Wei Jingsheng - Arrest and Imprisonment

Arrest and Imprisonment

Wei Jingsheng was also known for his editorial work in the short-lived magazine Exploration (探索) in 1979. He had also published a letter under his name in March 1979 denouncing the inhuman conditions of the Chinese Qincheng Prison, where the 10th Panchen Lama was imprisoned.

"On March 25, hearing through the grapevine that a crackdown was imminent, Wei and his colleagues rushed out a special edition of Explorations entitled 'Do We Want Democracy or a New Dictatorship?'" Soon after, "Wei and some thirty other Democracy Wall activists were rounded up. That October, Wei Jingsheng was brought to trial and accused of 'supplying military intelligence to a foreigner and of openly agitating for the overthrow of the government of the dictatorship of the proletariat and the socialist system in China.'" China scholar, Orville Schell, wrote, "For his outspoken views Wei was sentenced to a prison term of 15 years".

Because of his dissident activities, Wei spent a total of 18 years in different prisons in China. The letters that he wrote while he was in prison explaining his views were compiled into a book, entitled, The Courage to Stand Alone: Letters from Prison and Other Writings. Some of the letters were addressed directly to Deng Xiaoping, others to different family members of Wei.

Wei remained imprisoned until September 14, 1993, when he was released just one week prior to a vote by the International Olympic Committee over whether to award the 2000 Summer Olympics to Beijing or Sydney. Wei continued to speak out, despite the threat of arrest.

On February 27, 1994, Wei met with United States Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights John H. Shattuck to discuss human rights conditions in China, and also met with journalists. Wei was arrested the following week along with 15 other democracy and labor activists. Although released shortly afterward and sent into exile in Tianjin, Wei was arrested once more on April 1, 1994 when he tried to return to Beijing. Charged with plotting against the state, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison, but he would only remain in jail until November 16, 1997, when he was released for "medical reasons" and promptly deported to the United States. He was sent to the United States due to international pressure, especially the request by then US President Bill Clinton.