[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 66 (Monday, May 19, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E959]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                WEI JINGSHENG: A PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 16, 1997

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share with you and my 
colleagues, my support for the release of Wei Jingsheng, one of the 
world's most important political prisoners and certainly the strongest 
voice of China's democracy movement.
  Today, Wei Jingsheng continues to serve a 14-year prison sentence 
because he chose to stand up against tyranny and advocate democracy for 
China. He chose to be on the side of human rights. He chose to act on 
his beliefs for the betterment of his people and for that, he has been 
made to suffer.
  I am sure you are familiar with the history behind Wei Jingsheng's 
imprisonment.
  Wei was first imprisoned from 1979 to 1993 on charges of 
counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement. He was accused of 
passing a military secret he had seen in the Chinese news media, to a 
foreign journalist. He was arrested in conjunction with his 
participation in the 1979 democracy wall movement, during which he 
argued that the government's modernization plans were impossible 
without democratic reform. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
  In 1993, he was released from prison and continued speaking out for 
democracy and human rights, advocating an open and peaceful campaign 
for change. However, in April 1994, Wei was detained again and held in 
incommunicado detention for 20 months. This would soon be followed by a 
formal arrest, charges, and after given a 1-day trial, conviction, and 
sentencing. We cannot allow this injustice to continue.
  Wei Jingsheng is the 1994 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award 
laureate as well as the recipient of last year's Sakharov Prize for 
Freedom of Thought which was bestowed upon him by the European 
Parliament. He received the 1993 Gleitsman Foundation International 
Activist Award, and since 1995, has been nominated every year for the 
Nobel Peace Prize.
  This week marked the publication of his book, ``The Courage to Stand 
Alone: Letters from Prison and Other Writings,'' the first book-length 
collection of Mr. Wei's letters and other writings. How fitting it 
would be to do the right thing, to do the human thing, and set this man 
free.
  Therefore, I urge my colleagues here in the Congress to do all within 
its power to grant Wei Jingsheng's release. He should be a prisoner of 
conscience no more.

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