[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 62 (Tuesday, May 13, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S4381]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         CALLING FOR RELEASE OF CHINESE DISSIDENT WEI JINGSHENG

  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, today marks the publication date of a 
remarkable compilation of letters from a remarkable man, imprisoned 
Chinese political dissident Wei Jingsheng. His book, ``The Courage To 
Stand Alone: Letters From Prison and Other Writings,'' should be 
required reading for anyone who takes for granted the freedoms 
enshrined in our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Wei is currently 
serving 14 years for the crime of advocating democracy in a country 
where freedom of speech does not extend to criticism of government 
authorities.
  An electrician by training, Wei lacks the formal education of some 
other famous 20th century champions of democracy and civil rights--
Vaclav Havel, Andrei Sakharov, or Martin Luther King--but whatever he 
may lack in sophistication, he more than makes up for with his blunt 
eloquence.
  Just days before the Chinese crackdown against pro-democracy 
protesters in Tiananmen Square, Wei offered some candid advice for 
China's top leaders from his prison cell, urging them to ``take great 
strides to implement a democratic government as quickly as possible.'' 
A great tragedy might have been avoided if Beijing's gerontocracy had 
heeded Wei's call.
  Wei was first imprisoned from 1979 to 1993 on charges of ``counter-
revolutionary propaganda and incitement,'' the result of his 
participation in the Democracy Wall Movement. During this brief 
flowering of officially authorized political dissent in China, Wei had 
the nerve to argue that China's modernization goals could not be met 
without democratic reform. For this affront, he was severely punished.
  In 1993, on the eve of the International Olympic Committee's decision 
about whether to award the 2000 Olympics to Beijing, China briefly 
released Wei in an effort to strengthen its Olympic bid. On April 1, 
1994, just days after meeting with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State 
for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, John Shattuck, Wei was detained 
once more.
  He was subsequently sentenced to 14 years for trying to ``overthrow 
the Chinese Government.'' The actions cited as proof of Wei's 
``counter-revolutionary'' intent included publishing articles critical 
of the government and raising funds for the victims of political 
persecution in China.
  Wei has spent most of his last 18 years in solitary confinement, 
enduring a variety of physical and psychological hardships. He is now 
widely reported to be in very poor health, suffering from heart and 
back ailments that require urgent medical attention. Attention he is 
currently denied.
  Today, I join with my colleagues to urge the Chinese Government to 
take all necessary steps to release Wei Jingsheng from prison on 
humanitarian grounds. Chinese authorities should ensure that Wei 
immediately receives the medical care he requires. Wei's imprisonment 
comes as a result of his peaceful advocacy of democracy and basic human 
rights. His words warrant our admiration, not a death sentence.

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