Talk:List of Chinese dissidents

Untitled
I removed Lai Changxing from this list. The Merriam-Webster online definition of dissident is :"disagreeing especially with an established religious or political system, organization, or belief". I don't know why Lai Changxing fits into this category. Although the accusation of the Chinese government is arguable, it is unknown of Lai's political or religious activities and opinions against the government prior to his escape.

BLPN response
The content of this article is all unsourced, so I am moving it all to the talk page here below, and will ask Wikiproject China to try to help source some of these individuals. Content can be moved back into the article as it is sourced.

Detained, jailed and/or exiled people
Many Chinese political activists have been detained, jailed and/or exiled. Among them are (period of detention in brackets, followed by current status):


 * Bao Tong (1989 - ?) Imprisoned in 1992-1996 and under house arrest
 * Fang Lizhi (-) Moved to the United States
 * Ding Zilin (-) Living in Beijing and Jiangsu, China.
 * Dong Fangzhuo (dissident) (2004 onwards) Moved to Britain
 * Huang Qi (2000 - ?) Sentenced to five years jail in 2003
 * Jiang Yanyong (2004 - 2004) Released without charge
 * Liu Di (2002 - 2003) Released without charge
 * Wang Dan (1989 - ?) and (1995 - 1998) Exiled to USA
 * Wang Youcai (1989-?) and (1998- 2004) Exiled to USA
 * Wei Jingsheng (1979(?) - 1997) Released; emigrated to USA
 * Xiao Qiang (1989 - ?) Living in Berkeley, California.
 * Wuer Kaixi - Moved to the United States, currently residing in Taiwan
 * Yang Jianli (2002 - ?) Sentenced to five years jail in 2004
 * Yan Jiaqi (-) Moved to the United States
 * Zhao Changqing - Sentenced in July 2003 to 5 years imprisonment.
 * Zhang Boli-escaped to America
 * Wang Bingzhang (2002 - indefinite) Sentenced to life and solitary confinement
 * Xiong Yan-fled to United States, now serving in US Army as a chaplain.
 * Wang Xiaoning (2002 -)Sentenced to 10 years in a Chinese Prison.

There are also a large number of Chinese who claim to be dissidents and seek to defect, usually to USA, Canada, UK, Australia or New Zealand. To support their application to migrate, it is quite common for self proclaimed dissidents to cite their participation in Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, their strong religious belief in Falun Gong or that they are being pursued by a network of spies (Chen Yonglin). (See Economic migrants)

A Beijing's Dissident Blacklist has been reported in the South China Morning Post, January 8, 1995. It includes the following people:

To be arrested on entry to China

 * Yan Jiaqi, 53. Former aide to ousted party chief Zhao Ziyang. Escaped from China after June 1989. In New York.
 * Chen Yizi, 55. Former director of the Chinese Research Institute for Reform of the Economic Structure in Beijing. Escaped after June 1989. In Princeton, New Jersey.
 * Wan Runnan, 49. Former chief executive officer of the Stone Computer Corp in Beijing. Escaped after June 1989. In France.
 * Su Xiaokang, 46. Writer, author of controversial TV series River Elegy. Escaped after June 1989. In Princeton, New Jersey.
 * Wu'er Kaixi, 27. Former student leader who escaped after June 1989. In San Francisco.
 * Chai Ling, 29. Former student leader who escaped to the US after June 1989. In Boston.
 * Liang Qingtun, 26. Former student leader who escaped after June 1989. In San Francisco.
 * Feng Congde, 28. Former student leader who escaped after June 1989. In France.
 * Wang Chaohua, 43. Former student leader who escaped after June 1989. Studying in Los Angeles.
 * Zhang Zhiqing, 31. Former student leader, still on Beijing's most wanted list. Whereabouts unknown since June 1989.
 * Zhang Boli, 37. Former student leader who escaped after June 1989. In Washington.
 * Li Lu, 29. Former student leader who escaped after June 1989. Studying in New York.
 * Yue Wu, 49. Former factory director in Shanxi, China. Involved with organising workers during the 1989 movement. In France.
 * Zhang Gang, 46. Former deputy director of public relations at the Chinese Research Institute for Reform of the Economic Structure. Escaped after June 1989. In New York.
 * Yuan Zhiming, 40. Writer. Escaped after June 1989. In Mississippi.
 * Wang Runsheng, 40. Former researcher with the Institute of Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Escaped after June 1989. In France.
 * Chen Xuanliang, 48. Former teacher of philosophy at the Chinese College of Politics. Escaped after June 1989. In France.
 * Zheng Yi, 46. Writer. In hiding for three years after June 1989. Escaped in 1992. Now in Princeton, New Jersey.
 * Lu Jinghua, 33. Former merchant who became involved in the Beijing Workers' Autonomous Federation in 1989. Now in New York. Attempted to return to Beijing in June 1993 but was refused entry and sent back to US.
 * Robert Wu, 22. Law Student at Monash University who wrote a letter to the Chinese President insisting on more human rights for Chinese citizens. The government has since released a statement to the press denying the said allegations and has called on the people of china to unite and crush traitors. Currently residing in Melbourne, Australia, Robert is likely to be sentenced to 12 years under Chinese law. Robert has been named in the 2008 list of Beijing's Dissident Blacklist by the Central Committee of the People’s Republic of China  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.242.36.178 (talk) 07:02, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

To be refused re-entry to China

 * Wang Bingzhang, 48. Arrived in Canada in 1981 to study medicine. Founded the Chinese Alliance for Democracy in 1984. Now in New York.
 * Hu Ping, 48. Activist in the Beijing Democracy Wall Movement in 1979. Went to US in 1986. Former president of the Chinese Alliance for Democracy. In New York.
 * Xu Bangtai, 46. Former Shanghai student. Went to US in 1984 to study journalism. Chair of the Alliance for a Democratic China. In San Francisco.
 * Han Lianchao, 44. Former officer of the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Now a congressional assistant in Washington.
 * Cao Changqing, 42. Former deputy editor-in-chief of Shenzhen Youth News. Lost his job in 1987 after publishing an article calling on Deng Xiaoping to retire. In New York.
 * Liu Yong-chuan, 36. Went to US in 1986. Ex-president of the Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars in Washington. Now in San Francisco.
 * Liu Binyan, 70. Author and former journalist for the People's Daily. In Princeton, where he publishes monthly newsletter China Forum. South China Morning Post, January 8, 1995
 * Han Dongfang, 32. Former leader of the Beijing Workers' Autonomous Federation. Imprisoned for two years following the 1989 crackdown. Went to US for medical treatment in 1992. Returned to China in August 1993 but was deported to Hong Kong.
 * Xiong Yan, 31. Former student leader. Arrested in Beijing and served two years in jail before leaving China in 1992. Now in US Army. Chair of the Chinese Freedom and Democracy Party.
 * Zhao Pinlu, 39. Involved in Beijing Workers' Autonomous Federation in 1989. Escaped and now in New York. Chair of the International Chinese Workers Union.
 * Cheng Kai, 49. Former editor-in-chief of Hainan Daily. Left China in 1989. Now doing business in Hong Kong and has made several trips to China over the past two years. Blacklisted on August 21, 1993.

To be dealt with "according to circumstances of the situation"

 * Fang Lizhi, 59. Former vice-president of the Chinese University of Science and Technology. Arrived in the US after a year-long refuge in the US Embassy in Beijing. Now professor of physics at the University of Arizona.
 * Li Shuxian, 60. Wife of Fang Lizhi and former professor of physics at Beijing University.
 * Yu Dahai, 34. Went to US in 1982 to study physics at Princeton. Now acting editor-in-chief of the journal Beijing Spring in New Jersey.
 * Wu Fan, 57. Former teacher in Anhui University. doing business in San Francisco. Chairman of the Board of the Alliance for a Democratic China.
 * Ni Yuxian, 50. Democracy Wall activist. Secretary general of the Chinese Freedom and Democracy Party. Attempted to return to China in 1992 but was refused entry. In New York.
 * Yao Yueqian, 57. Lives in Tokyo.
 * Tang Guangzhong, 46. Teacher in US.
 * Guo Luoji, 63. Former professor of philosophy at Nanjing University. Punished for criticising the conviction of Wei Jingsheng in 1979. Now a scholar at Columbia University.
 * Harry Wu, 58. Went to US in 1985 as a visiting scholar at Stanford University. Now executive director of the Laogai Foundation in California and a US citizen. Refused Chinese visa in Hong Kong in 1993 but managed to twice enter mainland secretly last year.
 * Shen Tong, 27. Former student leader who went to US after June 1989. Studying at Boston University. Chair of the China Democracy Fund. Returned to China in August 1992, arrested in September in Beijing and deported to the US.
 * Wang Ruowang, 77. Writer and human rights activist in Shanghai. Imprisoned for a year after June 1989. Arrived in the US in 1992. Now in New York. Convenor -general of the Co-ordinating Committee of the Chinese Democratic Movement.
 * Feng Suying (also known as Yang Zi), 57. Engineer and human rights activist. In New York.
 * Liu Qing, 47. Imprisoned for almost 11 years after the Democracy Wall Movement of 1979. Arrived in US in July 1992. Now chairs New York-based Human Rights in China.
 * Xue Wei, 52. Went to US in 1980. Now business manager for Beijing Spring. Chen Jun, 37. Former democracy activist in Beijing. Deported in April 1989.
 * Yang Jianli, 32. Went to US as a student in 1982. Now at Harvard University. Vice-chair of the Alliance for a Democratic China.
 * Zhao Haiqing, 39. Went to US in 1982 to study at the University of Pennsylvania. Former president of IFCSS. Now doing business in Washington. Chair of the National Council of Chinese Affairs.
 * Zhu Jiaming, 45. Economist. Former deputy director of the International Policy Institute of the Zhongxing Investment Company. Now a visiting scholar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Xu Jiatun, 79. Former director of the Hong Kong bureau of Xinhua. Defected to the US after 1989 crackdown. In Los Angeles.

Here's a source
Here's a source; unfortunately it's not an internet source. I have the book and read through it myself. It doesn't give you a listing of dissidents, but it covers some of the more prominent dissidents in terms of their lives and their opinions. The book sometimes reads a little bias, but it does profile the bigger names in the Chinese dissident community. Hong Qi Gong (Talk - Contribs) 17:04, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
 * Bad Elements: Chinese Rebels from Los Angeles to Beijing by Ian Buruma


 * Could you do the page a favour and list those which it does confirm and in what respect? John Smith&#39;s 17:08, 10 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Yes, but I cannot do it immediately at the moment. And also, correction - the book does give a listing of dissidents in the form of a glossary in the back.  Hong Qi Gong (Talk - Contribs) 17:14, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
 * Online access isn't necessary, as long as you are accurate about who is listed. Just give a complete citation for the book, and use a short cite citing the page number for each listing. - Crockspot 19:33, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

Reference from Ian Buruma's book
Here is what I can confirm, of the list above, from Ian Buruma's book. This is just the information listed at the back of the book concerning the statuses and whereabouts of these people, in a section called Glossary of Names. There may be other information about these people's statuses in the chapters of the book itself to verify what I can't find in the Glossary of Names, but I'd have to go through the book again. My edition of the book was published in 2002, so it's important to note that the statuses of some of these people may be different by now. In fact I know some of the information is now outdated.
 * Bao Tong - Can't confirm what years he was imprisoned, but the book says he's "still under house arrest in Beijing".
 * Fang Lizhi - Went to the US in 1991. Now a professor at University of Arizona.
 * Ding Zilin - Only says he's a professor at Beijing University.
 * Wang Dan - Easy one. I'm sure you can find plenty of other sources to confirm his status, too.  The book says he spent 7 years in prison and went to the US afterwards.
 * Wei Jingsheng - Again an easy one, and really quite an inspiration, too. Sentenced to prison twice for a total of 29 years.  Went to the US in 1997.
 * Xiao Qiang - Runs the Human Rights in China organisation in NYC.
 * Wu'er Kaixi - Escaped after June 4th. Spent time in Paris and the US.  Lives in Taiwan.
 * Yan Jiaqi - Forced to flee after June 4th. Lives in NYC.
 * Wang Bingzhang - Book doesn't specifically say where he is, but it says that he is the "co-founder in the US of the China Democracy Party".
 * Su Xiaokang - Fled after June 4th. Lives in Princeton, New Jersey.
 * Chai Ling - Should be another easy one to verify as she was basically the voice of the student movement. Escaped to Hong Kong.  Got an M.A. at Princeton, then an M.B.A. at Harvard.  Now a businesswoman.
 * Wang Chaohua - Escaped after June 4th. Ph.D. student in modern Chinese literature at UCLA.
 * Li Lu - Fled to the US. Studied at Columbia.  Runs an investment business in New York.
 * Harry Wu - 19 years in forced labour camp. Then went to the US.
 * Liu Qing - "Many years" in prison. Went to the US.

That is all. This Glossary of Names is found in pages 345-349. Here's the cite:

Suggestion for this article - editors may want to note in the heading that this list is specifically related to the PRC. "Chinese dissidents" could also mean dissidents from Taiwan and Singapore - yes, there are plenty of those, too - and this is something Buruma's book also covers. Hong Qi Gong (Talk - Contribs) 06:36, 11 August 2007 (UTC)

Ages
What is the point of the age listed next to the people's names? Wouldn't we have to go through and update the age every year? HanBoN (talk) 05:13, 9 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Agreed. Plus ages are calculated differently depending on where you are. We should either have only the birth years of people or nothing at all. L talk 09:08, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Dr.Fang Li Zhi's wife Li Shuxian
Anyone notice how the link to her name points to an entirely different person with the same name? I'd fix it myself if I knew how, but I just thought it'd perhaps be a good idea to add a disambiguation page or something.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Shuxian —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.119.35.246 (talk) 08:01, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

Addition
Could someone take the time to add Li Zehou to this list? i dont have the precise dates, and i tend to ruin these charts when i edit them.Mercurywoodrose (talk) 17:03, 8 October 2010 (UTC)

Ai Weiwei
Should Ai Weiwei be added to the list? His arrest was listed on the Main Page "In the news" section. 2011-04-08. — Loadmaster (talk) 16:30, 8 April 2011 (UTC)
 * I'm somewhat confused by the 'dissident' status as something formal or self-declared, or just resulting from being a critic and getting in trouble for it. Weiwei was/is a prominent critic of corruption in the government, which seems to qualify by my definition.  I'm going to add him and see if others have a different opinion. Ocaasi c 03:40, 15 April 2011 (UTC)

Criteria for inclusion
What is the criteria for inclusion on this list? There are thousands of documented prisoners of conscience in China (and thousands more whose cases are not widely documented). See here for an incomplete list. In light of this, is seems prudent to clarify how we should measure notability. Do they need to have a certain number of human rights or news reports written about them, for instance?Homunculus (duihua) 03:25, 25 January 2012 (UTC)

Need Chinese Names
This list is interesting but for Chinese people pinyin isn't sufficient. Add a column with their Chinese name (in characters)! Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.49.68.162 (talk) 02:10, 8 April 2012 (UTC)

totally agree. the list should also be dynamically ordered. but i thought wikipedia didnt provide lists in the first place? in any case i added one person but i'd love to collab with some others on this and other pages related to chinese progressive politics. Happy  monsoon  day  17:37, 30 June 2013 (UTC)


 * three yrs later still no action. weird Happy   monsoon  day  17:47, 13 April 2016 (UTC)

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We should add leftists in this article!
Chinese dissidents are not only rightists or anti-communists, but also leftists, Maoists, and other fundemental communist or Marxist factions! We should add them in this article!--JohnGao (talk) 01:33, 28 September 2018 (UTC)