May 31 (DP.net).─ Wèi Jīngshēng, 62, celebrated his birthday on May 20, the day Cubans celebrate their independence from Spain. He was born in 1950, the year Mao Tse Tung took control of continental China, forced the Kuomintang government to exile in Taiwan, and invaded Tibet. He was 8 year old child when the Castro brothers took power in January 1959. He is one among the "children of Revolution" born in Asia or America during turbulent times in the XX century.
Wei Jingsheng is a well known Chinese human rights activist deeply involved in the Chinese democracy movement. He was arrested and convicted of "counterrevolutionary" activities, and was imprisoned in China from 1979 to 1993. Released briefly in 1993, Wei continued his dissident activities by talking to visiting journalists, and was imprisoned again from 1994 to 1997. He spent a total of 18 years in different prisons before being forcefully exiled on "medical parole" to the United States on November 16, 1997.
Wei Jingsheng first crime was to write and to attempt to make public in 1978 an essay titled "The Fifth Modernization" and his subsequent reflections after his first period of imprisonment titled "Courage to Stand Alone - letters from Prison and other Writings". He received international recognition in the November 1999 National Geographic issue regarding "the power of writing", because one of the major alleged crimes for his conviction were his writings arguing for democracy. The well known magazine underlined how he "would spend 18 years in jail and become a prominent symbol of the power of the written word". It went to suggest that "Chinese authorities feared Wei, recognizing that writing has an almost magical power: Words on paper, created by ordinary citizens, have overthrown governments and changed the course of history".
This fear of the written word is still present in China and in many other authoritarian and totalitarian governments all over the World. Blogers in Cuba trying to exercise their freedom of speech using their very limited access to the Internet are banned to travel abroad to receive international recognition and awards or for any other reason whatosoever. Such is the case of Yoani Sanchez, whose blog is banned to most Cubans with access to the Internet, has been repeatedly banned to travel abroad and is constantly harassed and reviled for the crime of attempting free expression.
In its 1999 article, National Geographic described prisoner conditions as a measure of punishment for the crime of free expression that still applies in China today: "His cell measured four and a half feet by nine feet. Authorities kept the light on at all times. No one, not even his guards, was allowed to speak to Wei, and he was not permitted to read or write." This is a description quite similar to many others from Cuban political prisoners. Totalitarian governments do not tolerate the audacity of its citizens who dare to write freely what they think.
The Chinese government never relaxed its repression and harassment against Wei and coerced him to emigrate. Exile is an exhaust pipe used quite effectively by the Cuban Government as well, in order to relieve internal resistance to abuse. Democracy, reconciliation and understanding are just a dream in both countries where reforms and economic concessions are nothing more than a smoke screen to keep political power. Many thousands and even millions of Chinese and Cubans live in exile as their only alternative to express their thoughts freely and to be able to take charge of their own destiny. In spite of superficial economic "reforms" in their respective countries, the repressive means of government are still firmly in place.
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 as a bargain result between then U.S. President Clinton and Chinese President Jiang ZeMin. Wei maintains that he was not freed, but that his exile is further punishment. This is similar to what recently happened when the Cuban government negotiated to set free a number of political prisoners on condition of them accepting exile. They do not feel they were given their freedom back but instead, that they suffer the most severe punishment of being torn off their own roots.
You may read more about Wei's biography HERE and ALSO HERE.
Chinese exiles do as exiles from other totalitarian governments do - they try to keep alive the flame of democracy and freedom wherever they may settle. Wei, as several Cuban dissidents, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He has received prestigious awards just like Cuban dissidents have, such as the Sakharov Prize or the Olof Palme Memorial Prize, among others.
Wei keeps publishing in many major newspapers and he often gives speeches and makes commentaries through radio and TV stations, especially to the Chinese audience via Radio Free Asia, and other media sources. He is a constant militant for human rights and democracy in China. But he is not alone. There is a long list of exiled Chinese freedom fighters. Readers may find some of them listed HERE with a brief description. If you ask any of them about China's reforms, they would sadly let you know that so called changes are a cosmetic and misleading layer spread over a tragic reality.
However, Wei is quite an optimist, hoping for a real change such as the one in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union in the 1990s. "Our strategy is: let the Communist Party have its internal fights, then they are weakened and they will collapse themselves. Our goal is the dissolution of the Communist Party", he explains. In a recent interview he added: "the goal for the Chinese people is very clear: we want a democratic system similar to Western countries."
Indeed, Chinese and Cuban dissidents aim at a peaceful solution to their plight. But they cannot succeed while the rest of the World turns its back on them to negotiate with their oppressors. For negotiations and reconciliations to be valid all sectors of society must be involved, not just those who hold tight to their power. The free world must rest on their own principles instead of compromising them for convenience.
Let us hope that these written words have the "magical power" perceived by the National Geographic magazine 13 years ago. Perhaps they are just like a mustard seed growing into magnificent trees.
[ Read a March 30 interview to Wei Jingsheng ]