After he had put up the original, Wei wrote two additional parts expanding his initial arguments and responding to critics who had written their comments on and around the poster. (The first part is reprinted in full below.) In those four months, Wei lived in a fever of activity, often sleeping no more than three hours a night, according to friends. He published and distributed four issues of the journal, Exploration, which he founded and which consisted mostly of his own articles. He went out to conduct "social investigations," even daring to question police officers at local Public Security Bureau stations about imprisoned fellow activist, Fu Yuehua. He also met with foreign diplomats and journalists to discuss ideas about China and the world, engaging in a dialogue which had previously been unthinkable.
onsdag 11. september 2024
In Retrospect: Wei Jinsheng’s Struggle for Democracy
Wei Jingsheng's dissident life began with a precipitous suddenness. In just under four months, during the 1978-79 Democracy Wall movement, his unique talent as a thinker, writer and activist burst forth and blossomed. In fact, Wei did not actually go to Democracy Wall until several weeks after poster-writers in Beijing had started to center their efforts there. His first visit filled him with inspiration: in a single night he wrote his celebrated essay, "The Fifth Modernization - Democracy." With virtually no revisions, it was posted on Democracy Wall by a friend at 2 o'clock in the morning of December 5, 1978.
After he had put up the original, Wei wrote two additional parts expanding his initial arguments and responding to critics who had written their comments on and around the poster. (The first part is reprinted in full below.) In those four months, Wei lived in a fever of activity, often sleeping no more than three hours a night, according to friends. He published and distributed four issues of the journal, Exploration, which he founded and which consisted mostly of his own articles. He went out to conduct "social investigations," even daring to question police officers at local Public Security Bureau stations about imprisoned fellow activist, Fu Yuehua. He also met with foreign diplomats and journalists to discuss ideas about China and the world, engaging in a dialogue which had previously been unthinkable.
After he had put up the original, Wei wrote two additional parts expanding his initial arguments and responding to critics who had written their comments on and around the poster. (The first part is reprinted in full below.) In those four months, Wei lived in a fever of activity, often sleeping no more than three hours a night, according to friends. He published and distributed four issues of the journal, Exploration, which he founded and which consisted mostly of his own articles. He went out to conduct "social investigations," even daring to question police officers at local Public Security Bureau stations about imprisoned fellow activist, Fu Yuehua. He also met with foreign diplomats and journalists to discuss ideas about China and the world, engaging in a dialogue which had previously been unthinkable.
