened when he tried to go back to Beijing. He was accused of planning against the state. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison. But he only stayed until November 16, 1997. He was released for medical reasons. Then, he was sent to the United States. This happened because of pressure from other countries. US President Bill Clinton especially asked for his release.
Awards and Recognition
In 1996, Wei Jingsheng received the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. This is a very important award. He has won many other awards for human rights and democracy. These include the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award in 1996. He also won the National Endowment for Democracy Award in 1997. In 1994, he received the Olof Palme Memorial Prize. And in 1993, he won the International Activist Award from the Gleitsman Foundation.
See Also
In Spanish: Wei Jingsheng para niños
- List of Chinese dissidents
- Wang Dan (dissident)
