Wei Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue Number: A2-W1
魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号：A2-W1

Release Date: November 29, 2002
发布日：2002年11月29日

Topic: A brief bio of Wei Jingsheng
标题：魏京生先生生平简介
 
Original Language Version: English
(English at beginning, Chinese version at the end)
此号以英文为准
（英文在前，中文在后）

November 29

Bio of WEI Jingsheng

WEI Jingsheng is the best-known Chinese human rights and democracy fighter and is the leader for the opposition against the Chinese Communist dictatorship.  He was sentenced to jail twice for a total of more than 18 years due to his democracy activities, including a ground breaking and 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 papers in jail.

Wei Jingsheng is a winner of numerous human rights awards, including the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Human Rights Award in 1996, the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, the National Endowment for Democracy Award in 1997, and the Olof Palme Memorial Prize in 1994.  Wei Jingsheng has been nominated seven times for Nobel Peace Prize since 1993.  He was praised in numerous places with varies titles, such as "Father of Chinese Democracy" and "Nelson Mandela of China".  Thousands of entries about him can be found on the Internet in many languages, not just in English and Chinese.

Wei Jingsheng was born in Beijing, China in 1950. His given name is very common and is an indication of the pride of his parents; a pride shared by many in the days immediately following the creation of the People's Republic - "Jing" means "capital" and "Sheng" means "birth."  He is the eldest of four children. His parents were longtime Chinese Communist Party cadres. He was brought up in the prestigious Party schools, and was exposed to the internal dramas of the Beijing party elite.

At the beginning of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, the sixteen-year-old Wei left Beijing to explore the country for himself. He traveled throughout north and northwest China. Seeing firsthand the true effects that communism had on the Chinese people. It was during this time that he first began to formulate his opinions on the Chinese Communist Party and the future of the Chinese people. By the time the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976, Wei had been "sent down" to the countryside in his ancestral hometown in Anhui Province and also served in the People's liberation Army. The ten formative years he spent gaining a better understanding of the Chinese people's situation left an indelible mark on his thinking.

After moving back to Beijing, Wei took a job as an electrician at the Beijing Zoo. In 1978, a series of workers, intellectuals, and artists posted their thoughts and expression on a piece of wall in Beijing. The place, and the period, became known as The Democracy Wall. At this time, Wei wrote an essay entitled "The Fifth Modernization" which stated that without democracy, China could not truly modernize. His essay caused a sensation- not only because it openly assaulted the "people's democratic dictatorship" propaganda of the Communists, but also because the author dared to sign the essay with both his real name and address. Wei joined a few friends in publishing an underground magazine called "Exploration". In its last edition, Wei wrote another article, "Democracy or a New Dictatorship?" which identified Deng Xiaoping, then Communist leader of China, as the new dictator. Three days later, Wei Jingsheng was arrested.

In 1979, Wei was tried, convicted of "counter-revolution" and sentenced to 15 years. He spoke in his own defense, and a copy of his statement was smuggled out of the courtroom and distributed in China and to the foreign press. He was first on death row for eight months, and then in solitary confinement for nearly five years. He was kept in two other forced labor camps under strict supervision from both guards and prison handlers until 1993 when he was released. Within six months he was arrested a second time. He was tried again, convicted of "counter-revolution" and sentenced to another 14 years. In 1997, after a total of 18 years in prison, Wei was taken from his cell and placed on a plane bound for the United States. He maintains that he was not freed, but that his exile is further punishment.

Currently residing in Washington DC area, Wei Jingsheng has not been silenced by his forced exile.  There are numerous reports of his work outside of China for the Chinese cause.  Many of his articles are published in major newspapers including English, more in Chinese.  Every week, he gives speeches and commentaries through various radio and TV stations, especially to the Chinese audience via Radio Free Asia, Voice of America, and BBC, etc.  His close ties to many congressional members and legislators, as well as governmental officials of many democratic countries, enable him to represent the Chinese democratic force and use his influence to push for human rights and democracy in China.

In 1998, he founded the Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition (OCDC) which is an umbrella organization for many Oversea Chinese democracy groups.   The OCDC has many members over dozens of countries.  He has been serving as its chairman since then.  He is also the president for the Wei Jingsheng Foundation, which is a non-profit organization registered in New York.

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To find out more about us, please also visit our websites at:
 
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HTTP://OCDCNEWS.TOPCITIES.COM
for news and information for Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition and human rights and democracy movement in China as a whole; and

HTTP://OCDCLUB.TOPCITIES.COM和HTTP://TUANJIE.TOPCITIES.COM
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http://chinainsight.topcities.com
for the past issues of the this newsletter, as well as analysis and reports about China。

You may contact Ciping HUANG at:                HCP@Weijingsheng.org or
                                                        1-516-384-1958 for emergency or
Wei Jingsheng office in Washington DC at: 1-202-974-8396 (Jesse ZHENG) and                                                              1-202-974-8395 (Wei WU)
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                                                        Washington, DC 20006, USA

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中文版

Wei Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue Number: A2-W1
魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号：A2-W1

Release Date: November 29, 2002
发布日：2002年11月29日

Topic: a brief bio of Wei Jingsheng
标题：魏京生先生生平简介

魏京生
 
魏京生是中国当代最著名的民主人权斗士,他也是反抗中共独裁阵营中最关键的领袖人物.由于积极投身于中国的民主事业尤其是他1978年在北京西单民主墙发表了<第五个现代化>这篇已举世闻名的文章以及出版<探索>杂志, 因此曾经两次被捕并遭受到长达十八年之久的监禁.后来, 魏京生在监狱中从偷偷写在卫生纸上开始的文字被整理成一本<狱中书信集>, 那就是在中国国内被悄悄地广泛流传并在海外被翻译成多种语言出版的<COURAGE TO STAND ALONE>. (单打独斗的勇气)

国际社会非常推崇魏京生的精神和理念,1996年他被授予纪念罗勃特.肯尼迪人权奖, 同年还获得欧洲议会所授予的“萨哈罗夫思想自由奖”.1997年他获得美国国家民主基金会的民主奖.他也是1994年"OLOF PALME"纪念奖等多种奖的得主.自1993年以来他基本上年年都成为诺贝尔和平奖的提名人. 他还被誉为"中国的民主之父"和"中国的曼德拉"等等,并在全球各地都享有盛名.

魏京生的父母均为中共高级干部,他生于1950年的中共建国之初,从小一边在北京所谓的"红色贵族"学校享受着良好的教育,一边耳闻目睹了中南海中共高层的权力斗争.
1966年文革爆发,时年16岁的魏京生参加了红卫兵并到全国串联.由南到北,尤其在中国偏远的西北地区,他亲身体验到了中共统治的黑暗和中国百姓的疾苦,并由此萌发出自由民主理念,同时在他的心中也勾画着未来中国的蓝图.为了躲避当局的迫害,父母先将他送回老家安徽务农,之后魏京生又进部队当兵.

1973年复员回北京后,魏京生在北京动物园当了一名电工.1978年一些工人和知识分子等自发在北京西单以大字报的形式宣扬民主自由,魏京生是其中的重要成员之一,他在这场被称为民主墙的运动中发表了<第五个现代化>等一系列文章.他不但公然向中共独裁者挑战,而且敢于留下真名实姓.当他在<探索>杂志写出<要民主还是要新的独裁?>,批评矛头直指中共最高领导人邓小平的第三天后就被关进了监狱.

1979年魏京生被控以"反革命"罪判刑15年.在法庭上他慷慨陈词为自己做了自我辩护.那篇辩护词被朋友偷偷录音后带了出来并在海内外媒体广为传扬.魏京生先在死牢里呆了八个月,后来又被单独囚禁了近五年.他在条件艰苦的唐山监狱和青海劳改农场接受狱卒和其他犯人的折磨直到1993年被第一次释放.但六个月之后,他又被第二次逮捕,这次同样是以"反革命"罪遭判刑14年.在国际舆论的强大压力下,1997年11月魏京生终于结束了18年的牢狱生活,从囚室被直接送上飞往美国的班机.外界一直以为这是美国总统克林顿和中共主席江泽民交易的结果,但魏京生认为出国并不意味他获得了自由,而那仅仅是流放的开始,是另一种形式的迫害.

在海外,魏京生克服着常年牢房折磨所带来的浑身的病痛,为中国的自由民主事业四处奔波,发挥着他人所无法达到的功效.他坚定地承担着对中国民运的重任，以他个人的智慧，毅力与国际影响力,从亚洲到美洲，从欧洲到澳洲太平洋地区,从国会议场到大学讲坛,魏京生以自己卓越的政见,执着的追求和旺盛的感染力打动了他所接触过的每一个人.他的文笔和口才更使其自由民主理念通过广播电视和报纸媒体广泛传达给海内外的听众观众和读者.近年来,国际社会对中国的人权状况了解的越来越多,对中国的民主进程也越来越关心了.

1998年魏京生被海外民运团体推举为中国民主运动海外联席会议的主席至今.这个分布于世界各国全球最大的中国海外民运组织正在魏京生的领导下为推翻中共的独裁统治继而建立一个民主中国努力奋斗.

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投稿或批评建议请寄信箱:         HCP@WEIJINGSHENG.ORG

魏京生办公室
地址:   888 16TH STREET NW #400
                WASHINGTON DC 20006
        U.S.A.
电话:   1-202-974-8395
        1-516-384-1958 (紧急联系黄慈萍)

魏京生基金会网址：WWW.weijingsheng.org

其它中国民主运动海外联席会议及中国民主与自由运动的相关网址：
HTTP://OCDCINFO.TOPCITIES.COM 和HTTP://OCDCNEWS.TOPCITIES.COM
HTTP://OCDCLUB.TOPCITIES.COM和HTTP://TUANJIE.TOPCITIES.COM
http://chinainsight.topcities.com

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