Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Father of Chinese democracy’ speaks to NU

Renowned Chinese democracy pioneer Wei Jingsheng managed to explain the positive side of his two-decade stay in prison to an audience that packed Chambers Hall on Thursday night.

“I was arrested and I survived; that is really a surprise,” said Wei, with the help of a translator. “But (my survival) was an important fact because it inspired others to express their opinions.”

Wei was imprisoned for allegedly conspiring against the Chinese government by writing and posting democratic essays. This year marks the 30th anniversary of his arrest and imprisonment.

Wei described the rebuilding of the Communist Party of China under Deng Xiaoping’s leadership beginning in the 1970s.

“I warned everyone of the dictatorship that Deng Xiaoping was trying to make,” he said.

Wei also focused on global perspectives of the Chinese democratic movement.

“The collapse of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc began with China,” he said. “The Tiananmen Square Massacre inspired other democracy movements after that year. Others have reached success, but in China we struggle in the darkness.”

Wei emphasized the necessity of change for the Chinese government in order for the country to modernize, yet also said that the democratic movement indicates the Chinese people will no longer tolerate the current government. Like early democracy in the United States, China will be able to establish a strong democratic system despite a poorer economy, he said.

“I have the confidence that one day China will have a democracy, and the people will be quick to learn,” he said.

The Northwestern Journal of International Affairs sponsored his visit to NU.

“We’re looking for ways to expand the journal as a platform for written opinions as well as speakers,” said Weinberg sophomore Daniel Andreeff, co-editor-in-chief of the publication.

Fellow Editor-in-Chief Andrew Celis said the publication is unique as an entirely undergraduate academic journal.

“We try to be an academic publication as well as an active student group,” the Weinberg senior said. “We want students to be engaged in dialogue and someone like Wei can really get students thinking and talking about these issues,” he said.

Wei has been nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize based on his international advocacy for democracy in China. He famously wrote and publicized an essay in 1978 titled “The Fifth Modernization,” which proposed further individual liberties for the Chinese people, and active opposition to the Communist Party.

He spent a total of 18 years in prison for his activism and has been hailed as the “Father of Chinese democracy.”

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881
Father of Chinese democracy’ speaks to NU