Wang Xizhe

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Wang Xizhe
writer and a political critic- China
Personal details
Born1948
Sichuan (China)
OccupationWriter, Critic
ProfessionHuman right activist
Politician

Wang Xizhe (Chinese: 王希哲), born in 1948 in Sichuan, is a Chinese writer and a political critic.[1]

Biography[edit]

Wang was born on August 13, 1948, to a middle-class family in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Raised in Guangdong, Wang became involved with the rebels during the Cultural Revolution and was sent to the countryside in 1968.[2]

In 1974, Wang, together with Li Zhengtian and Chen Yiyang, under the pseudonym "Li Yizhe," posted a big-character poster entitled "Socialist Democracy," in which they questioned the ideological system of the Gang of Four and Lin Biao, and even Mao Zedong's authority, claiming that a "newborn bourgeoisie" had emerged, and calling for the establishment of a socialist system that was more democratic and based on the rule of law.[3]

Together with Liu Xiaobo he wrote and signed a letter that was published on September 30, 1996.[4] This letter called on the Chinese authorities to reconcile the Chinese Communist Party and Guomindang,[5] and have dialogue with the Dalai Lama, the exiled head of the Tibetan government.

Liu Xiaobo was later arrested and sentenced to 3 years of "re-education through labor" camp. To escape from arrest, Wang Xizhe took refuge in Hong Kong.[6] His escape was revealed on October 13. Two days later on October 15, he arrived in the United States where he obtained political asylum.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Derek Jones, Censorship: A World Encyclopedia, p. 2606
  2. ^ Chan, Anita; Rosen, Stanley; Unger, Jonathan (1985). On Socialist Democracy and the Chinese Legal System: The Li Yizhe Debates. Routledge. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-315-63895-9.
  3. ^ Chan, Anita; Rosen, Stanley; Unger, Jonathan (1985). On Socialist Democracy and the Chinese Legal System: The Li Yizhe Debates. Routledge. pp. 10–12. ISBN 978-1-315-63895-9.
  4. ^ "Factbox: Who is Liu Xiaobo?". Reuters. 7 December 2010.
  5. ^ Jean-Philippe Béja, La Philosophie du porc et autres essais, p. 30.
  6. ^ Veteran Chinese dissident Wang Xizhe demands answers after he is refused entry to Hong KongSouth China Morning Post Jeffie Lam
  7. ^ Ian Jeffries, Economies in Transition: A Guide to China, Cuba, Mongolia, North Korea and Vietnam at the Turn of the 21st Century, Routledge, 2002, ISBN 113456158X, 9781134561582, p. 72