LEVEL 1 - 3 OF 31
STORIES
Copyright 1995 Denver Publishing Company
Rocky Mountain News
May 21, 1995, Sunday
SECTION: NEWS/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL; Ed. B; Pg. 91A
LENGTH: 467 words
HEADLINE: Chinese form armed opposition party
Secretive group's goal is to end Communists' authoritative rule by street
protests, strikes
BYLINE: Reuter
DATELINE: BEIJING
BODY:
Thirty Chinese workers and intellectuals have formed an armed political party
with a manifesto to fight for freedom, democracy and the overthrow of the
Communist Party, a spokesman says.
Rocky Mountain News, May 21, 1995
The group had risked imprisonment to form the China Freedom and Democracy
Party in the central city of Wuhan Feb. 10, said the spokesman, who called
himself Li Weimin, which means ''for the people.''
He was unable to offer proof that he had formed a party with 30 members,
other than a handwritten manifesto.
China's Communist rulers are nervous about any form of unauthorized organized
group and regularly impose harsh jail terms for counterrevolutionary crimes, or
subversion, on anyone who attempts to set up such a group.
Beijing has not approved the establishment of a new political party since
shortly after it came to power in 1949.
''In China, we will continue to be secretive. But we want Western democratic
nations to know that there are Chinese people struggling for freedom and
democracy,'' Li said.
''We hope for their moral and financial support,'' he said.
His party aims to ''overthrow the feudalistic and authoritative rule'' of the
Chinese Communist Party by organizing street protests and by mobilizing
Rocky Mountain News, May 21, 1995
workers and shopkeepers to stage strikes and students to boycott classes, Li
said.
The party operates as a secret society to guard against a government
crackdown. With the exception of the party's three founders, no individual
member has a list of all the party's members.
''We are sworn to secrecy. Even if some party members are caught, the
authorities cannot crush us,'' he said.
Party members are armed with guns purely for self-defense against feared
persecution, and would not take the initiative to resort to violence or to harm
innocent civilians, he said.
''We will punish severely those who persecute our members and damage our
organization,'' Li said.
The party hopes to join forces with Chinese dissidents who fled abroad into
exile after the army crushed pro-democracy demonstrations around Beijing's
Tiananmen Square in 1989, Li said.
Rocky Mountain News, May 21, 1995
LANGUAGE: English
LOAD-DATE: May 23, 1995
LEVEL 1 - 4 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1995 U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
May 15, 1995
SECTION: WORLD REPORT; Vol. 118 , No. 19; Pg. 50
LENGTH: 994 words
HEADLINE: Cleaning house in Beijing
BYLINE: By Susan V. Lawrence
DATELINE: Beijing
HIGHLIGHT:
An anticorruption drive spurs public anger;
BODY:
In a totalitarian state, fighting "corruption" is a convenient way to
eliminate political rivals. But as one powerful Chinese official after another
falls, Beijing's widening anticorruption drive may be proving just a bit too
U.S. News & World Report, May 15, 1995
successful for China's Party Chief and President Jiang Zemin. What began as an
attempt by Jiang to tighten his uncertain hold on power in the behind-the-scenes
struggle to succeed the dying Deng Xiaoping has now whetted public appetites for
a wholesale housecleaning that could undermine the authority of the party
itself.
Dissidents are already making hay out of the ongoing revelations of venality
in high places. Corruption is so bad because the Communist Party "allows no
restrictions on or supervision of its powers," says Li Weimin, a dissident who
recently traveled to Beijing to seek contacts for his newly founded, underground
China Freedom and Democracy Party. "Fighting corruption means fighting
itself," says Li of the party.
Most Beijing residents dismiss the idea that their anger at corruption could
fire another widespread protest movement like that in 1989, which ended in the
Tiananmen Square massacre. People are too busy making money now, they say. And
they admit that the failure of the 1989 movement convinced them of the futility
of taking to the streets to demand change.
"Shoot the lot." Nevertheless, many ordinary citizens are quick to draw the
same conclusion as fiery dissidents like Li who advocate violent resistance to
the government -- that it is not just a few bad apples but the whole system
U.S. News & World Report, May 15, 1995
that stinks. "They say that if you arrested half the officials above the rank of
department chief, you'd still miss a few," says a usually mild-mannered
university worker who relishes the prospect of more detentions. Complains a
young private entrepreneur: "We should shoot the lot of them."
Workplaces have been showing their employees a series of videotapes that
provide new details about many corruption cases covered only cursorily or not at
all in the media. The cases are presented as cautionary tales, but the videos
are opening many people's eyes to the scale of the riches and the lavishness of
the lifestyles among the more corrupt of the party elite. The videos describe
officials dropping $ 2,000 or $ 3,000 on a meal or tipping a karaoke bar hostess
$ 1,000 for singing a favorite song.
Beijing dinner-table talk now is not about the "model workers" whose
national conference Beijing hosted last week, or even last week's implementation
of new regulations restricting dog ownership whose drafting caused such debate
last fall, but rather of who is likely to lose his job next. Municipal officials
are learning to be careful about explaining absences from the office lest
acquaintances assume that they, too, are among the detainees.
Bigger fish. The campaign has already claimed Beijing party boss and
Communist Party Politburo member Chen Xitong and led a deputy of Chen's,
U.S. News & World Report, May 15, 1995
Beijing Executive Vice Mayor Wang Baosen, to commit suicide. Among those now
considered likely targets are Zhang Baifa, Beijing's surviving executive vice
mayor, who was close to boss Chen and who oversaw a number of major construction
projects in Beijing including the Asian Games Village, built quickly and at huge
expense in order to be completed in time for China's hosting of the games in
1990. Moreover, Zhang is the father-in-law of Zhou Beifang, the once untouchable
Capital Iron & Steel Corp. executive whose February arrest for unspecified
"economic crimes" was the first major sign that the party had started going
after the big fish.
Li Qiyan, the Beijing mayor, is also seen as vulnerable. After Chen's
resignation, Li hastily proclaimed his "complete support for the important
decision of the party center" to install a new party chief and pledged his
loyalty to Jiang Zemin. But one of the mayor's former aides, Li Min, has been
implicated in a case involving a Wuxi-based firm that operated an illegal
pyramid scheme that drew in at least 3.2 billion yuan ($ 380 million) in funds
from local governments and enterprises before collapsing last year.
Though it may be wishful thinking on the part of Beijing citizens who revile
him for his role in the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, the most intense
speculation centers on Premier Li Peng. Ousting Li would allow Jiang to distance
himself still further from Tiananmen. What's more, the premier is rumored to
U.S. News & World Report, May 15, 1995
be vulnerable to corruption charges through the business activities of his
highly visible wife, Zhu Lin, and their son, Li Xiaopeng, who is a vice
president of the China Huaneng Enterprise Group, which has a subsidiary listed
on the New York Stock Exchange.
The campaign has already given the uncharismatic Jiang a much needed boost
with the public. "Maybe we've all been underestimating him," says one Beijing
resident in an increasingly common reaction. But the newfound respect could
dissolve if he does not make good on what the public at least believes he has
promised them: an even more high-ranking victim, preferably Li Peng. If he fails
to oust Li, says a Hong Kong-based Chinese banker, he will seem less courageous
than the Chen ouster suggested. On the other hand, if he does push out Li, says
the analyst, "people will say that others have worse corruption problems," and
pressure will mount for more heads to roll. And in the delicate balance of power
within the Politburo, Li actually poses little political threat to Jiang; if Li
goes, the balance of power could shift to more dangerous rivals like National
People's Congress Chairman Qiao Shi.
In the wake of Beijing party chief Chen's resignation, a Beijing academic
recalled a Chinese proverb: "The wind sweeping through the tower heralds a
rising storm in the mountains." The question now: Will that rising storm claim
another high-ranking anticorruption campaign victim or ultimately threaten
U.S. News & World Report, May 15, 1995
Jiang himself and the Communist Party's grip on power?
GRAPHIC: Picture, Tiananmen honor guard. A behind-the-scenes leadership struggle
is intensifying. (Brian Palmer -- USN&WR); Picture, Near death? Deng (Xinhua --
Reuter); Picture, Much needed boost. Jiang Zemin (Torin Boyd for USN&WR);
Picture, Vulnerable. Premier Li Peng and his wife, Zhu Lin, could become targets
of the probe. (Yun Suk-Bong -- Reuter)
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: May 12, 1995
LEVEL 1 - 5 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1995 Reuters, Limited
Reuters North American Wire
May 5, 1995, Friday, BC cycle
LENGTH: 530 words
HEADLINE: Chinese group said to form armed opposition party
BYLINE: By Benjamin Kang Lim
DATELINE: BEIJING
BODY:
Thirty Chinese workers and intellectuals have formed an armed political party
with a manifesto to fight for freedom, democracy and the overthrow of the
Communist Party, a spokesman says.
The group had risked imprisonment to form the China Freedom and Democracy
Party in the central city of Wuhan Feb. 10, said the spokesman, who declined
to give his real name and called himself Li Weimin, which means "for the
people."
Reuters North American Wire, May 5, 1995
"We are not afraid of going to jail," Li said in an interview late Thursday.
"But we have no plans to go to jail so we are not coming out in the open ...
which would be suicidal."
He was unable to offer proof that he had formed a party with 30 members,
other than a handwritten manifesto.
China's communist rulers are nervous about any form of unauthorized organized
group and regularly impose harsh jail terms for counterrevolutionary crimes, or
subversion, on anyone who attempts to set up such a group.
Beijing has not approved the establishment of a new political party since
shortly after it came to power in 1949.
"In China, we will continue to be secretive. But we want Western democratic
nations to know that there are Chinese people struggling for freedom and
democracy," Li said explaining his decision to reveal the party's existence to
reporters.
"We hope for their moral and financial support," he said.
Reuters North American Wire, May 5, 1995
His party aims to "overthrow the feudalistic and authoritative rule" of the
Chinese Communist Party by organizing street protests and by mobilizing workers
and shopkeepers to stage strikes and students to boycott classes, Li said.
The party operates virtually as a secret society to guard against a
government crackdown. With the exception of the party's three founders, no
individual member has a list of all the party's members.
"We are sworn to secrecy. Even if some party members are caught, the
authorities cannot crush us," he said.
Party members are armed with guns purely for self-defense against feared
persecution, and would not take the initiative to resort to violence or to harm
innocent civilians, he said.
"We will punish severely those who persecute our members and damage our
organization," Li said.
The party hopes to join forces with Chinese dissidents who fled abroad into
exile after the army crushed pro-democracy demonstrations around Beijing's
Tiananmen Square in June, 1989, Li said.
Reuters North American Wire, May 5, 1995
Founding members include Communist Party cadres, middle-ranking government
officials, university professors, students and employees of state-owned
enterprises, Li said.
He said thousands of employees at money-losing state enterprises who are
being laid off may provide fertile ground for new members.
Li called on Western countries to scale back trade with and investment in
China.
"It is impossible for the Communist Party to voluntarily give you the right
to form political parties," Li said.
"We cannot wait. We have to fight for our rights," Li said. "If we wait, it
would only delay China's economic and democratic development."
In 1991, a Chinese court jailed an unemployed man for 12 years and two law
students to six and three years each for setting up what they called the China
People's Party.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
Reuters North American Wire, May 5, 1995
LOAD-DATE: May 06, 1995
LEVEL 1 - 6 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1995 Reuters, Limited
Reuters World Service
May 5, 1995, Friday, BC cycle
LENGTH: 535 words
HEADLINE: Chinese group said to form armed opposition party
BYLINE: By Benjamin Kang Lim
DATELINE: BEIJING, May 5
BODY:
Thirty Chinese workers and intellectuals have formed an armed political party
with a manifesto to fight for freedom, democracy and the overthrow of the
Communist Party, a spokesman says.
The group had risked imprisonment to form the China Freedom and Democracy
Party in the central city of Wuhan on February 10, said the spokesman, who
declined to give his real name and called himself Li Weimin, which means ''for
the people.''
Reuters World Service, May 5, 1995
''We are not afraid of going to jail,'' Li said in an interview late on
Thursday. ''But we have no plans to go to jail so we are not coming out in the
open ... which would be suicidal.''
He was unable to offer proof that he had formed a party with 30 members,
other than a handwritten manifesto.
China's communist rulers are nervous about any form of unauthorised organised
group and regularly impose harsh jail terms for counterrevolutionary crimes, or
subversion, on anyone who attempts to set up such a group.
Beijing has not approved the establishment of a new political party since
shortly after it came to power in 1949.
''In China, we will continue to be secretive. But we want Western democratic
nations to know that there are Chinese people struggling for freedom and
democracy,'' Li said explaining his decision to reveal the party's existence to
reporters.
''We hope for their moral and financial support,'' he said.
Reuters World Service, May 5, 1995
His party aims to ''overthrow the feudalistic and authoritative rule'' of the
Chinese Communist Party by organising street protests and by mobilising workers
and shopkeepers to stage strikes and students to boycott classes, Li said.
The party operates virtually as a secret society to guard against a
government crackdown. With the exception of the party's three founders, no
individual member has a list of all the party's members.
''We are sworn to secrecy. Even if some party members are caught, the
authorities cannot crush us,'' he said.
Party members are armed with guns purely for self-defence against feared
persecution, and would not take the initiative to resort to violence or to harm
innocent civilians, he said.
''We will punish severely those who persecute our members and damage our
organisation,'' Li said.
The party hopes to join forces with Chinese dissidents who fled abroad into
exile after the army crushed pro-democracy demonstrations around Beijing's
Tiananmen Square in June, 1989, Li said.
Reuters World Service, May 5, 1995
Founding members include Communist Party cadres, middle-ranking government
officials, university professors, students and employees of state-owned
enterprises, Li said.
He said thousands of employees at money-losing state enterprises who are
being laid off may provide fertile ground for new members.
Li called on Western countries to scale back trade with and investment in
China.
''It is impossible for the Communist Party to voluntarily give you the right
to form political parties,'' Li said.
''We cannot wait. We have to fight for our rights,'' Li said. ''If we wait,
it would only delay China's economic and democratic development.''
In 1991, a Chinese court jailed an unemployed man for 12 years and two law
students to six and three years each for setting up what they called the China
People's Party.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
Reuters World Service, May 5, 1995
LOAD-DATE: May 06, 1995
LEVEL 1 - 7 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1995 South China Morning Post Ltd.
South China Morning Post
January 8, 1995
SECTION: CHI; Pg. 6
LENGTH: 2934 words
HEADLINE: Concern grows over secret ban ;
Rights chief puts exiles on agenda
BYLINE: By SIMON BECK in Washington and our Political Desk
BODY:
UNITED States human rights official John Shattuck is under pressure to
protest at China's secret blacklist of exiled dissidents during his visit to
Beijing this week.
Mr Shattuck, who arrives in the Chinese capital on Friday, is already armed
with a long list of human rights complaints, including the treatment of
Tibetans, and concern China's eugenics programme may lead to forced abortions.
South China Morning Post, January 8, 1995
But Hong Kong-based human rights activist Robin Munro said yesterday the US
had little choice but to add the recent revelation of a blacklist of 49
dissidents, who were barred from re-entering the country, to the agenda of his
meetings with mainland officials.
"Since over 80 per cent of those named on the list are currently resident in
the US it is all the more important that Mr Shattuck asks some searching
questions about why dissidents are being secretly exiled," he said.
The list - published below - outlines how the exiles should be treated, if
they try to return to China.
Nineteen are listed as liable for immediate arrest, including former student
leaders Chai Ling and Wu'er Kaixi, as well as Yan Jiaqi, a former aide to ousted
Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang.
Border guards are instructed to refuse entry to a further 11 dissidents, and
immediately return them to their country of exile. These include labour activist
Han Dongfang, who is now in Hong Kong after being expelled from China in 1993.
The remaining 19 dissidents are subject to less severe restrictions, with
border guards instructed only to seek advice from their superiors if they
South China Morning Post, January 8, 1995
attempt to re-enter China.
Those in this category include former local Xinhua (New China News Agency)
chief Xu Jiatun.
Labour and pro-democracy activist Lau Chin-shek said the revelation of the
list might discourage people from standing up for democracy in Hong Kong, since
they would fear being subjected to similar restrictions after 1997.
"This list has confirmed that Han Dongfang's case is not an isolated one,
but rather a policy set by the central government," he said.
But Mr Lau, previously accused by Xinhua of spying for Taiwan, remained
optimistic the tight controls in the mainland would be eased before 1997. But if
they were not, he vowed to stay.
"I would stay in the territory to avoid giving them a chance to expel me,"
he said.
BEIJING'S DISSIDENT BLACKLIST IN FULL
South China Morning Post, January 8, 1995
CATEGORY 1: 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.
South China Morning Post, January 8, 1995
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.
South China Morning Post, January 8, 1995
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.
CATEGORY 2: TO BE REFUSED RE-ENTRY TO CHINA
South China Morning Post, January 8, 1995
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 Yongchuan, 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.
CATEGORY 3: 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.
South China Morning Post, January 8, 1995
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.
South China Morning Post, January 8, 1995
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.
South China Morning Post, January 8, 1995
Now a New York cabbie.
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.
GRAPHIC: New agenda: pressure is mounting on John Shattuck to protest against
China's blacklist of exiled dissidents - which includes Han Dongfang (top left),
Chai Ling (top centre) and Wu'er Kaixi (top right).
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
South China Morning Post, January 8, 1995
LOAD-DATE: January 10, 1995
LEVEL 1 - 8 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1994 The British Broadcasting Corporation
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts
July 18, 1994, Monday
SECTION: Part 3 Asia - Pacific; CHINA; INTERNAL AFFAIRS; FE/2050/G;
LENGTH: 525 words
HEADLINE: [8];
Fourteen members of dissident group go on trial for "counterrevolutionary" acts
BODY:
'Ming Pao', Hong Kong, in Chinese 15 Jul 94 p A2
Text of "Special dispatch" entitled : "Fourteen Members of the China
Freedom and Democracy Party, accused by Beijing of counterrevolutionary
crimes, brought to trial yesterday" (for a report on the initiation of
proceedings against the defendants, see FE/1836 G/6 [8], published on 3rd
November 1993)
The British Broadcasting Corporation, July 18, 1994
According to informed sources, yesterday, a Beijing court began the trial of
14 dissidents who have been imprisoned for more than two years on charges of
"organizing and leading a counterrevolutionary group" and "carrying out
counterrevolutionary propaganda and inflammatory delusion" . The court hearing
is expected to last three days. This is the largest number of dissidents
prosecuted since the 4th June incident of 1989.
The Beijing Municipal Intermediate People's Court gave no comment on the
above news. No bulletin about the trial was published on the noticeboard on the
wall outside the court either.
Information from Beijing, however, reveals that the 14 prosecuted dissidents
were Liu Jingsheng, an old hand in the pro-democracy movement; Hu Shigen, a
professor at the Beijing Languages Institute; Kang Yuchun, a doctor at Beijing's
Anding Hospital; Wang Guoqi, a worker from Beijing; Lu Zhigang, a student at the
Law Department of Beijing University; Wang Tiancheng, a teacher; Wang Peizhong,
a university graduate; Chen Qinglin, a cadre from the Tianjin Municipal
Meteorological Observatory; Chen Wei, a resident of Sichuan; Zhang Chunzhu, a
resident of Beijing; Rui Chaohuai, a worker at the Beijing Construction
Materials and Machinery Factory; Xing Hongwei, a cadre at the Chengdu Qianjiang
Coal Factory; Xu Dongling, a worker at Beijing's Haiding District Dongbeiwang
Papermaking Factory; and Zhang Guojun, an individual entrepreneur.
The British Broadcasting Corporation, July 18, 1994
A total of 16 persons should have been prosecuted. However, Gao Yuxiang, an
individual entrepreneur and a Beijing resident, Li Quanli, were exempted from
prosecution for health reasons.
The 16 were arrested between May and June 1992. They were accused of plotting
to establish or participate in the " China Freedom and Democracy Party"
[previously published as "Democratic Liberal Party of China" ]. This party's
political programme states that the " centralized communism pursued by the
communist party is just a mixture of feudal Chinese autocracy, Stalin's
terrorism and Hitler's national socialism" . It also proposes the "overthrow of
the autocratic rule of the communist party" .
The 16 persons are charged with "organizing and leading a
counterrevolutionary group" and "carrying out counterrevolutionary propaganda
and inflammatory delusion" . The trial had originally been scheduled to begin at
the end of April but was postponed.
Informed sources hinted that the postponement was due to the prospect of
Clinton's announcement about China's most-favored-nation status at that time.
As for another well-known dissident, Wei Jingsheng and his secretary, Tong
Yi, who were arrested during the same period, namely, during the US Secretary
The British Broadcasting Corporation, July 18, 1994
of State's China visit in March, nothing about them has been heard at all so
far.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: July 17, 1994
LEVEL 1 - 9 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1993 The Irish Times
The Irish Times
September 22, 1993, CITY EDITION
SECTION: SPORT; Pg. 17
LENGTH: 734 words
HEADLINE: China plays final Olympic card
BYLINE: By TERESA POOLE, --London Independent Service
DATELINE: MONTE CARLO
BODY:
IN what appeared to be a last-ditch attempt to sway the voting intentions of
International Olympic Committee (IOC) delegated China has said it will
co-operate with a' human rights group over visits to prisoners held in Chinese
jails.
The Irish Times, September 22, 1993
Coming just days before the IOC chooses the city which will host the Olympic
Games in the year 2000, diplomats in Beijing were yesterday sceptical over the
new offer. Human rights missions are usually taken to one or two model prisons,
are not allowed to talk to prisoners alone, and are not permitted to travel
freely in the country. Enquiries about lists of political prisoners are never
adequately answered.
In Paris, however, Daniel Jacoby, president of the International Federation
of Human Rights, said that Chen xitong, head of the Beijing Olympic bid
committee, had promised him much more. "I asked if we could begin an
investigation, travel freely, meet members of the Chinese government, visit
people we have on our lists of prisoners. His reply was an invitation to carry
out this mission." In Beijing, however, the Foreign Ministry said it had no
information on any offer.
China has sent a 200-strong team to Monte Carlo where the IOC will decide
tomorrow whether Sydney, Beijing, Manchester, Berlin or Istanbul will host the
year 2000 Games. In the final lap before the vote, the Chinese team has had to
back-track on apparent suggestions that China could boycott the 1996 Olympics if
it is not chosen, and has been lobbying hard against the arguments of many
Western nations, including the United States, that Beijing's human rights record
makes the country an unsuitable venue.
The Irish Times, September 22, 1993
Since the beginning of this year, six high profile Chinese dissidents have
been released from prison, though most were very near the end of their
sentences. This process culminated last week in the release of Wei Jingsheng,
China's best-known political prisoner, who had been incarcerated for more than
14 years for writing a personal attack on Deng Xiaoping at the time of the
Democracy Wall movement in the late 1970s.
While China hopes these moves will improve its international human rights
image, Asia Watch, the respected human rights group, this week accused China of
delaying the start of a number of political trials until after this week's
Olympic vote. Up to 17 members of banned organisations, including the Freedom
and Democracy Party, the Free Labour Union and the China Progressive
Alliance, are due to go on trial.
Wei, on Monday night in his first public appearance since being released
nearly a week earlier, told Agence France Presse that he personally supported
the Olympic bid. "I think this is a major event for the whole nation. I think
political factions should cast aside their prejudices or disputes when
addressing this issue." He also said he regretted nothing and had not changed
his political views. "Of course, I will definitely continue to fight for
democracy and progress in China. But I'm still not clear on how I will
specifically go about this ... Maybe some of my views are more mature now, but
The Irish Times, September 22, 1993
I still have the same views," he said.
While in prison, Wei was only allowed to read two official newspapers. He
said the 1989 Tiananmen Square movement and the government's crack-down remained
largely a mystery to him.
LOAD-DATE: September 23, 1993
LEVEL 1 - 10 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1993 The New York Times Company
The New York Times
September 21, 1993, Tuesday, Late Edition - Final
SECTION: Section A; Page 1; Column 1; Foreign Desk
LENGTH: 1420 words
HEADLINE: Chinese Dissident Emerges, Still Unbowed
BYLINE: By PATRICK E. TYLER, Special to The New York Times
DATELINE: BEIJING, Sept. 20
BODY:
Emerging to speak for the first time since his release from prison, China's
most illustrious political dissident said tonight that if Beijing was trading on
the freedom of a few political prisoners to win the 2000 Olympic Games, it was
indulging in "dirty" politics.
The New York Times, September 21, 1993
Wei Jingsheng, who met with reporters at his parents' tiny apartment in
central Beijing, said he would not give up the "struggle" for democracy in
China, but would be forced to restrain his activities for three years while he
is on probation.
The former Beijing Zoo electrician, who energized China's 1978-79 Democracy
Wall movement with his simple and eloquent essays and wall posters, was released
last week after serving 14 1/2 years of a 15-year term.
The Sakharov of China
Mr. Wei, the longest-serving pro-democracy campaigner in China, is well
known for his tenacious adherence to his cause and has become as powerful a
symbol of resistance in China as Andrei D. Sakharov was in the former Soviet
Union.
Wearing a white polo shirt and tennis shoes, Mr. Wei, 43, smoked a cigarette
as he met with reporters tonight. Although he was relaxed, he measured his words
and asked reporters to quote him accurately, especially on the sensitive subject
of China's Olympic quest.
The New York Times, September 21, 1993
Fang Lizhi, the Chinese astrophysicist who unsuccessfully urged the Chinese
leadership to free Mr. Wei in January 1989 on the 40th anniversary of the
Communist takeover in China, characterized Mr. Wei's release as a serious gamble
for the Communist leadership.
"These leaders will never accept the principles of human rights and
democracy," Mr. Fang said in a telephone interview from the United States. "They
just want to use Wei in a trade to get the Olympics."
Mr. Wei was far more cautious, making clear that he did not know whether his
release was a government ploy to enhance its bid for the 2000 Games.
Responding to a question on whether the Chinese authorities would trade the
release of political prisoners in an effort to enhance their bid for the
Olympics, Mr. Wei said he thought any such effort would fail. "The Olympics,
after all, is a kind of sport which should not be mixed with politics," he said.
"If it is changed into a political trade, I think that is very dirty and
abnormal."
He added that in his own view, "It is not compatible with the feelings of the
people and the whole nation to bargain for the Olympics."
The New York Times, September 21, 1993
Confessing to a heart ailment and the loss of a dozen teeth during his long
incarceration, Mr. Wei said his mental faculties and his will remain unbent.
He said he hopes someday to publish some of his prison writings in China or
abroad.
"I will continue to carry forward political activities, but not for the
present time," Mr. Wei said. "According to Chinese law, probation means I cannot
vote, I have no freedom of expression, I cannot form any kind of organization,
even doing business is not allowed" over the next three years.
He said he was thrust out of prison without notice last week. In the six days
since he was released, he has been staying at an unidentified Government
guesthouse and members of his family have at times said they were becoming
concerned about whether Mr. Wei would be allowed to come home. He would not
discuss his whereabouts since his release.
No Secrets
Mr. Wei was arrested on March 29, 1979, and later sentenced to 15 years for
his anti-government writings and, Chinese authorities said, for passing state
secrets about Chinese troop movements in Vietnam to a foreign journalist. Mr.
The New York Times, September 21, 1993
Wei said his discussions with journalists were about what he had heard on
official television, and that as an electrician, he knew no such secrets.
Over the years, a number of Mr. Wei's supporters have speculated that the
length and severity of his prison term were partly a result of the special
animosity borne toward him by Deng Xiaoping, China's paramount leader, who was
the target of Mr. Wei's most biting criticism. In a 1987 speech, Mr. Deng
mentioned Mr. Wei by name as a threat to Chinese "unity."
If by unity Mr. Deng meant the absolute control of Chinese society by the
Communist Party, he was probably correct in his assessment, for Mr. Wei saw the
perpetuation of this control by Mr. Deng and others as the principal shortcoming
of their reform efforts.
'Shameless Bandits'
In one of his most famous essays, Mr. Wei asked pointed questions about
whether China should characterize Mr. Deng as a hero or villain for having
reversed the course of Mao Zedong's final tumultuous decade in power.
Though Mr. Deng ushered in an era of economic reform under his "four
modernizations" in agriculture, industry, science and technology, Mr. Wei held
The New York Times, September 21, 1993
him responsible for failing to deliver a "fifth modernization," political
reform, at the same time.
"People should have democracy," he wrote. "If they ask for democracy, they
are only asking for something they rightfully own. Anyone refusing to give them
democracy is a shameless bandit no better than a capitalist who robs workers of
their money earned with their sweat and blood."
Although Beijing released Mr. Wei, human rights organizations said today that
they have learned that the authorities in China are preparing for the largest
crackdown on pro-democracy dissidents in more than two years. They are to start
next month with secret trials to sentence 17 men arrested last year for crimes
related to free speech.
While Chinese officials have made no public mention of the trials, judicial
officials have told families of the defendants that they should try to retain
lawyers, Chinese and Western human rights groups said. In some cases family
members were shown bills of indictment, but authorities refused to provide
copies of the documents.
Trials Denounced
The New York Times, September 21, 1993
By scheduling these trials in October, the Chinese Government may have been
trying to spare itself criticism in advance of Thursday's vote by the
International Olympic Committee on Beijing's bid to play host to the games. But
when Government prosecuting authorities began contacting family members, word of
the impending trials began to circulate in Beijing.
Today, two human rights organizations condemned the trials. Human Rights
Watch, based in New York, called on the Chinese Government to "drop the charges
and unconditionally release all those arrested for the nonviolent expression of
their political views."
Similarly, Human Rights in China, also a New York group, criticized Chinese
authorities for failing to improve the country's human rights record while
demanding that the international community confer on Beijing the honor of
hosting the 2000 games.
Most of the jailed dissidents are from Beijing and all of them are believed
to be members of pro-democracy and labor reform organizations that sprang up in
secret since the 1989 military crackdown on the mass student movement at
Tiananmen Square.
The New York Times, September 21, 1993
The outlawed organizations include the Freedom and Democracy Party, the
Free Labor Union and the China Progressive Alliance.
If the trials go ahead as planned in October, said Robin Munro, director of
Asia Watch , the regional arm of Human Rights Watch, in Hong Kong, it would be
the largest cluster of political prosecutions since the trials of the so-called
"black hands" of the Tiananmen Square movement began in early 1991.
"The Chinese leadership appears to be deliberately postponing these trials
until after the decision of the International Olympic Committee is announced,"
Mr. Munro said.
Among the 17 dissidents scheduled for trial is Liu Jingsheng, 38, a former
bus driver who became a vocal campaigner for democracy in 1979 and edited a
short-lived pro-democracy journal, Explorations, with Mr. Wei.
Unlike Mr. Wei, Mr. Liu served only a brief term in 1979. He was arrested
again last June when, according to Asia Watch, Beijing police raided his home
and discovered pro-democracy leaflets.
No Regrets
The New York Times, September 21, 1993
Reflecting on the years spent in prison, Mr. Wei said he had no regrets, and
he smiled at a question about whether there had been any conditions set for his
release, saying: "You don't know me very well. If there is any precondition, I
would not accept it."
During his imprisonment, much of it spent in solitary confinement, Mr. Wei
said his reading was limited to official propaganda organs of the state, like
the People's Daily and the Legal Daily.
"I know very little about the outside world," he said. But he said he has
plans to read, and observe and catch up for the rest of his life.
GRAPHIC: Photos: Wei Jingsheng, free after 14 1/2 years, met with reporters in
Beijing. (Agence France-Presse) (pg. A1); Wei Jingsheng, right, the
longest-serving pro-democracy campaigner in China, at his trial in 1979.
(Gamma-Liaison) (pg. A8)
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: September 21, 1993
LEVEL 1 - 11 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1993 Agence France Presse
Agence France Presse
September 20, 1993
SECTION: News
LENGTH: 600 words
HEADLINE: China plans new dissident trials after IOC meeting: Asia Watch
DATELINE: HONG KONG
BODY:
HONG KONG, Sept 20 (AFP) - China plans to try a new batch of political
dissidents as soon as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) wraps up its
decision on Beijing's bid to host the 2000 Olympics, the U.S.-based human rights
group Asia Watch charged Monday.
In a press statement, the New York-based group said China, pursuing its
systematic crackdown on pro-democracy dissidents, would shortly lanch the first
trials of 17 persons who were among up to 30 people detained in 1992.
Agence France Presse, September 20, 1993
"The Chinese leadership appears to be deliberately postponing these trials
until after the decision of the International Olympic Committee is announced and
trying to keep information about the defendants from reaching the international
media," it said.
The IOC is to decide in Monte Carlo on Thursday which of five cities --
Beijing, Berlin, Istanbul, Manchester and Sydney -- has won a long and tough
campaign to host the 2000 Games. China's bid, coming only four years after the
bloody crushing of pro-democracy protestors in Tiananmen Square, has been
tarnished by its record on human rights.
The 17, who will be tried as "counter-revolutionaries," are believed to be
members of banned organisations supporting freedom of association in China,
including the Freedom and Democracy Party, the Free Labour Union and the
China Progressive Alliance, Asia Watch said.
It called on the Chinese government to drop the charges and unconditionally
release all those arrested for the non-violent expression of their political
views.
The report said the dissidents involved were all arrested secretly in 1992
as the Chinese leadership was warning the public that "counterrevolution" and
Agence France Presse, September 20, 1993
"bourgeois liberalization" would undermine efforts to put economic development
first.
Despite these warnings, a number of underground pro-democracy groups began
to emerge in mid-1992, around the time of the third anniversary of the Tiananmen
Square bloodshed.
Although many of the defendants are from Beijing, the secret arrests in 1992
extended to Gansu, Anhui, Henan, Hunan and Hubei province and also the Special
Economic Zone of Shenzhen, which is at the border with Hong Kong, and Tianjin,
it said.
The group's list of defendants included Liu Jingsheng, a colleague and co
-editor of one China's longest-serving political prisoners, Wei Jingsheng.
Wei, a founder of the 1979 Democracy Wall movement, was released last week
in an apparent effort by Beijing to bolster its Olympic bid.
Asia Watch said Liu, 39, who was forced to testify as a witness against Wei
in October 1979 after being briefly detained, was one of those scheduled to be
tried next month after being rearrested around June 1 1992.
Agence France Presse, September 20, 1993
The others reportedly held by authorities included Wang Guoqi, Kang Yuchun ,
Hu Shenglun, Chen Wei, Wang Tiancheng, Lu Zigang, Chen Qinglin, An Ning, Meng
Zhongwei, Ding Mao, Liu Baiyu, Liu Wensheng, Xing Shimin, Lu Yanghua, Gao
Changyun, Zhang Jian, Cao Jianyu, Xu Zhendong and Lu Yalin.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: September 20, 1993
LEVEL 1 - 12 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1993 Kyodo News Service
Japan Economic Newswire
SEPTEMBER 20, 1993, MONDAY
LENGTH: 323 words
HEADLINE: China plans major dissident trials after Olympic vote
DATELINE: HONG KONG, Sept. 20 Kyodo
BODY:
China plans to put 17 dissidents on trial for 'counterrevolutionary' offenses
once this week's Olympic vote has been safely negotiated, a Western human rights
organization said Monday.
All the detainees are believed to be members of banned organizations which
campaign for freedom of association in China including the Free Labor Union,
and the Freedom and Democracy Party, Asia Watch said.
Fifteen of the dissidents are now in custody in Beijing and closed trials
have been scheduled for October.
Japan Economic Newswire, SEPTEMBER 20, 1993
If the trials proceed as planned, it would represent the largest group of
political prosecutions in China since early 1991 when the authorities began
sentencing people in connection with the 1989 pro-democracy movement.
Asia Watch called on the Chinese government to drop the charges and release
all those arrested simply for nonviolent expression of their political views.
China has reportedly tried to suppress information about the arrests and
trials lest the resulting bad publicity hamper Beijing's bid to stage the 2000
Olympics.
'The Chinese leadership appears to be deliberately postponing these trials
until after the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is
announced and trying to keep information about the defendants from reaching the
international media,' Asia Watch said.
China released three political prisoners last week, including well known
dissident Wei Jingsheng, in what many observers saw as a clumsy attempt to
offset human rights criticism before Thursday's IOC vote.
Wei's erstwhile friend and colleague from the 1970s, Liu Jingsheng, is among
those detainees who now face trial, Asia Watch said.
Japan Economic Newswire, SEPTEMBER 20, 1993
Although most of the defendants hail from Beijing, the Chinese authorities
also made arrests in Gansu, Anhui, Henan, Hunan and Hubei provinces during a
nationwide crackdown on dissents in the middle of last year, it said.
Further trials are planned for the dissidents.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LEVEL 1 - 13 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1993 Kyodo News Service
Japan Economic Newswire
SEPTEMBER 20, 1993, MONDAY
LENGTH: 323 words
HEADLINE: China plans major dissident trials after Olympic vote
DATELINE: HONG KONG, Sept. 20 Kyodo
BODY:
China plans to put 17 dissidents on trial for 'counterrevolutionary' offenses
once this week's Olympic vote has been safely negotiated, a Western human rights
organization said Monday.
All the detainees are believed to be members of banned organizations which
campaign for freedom of association in China including the Free Labor Union,
and the Freedom and Democracy Party, Asia Watch said.
Fifteen of the dissidents are now in custody in Beijing and closed trials
have been scheduled for October.
Japan Economic Newswire, SEPTEMBER 20, 1993
If the trials proceed as planned, it would represent the largest group of
political prosecutions in China since early 1991 when the authorities began
sentencing people in connection with the 1989 pro-democracy movement.
Asia Watch called on the Chinese government to drop the charges and release
all those arrested simply for nonviolent expression of their political views.
China has reportedly tried to suppress information about the arrests and
trials lest the resulting bad publicity hamper Beijing's bid to stage the 2000
Olympics.
'The Chinese leadership appears to be deliberately postponing these trials
until after the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is
announced and trying to keep information about the defendants from reaching the
international media,' Asia Watch said.
China released three political prisoners last week, including well known
dissident Wei Jingsheng, in what many observers saw as a clumsy attempt to
offset human rights criticism before Thursday's IOC vote.
Wei's erstwhile friend and colleague from the 1970s, Liu Jingsheng, is among
those detainees who now face trial, Asia Watch said.
Japan Economic Newswire, SEPTEMBER 20, 1993
Although most of the defendants hail from Beijing, the Chinese authorities
also made arrests in Gansu, Anhui, Henan, Hunan and Hubei provinces during a
nationwide crackdown on dissents in the middle of last year, it said.
Further trials are planned for the dissidents.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LEVEL 1 - 14 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1993 Reuters, Limited
Reuters North American Wire
September 20, 1993, Monday, BC cycle
LENGTH: 260 words
HEADLINE: CHINA DELAYS POLITICAL TRIALS FOR OLYMPICS-REPORT
DATELINE: BEIJING
BODY:
The human rights group Asia Watch accused China Monday of delaying the start
of its largest cluster of political trials in more than two years until after
this week's vote to decide the venue of the 2000 Olympics.
China will soon try 17 members of banned organizations, including the
Freedom and Democracy Party, the Free Labor Union and the China Progressive
Alliance, the U.S.-based organization said in a statement faxed to Beijing.
"The Chinese leadership appears to be deliberately postponing these trials
until after the decision of the International Olympic Committee is announced,"
Reuters North American Wire, September 20, 1993
Asia Watch said.
Beijing is competing for the right to host the Olympics against Sydney,
Manchester, Berlin and Istanbul.
Human rights activists in the West have said China does not deserve to host
the Games because of the harsh way in which Beijing still treats dissent.
China last week released three dissidents, including the country's most
famous political prisoner, Wei Jingsheng, in what diplomats called a last-minute
attempt to improve Beijing's image.
China denies that the releases have anything to do with its Olympic bid.
One of those about to be tried is Liu Jingsheng, a 39-year-old worker, who
was involved in the 1978-1979 Democracy Wall movement with the just-paroled Wei.
Family members and friends of the accused said last week they were informed
the trials would begin after Oct. 1.
Asia Watch called on China to drop the charges and release unconditionally
all those arrested for the non-violent expression of their political views.
Reuters North American Wire, September 20, 1993
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: September 21, 1993
LEVEL 1 - 15 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1993 Reuters, Limited
The Reuter Library Report
September 20, 1993, Monday, BC cycle
LENGTH: 355 words
HEADLINE: CHINA DELAYS POLITICAL TRIALS FOR OLYMPICS-REPORT
DATELINE: BEIJING, Sept 20
BODY:
The human rights group Asia Watch accused China on Monday of delaying the
start of its largest cluster of political trials in more than two years until
after this week's vote to decide the venue of the 2000 Olympics.
China will soon try 17 members of banned organisations, including the
Freedom and Democracy Party, the Free Labour Union and the China Progressive
Alliance, the U.S.-based organisation said in a statement faxed to Beijing.
''The Chinese leadership appears to be deliberately postponing these trials
until after the decision of the International Olympic Committee is
The Reuter Library Report, September 20, 1993
announced,'' Asia Watch said.
Beijing is competing for the right to host the Olympics against Sydney,
Manchester, Berlin and Istanbul.
Human rights activists in the West have said China does not deserve to host
the Games because of the harsh way in which Beijing still treats dissent.
China last week released three dissidents, including the country's most
famous political prisoner, Wei Jingsheng, in what diplomats called a last-minute
attempt to improve Beijing's image.
China denies that the releases have anything to do with its Olympic bid.
One of those about to be tried is Liu Jingsheng, a 39-year-old worker, who
was involved in the 1978-1979 Democracy Wall movement with the just-paroled Wei.
Family members and friends of the accused said last week they were informed
the trials would begin after October 1.
They have not seen their relatives since they were arrested in May and June
1992.
The Reuter Library Report, September 20, 1993
Asia Watch said the trials of the first 17 of as many as 30 people detained
last year would be the largest group of political prosecutions in China since
the 1991 trials of the alleged ringleaders of the Tiananmen Square
demonstrations, crushed by the army on June 4, 1989.
At least five of the men, including Liu, stand accused of the serious crime
of organising and leading a counter-revolutionary organisation, a charge that
carries a minimum term of five years in prison.
Asia Watch called on China to drop the charges and release unconditionally
all those arrested for the non-violent expression of their political views.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: September 20, 1993
LEVEL 1 - 16 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1993 South China Morning Post Ltd.
South China Morning Post
September 18, 1993
SECTION: News; Pg. 7
LENGTH: 1054 words
HEADLINE: Beijing set to try new group of dissidents
BYLINE: By GEOFFREY CROTHALL in Beijing and agencies
BODY:
CHINA has quietly begun the prosecutions of up to 30 dissidents for
underground, anti-government activities, in what will be the largest political
trials since the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, family and friends of the
activists say.
This is despite the fact that Beijing yesterday confirmed the release of
former People's Daily editor Wu Xuecan, the third dissident release this week.
South China Morning Post, September 18, 1993
Prosecutors in Beijing will bring the first group of 16 activists to trial
next month, but have delayed court action until after next week's decision on
awarding the 2000 Olympic Games, said the sources.
Ironically, one of those to be tried was once the right- hand man of China's
most prominent political prisoner, Wei Jingsheng, who was among those freed this
week.
According to family and friends of the accused, the trials stem from arrests
last year of at least 30 members of three shadowy organisations, the Freedom
and Democracy Party, the Free Labour Union and the China Progressive
Alliance.
The groups, formed in 1991, drew up charters and had eventually claimed a
wide network of hundreds of members nationwide.
They disseminated literature to companies and government offices calling for
multi-party rule and an end to Chinese-style communism, which they labelled a
"mixture of feudalist despotism, Stalinist terrorism and Hitler-era Nazism".
But the Beijing Public Security Bureau rounded up most of the activists
during the summer of 1992, holding them in prisons and detention centres
South China Morning Post, September 18, 1993
without charge for more than a year.
The Beijing People's Procuratorate, the District Attorney's office, has
charged the first group of 16 with various forms of sedition, including
"organising and leading counter-revolutionary cliques" and
"counter-revolutionary propaganda and incitement".
Another group of an undetermined number of activists will be charged and
tried in separate proceedings soon after the first trial is completed, the
sources said.
Earlier this month, the Beijing Intermediate People's Court asked family
members to find lawyers. Relatives had difficulty finding lawyers to take the
sensitive cases, and were forced to pay much higher fees than normal.
Among those awaiting trial are students, workers and activists from the
1978- 79 Democracy Wall movement. Six of the defendants are over 35 years old
and veteran human rights campaigners.
One, Liu Jingsheng, 39, served as deputy and driver to the Democracy Wall
movement's unofficial leader, Mr Wei.
South China Morning Post, September 18, 1993
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice confirmed yesterday that Mr Wu, 41, was
released from Beijing's No 1 Prison early on Thursday morning.
Mr Wu was arrested in December 1989 and sentenced to four years'
imprisonment for putting out in May 1989 an unauthorised edition of the
newspaper, supporting embattled party leader Zhao Ziyang and praising the
student protesters in Tiananmen Square.
Mr Wu was due to be freed in December this year, but had his sentenced
reduced by three months in July, Justice Ministry spokesman Chen Ming said.
Mr Wu said his early release was probably the result of "the appeals of my
friends".
"But the timing is probably not a coincidence," he added.
Mr Wu, unemployed after being fired by the People's Daily, said he was in
very poor health after spending more than two years in solitary confinement in
Beijing's notorious Qincheng Prison. He was moved to Beijing No 1 Prison last
year.
South China Morning Post, September 18, 1993
Despite his ordeal, Mr Wu emerged from jail defiantly maintaining his
innocence. "I wasn't guilty of anything. I still think the special edition was
correct," he said.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: September 20, 1993
LEVEL 1 - 17 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1993 U.P.I.
September 17, 1993, Friday, BC cycle
SECTION: International
LENGTH: 625 words
HEADLINE: China to try largest group of post-1989 dissidents
BYLINE: BY NICK DRIVER
DATELINE: BEIJING
BODY:
China has quietly begun the prosecutions of as many as 30 dissidents for
underground anti-government activities in what will be the largest political
trials since the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, family and friends of the
activists say.
Government prosecutors in Beijing will bring the first group of 16 activists
to trial sometime next month, but have delayed court action until after next
United Press International September 17, 1993, Friday, BC cycle
week's decision on awarding the 2000 Olympic Games, said the sources, some of
who m have seen indictments and related documents.
The prosecutions have been undertaken in secret to avoid embarrassing
Beijing before the decision on its high-profile bid for the Games and come
despite the government's release of three political prisoners in the past week.
''If Beijing is awarded the Games, some will be let go or given light
sentences -- if not, they will be punished accordingly,'' one relative said.
Ironically, one of those to be tried was once the right-hand-man of China's
most prominent political prisoner, Wei Jingsheng, who was among those freed this
week.
According to family and friends of the accused, the trials stem from arrests
last year at least 30 members of three shadowy organizations, the Freedom and
Democracy Party, the Free Labor Union and the China Progressive Alliance.
The groups formed in 1991, drew up charters and had eventually claimed a
wide network of hundreds of members nationwide.
United Press International September 17, 1993, Friday, BC cycle
They disseminated literature to companies and government offices calling for
multi-party rule and an end to Chinese-style Communism, which they labeled a
''mixture of feudalist despotism, Stalinist terrorism and Hitler-era Nazism.''
But the Beijing Public Security Bureau rounded up most of the activists
during the summer of 1992, holding them in prisons and detention centers without
charge for more than a year.
The trials would be the largest group of political prosecutions since
hundreds of dissidents were tried after the suppression of the 1989 Tiananmen
Square pro-democracy protests.
The Beijing People's Procuratorate, the district attorney's office, has
charged the first group of 16 with various forms of sedition, including
''organizing and leading counterrevolutionary cliques'' and
''counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement.''
Another group of an undetermined number of activists will be charged and
tried in separate proceedings soon after the first trial is completed, the
sources said.
United Press International September 17, 1993, Friday, BC cycle
Under Chinese law, prosecution to the trial stage virtually ensures a
conviction. The sources said they feared sentences of up to 20 years for the
alleged ringleaders.
Earlier this month, the Beijing Intermediate People's Court asked family
members to find lawyers. Relatives found attorneys only after difficulties in
getting them to take the sensitive cases, and have been forced to pay much
higher fees than normal.
''The first two lawyers we went to said 'the top authorities have already
decided the outcome of this trial -- there is no use defending it,''' said a
friend of one frustrated relative.
Relatives say the trials will be closed, except for sentencing, and are
appealing to Western governments to pressure China to open the trials and invite
monitoring by international human rights groups.
Among those awaiting trial are students, workers and activists from the
1978-79 Democracy Wall movement. Six of the defendants are over 35 years old and
veteran human rights campaigners.
United Press International September 17, 1993, Friday, BC cycle
One, Liu Jingsheng, 39, served as deputy and driver to the Democracy Wall
movement's unofficial leader, Wei Jingsheng. Three others, Hu Shigen, Wang Guoqi
and Kang Yuchun, were leaders of the underground groups and will likely face the
heaviest sentences.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LEVEL 1 - 18 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1992 The Times Mirror Company
Los Angeles Times
May 24, 1992, Sunday, Home Edition
SECTION: Part A; Page 1; Column 3; Foreign Desk
LENGTH: 1618 words
HEADLINE: COMMUNISTS TRIUMPH OVER CHINA ACTIVISTS
BYLINE: By DAVID HOLLEY, TIMES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEIJING
BODY:
A history student from the central Chinese city of Wuhan found himself
sinking into deep frustration, even despair, when he visited friends at Beijing
University recently.
"Everyone in Wuhan feels obstructed, stuck. There is no place to turn," the
young man explained in a dormitory conversation. "Writers cannot publish their
Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1992
books. Students cannot publish their essays. I came up to Beijing University to
see if anything was going on, if anything was being organized. But it's just so
damn peaceful here."
The Communist Party leaders who sent troops shooting their way into Beijing
on June 4, 1989, to end pro-democracy protests seem now to have won their brutal
gamble. The threat of campus rebellion has faded. Organized resistance to the
government is virtually impossible, with only vague reports surfacing of tiny
underground groups.
The economy is growing, with indications it may expand 9% this year. China's
fundamental economic strength lags behind that of Russia, but city dwellers know
they enjoy more food and consumer goods than residents of Moscow. Thus, the
immediate problems of the Communist Party in China are primarily internal
questions of power and policy rather than the question of control over the
country's nearly 1.2 billion people.
At Beijing University, this nation's most prestigious school and the key
campus behind the Tian An Men Square pro-democracy protests, unremitting
ideological controls, plus a rule that all freshmen spend a year in military
training, have broken the back of political activism.
Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1992
"Next time it won't happen at Beijing University, even though this is the
center of the movement, the core, and even though everyone looks to Beijing
University," commented an economics student who participated in the 1989
protests. "This campus is too sensitive. There is too much security."
A mood of frustrated resignation prevails at campuses throughout China. The
worst of the post-crackdown repression is easing, but many controls remain in
place. The government is self-confident enough to move forward with economic
reforms. Some intellectuals believe that this will gradually lead to a further
easing of repression; even those who long for political freedoms find it a bad
time to rock the boat.
"There will not be any kind of disturbances on campuses this year," predicted
a scholar who was sympathetic to the 1989 protests. "Students just don't have
the heart for it. They have the sense that now that the situation has become
more loose, more open, any kind of instigating should be kept to a minimum."
At Beijing University, which has played a key role in student movements since
early this century, authorities responded to the Tian An Men Square protests by
requiring freshmen to spend a year in military training before moving to campus.
Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1992
This effort has succeeded in creating a generation gap between seniors -- the
only undergraduates left who participated in the 1989 movement -- and younger
students who endured the year of rigid ideological and physical training at a
military base 170 miles southwest of Beijing.
"When they finally arrived, they were brainwashed to the point that we had
nothing to discuss," declared a senior. "Now we just avoid contact."
Once the new academic year starts this fall, only graduate students and
professors will have firsthand memories of the heady spring days of 1989 and
their tragic ending.
China has endured so much war, repression and political upheaval throughout
this century that the crushing of the Tian An Men Square protests is already
fading into the cruel mosaic of history.
But for those who might still dare to stick their heads up, there are plenty
of reminders of the risk.
Wang Dan, a Beijing University student who was a top leader of the 1989
protests, is serving a four-year prison sentence. Social scientist Chen Ziming
and journalist Wang Juntao, accused of behind-the-scenes organizing, are
Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1992
serving 13-year terms. Ren Wanding spent 1979-1983 in jail for writing human
rights essays, then spoke out again during the Tian An Men Square protests. He
is now serving a seven-year sentence.
Some second-tier protest leaders have been released from prison, including
Han Dongfang, a worker in a factory under the Ministry of Railways who was
jailed for 22 months for organizing an unofficial labor union that supported the
protests. He was released when it appeared he might die of tuberculosis
contracted in prison.
But three important former advisers to ousted Communist Party General
Secretary Zhao Ziyang, who was removed from office for allegedly sympathizing
with the protests, apparently are still awaiting what may be secret trials. Zhao
himself is almost certain to escape trial, but his case is not settled and he
remains under a mild form of house arrest.
The most important of the three advisers is Bao Tong, 59, who was director of
the Communist Party's Research Center for the Reform of the Political Structure.
He is accused of leaking information to protesters. Also facing trial are Gao
Shan, 35, a colleague of Bao's, and Wu Jiaxiang, 37, a prominent economist
associated with the most reformist wing of the Communist Party. All three have
been imprisoned since 1989.
Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1992
Liberal thinkers inside the Communist Party are viewed by hard-liners as the
biggest threat to the party's dictatorship. Many Chinese intellectuals agree
that the greatest hope for an easing of repression lies with reform initiated
within the party.
Overthrowing or even influencing the party is a daunting goal for those
outside its apparatus. Despite the threat of arrest, a few activists on campuses
and in factories are trying to build an underground opposition. Worker
dissatisfaction sometimes boils up into open defiance and wildcat strikes, which
are never reported in China's state-controlled media.
In November, just before U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III visited
China, a poster demanding basic freedoms of speech, press, religion and assembly
was posted at Beijing University. The poster, signed by the " China Freedom and
Democracy Party, " was quickly torn down by security guards. But its contents
were later published by the Hong Kong newspaper Ming Bao. Similar incidents have
occurred more recently.
Last month, a man who identified himself as a co-founder of the Social
Democratic Party of China provided Western reporters in Beijing with a copy of
the party's charter, which states its goal is to "organize China's democratic
and patriotic forces to eliminate the one-party Communist dictatorship." This
Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1992
underground party was said to have been established in late 1989 and now has
several hundred members across China.
There is also a group that calls itself the Free Labor Union, which has
produced at least two leaflets calling for the right to establish unions free of
Communist control. This group claims to have a core of about a dozen leaders who
put out leaflets and have contact with about 200 members nationwide.
Generalized worker dissatisfaction, separate from any organized attempts at
undermining communism, may be of greater significance to China's near-term
future. But wildcat strikes tend to be narrowly aimed at protecting workers'
immediate interests; in this sense, they may be as much anti-reform as
pro-reform.
Many measures needed to rationalize China's economy involve the elimination
of cherished socialist rights such as the "iron rice bowl" -- guaranteed
lifetime employment even for workers who do not perform well.
Firing unneeded workers -- part of a reform process officially called
"smashing the iron rice bowl" -- is deeply unsettling, even if handled fairly.
On the still-rare occasions when layoffs occur, they often come in an atmosphere
of deep distrust, where managers are seen to be playing favorites and
Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1992
retaliating against personal enemies.
The official All-China Federation of Trade Unions, in a study never released
for general publication, reported that about 1,620 worker protests took place in
China in 1990, including strikes, slowdowns, rallies, petition drives and
sit-ins. The document, seen by a Western reporter, estimated that about 37,450
workers took part in these activities.
This figure is large enough to reveal considerable worker dissatisfaction but
small enough to show the Communist Party remains in firm control of most
workplaces.
Such protests are as disturbing to Communist Party reformers as they are to
hard-liners.
"At present, with the price of grain rising, housing rents going up and
workers' 'rice bowls' being further smashed, it is extremely easy for contempt
and even dissent to be created among the tens of millions of workers," said Wu
Mingyu, deputy director of the government's Development Research Institute. "If
we cannot find a good solution, it will easily lead to social unrest." The
director's comments were quoted earlier this month by the official China News
Service.
Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1992
The government fears that some day students and workers will again link their
grievances in general protests. And this is, indeed, the dream of at least some
youths. "The only thing to do is prepare for the future," declared the Beijing
University economics student and 1989 demonstrator.
To prepare, even the most radical thinkers generally have little choice but
to compromise with the system, try to stay out of trouble, learn something
worthwhile and perhaps make some money.
"The seniors are the only ones who were here in 1989, and now they're
occupied with job assignments and other practical matters," commented a woman
studying literature. "Few are concerned enough with politics to be active.
Furthermore, who would dare?"
Researcher Nick Driver contributed to this report.
GRAPHIC: Photo, Bulletin boards at Beijing University used to carry political
tracts; now only routine news is allowed. FUMIYO HOLLEY / For The Times
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LEVEL 1 - 19 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1991 The British Broadcasting Corporation
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts
November 20, 1991, Wednesday
SECTION: Part 3 The Far East; B. INTERNAL AFFAIRS; 2. CHINA; FE/1234/B2/ 1;
LENGTH: 998 words
HEADLINE: 'MING PAO' GIVES ''FULL TEXT'' OF PRO-DEMOCRACY POSTER AT PEKING
UNIVERSITY
SOURCE: 'Ming Pao', Hong Kong, 16 Nov 91
Text of ''Special Dispatch''
BODY:
On the eve of US Secretary of State Baker's visit to China, a big-character
poster was put up on the campus of Peking University, urging the Chinese
authorities to release all political and religious prisoners. Not long after the
big-character poster was posted, it was torn down. But its contents have been
widely spread in Peking. The following is the full text of the big-character
The British Broadcasting Corporation, November 20, 1991
poster
A Statement on Human Rights Issue in China
Amid a wave of condemnation both at home and abroad, the CCP authorities were
compelled to issue a ''White Paper on Human Rights'' in China. It is not
difficult for those who know the real facts to expose the lies and quibbles in
the ''White Paper''. Nevertheless, this is still a great victory of the people
in the international community and at home who work for the democratic cause in
China. We hereby express our sincere gratitude and extend our respects to
friends who show concern for the human rights situation in China. In the
meantime, we also hope that the ''White Paper'' is a positive posture of the CCP
authorities for improving the human rights situation at home and thatthis is a
turning point for continuing to improve human rights situation in China as a
result of the concern and pressure exerted at home and abroad. For this reason,
we hereby issue the following statement
1. The CCP authorities must strictly abide by the ''United Nations Charter''
and the ''International Human Rights Convention'', and truly assume their
responsibility as a signatory. As a step of observing the ''International Human
Rights Convention'', the CCP authorities must, first, truly protect human rights
at home.
The British Broadcasting Corporation, November 20, 1991
Political freedoms of citizens, such as freedom of thought, speech, religious
belief, assembly, press, publication, demonstration, and meeting and freedom to
strike are basic human rights. If such freedoms of citizens are not protected,
human rights are out of the question.
Over the past 40 years since the CCP has imposed its rule on country, the
freedom has never been truly respected and protected. The horrifying ''4th
June'' massacre occurred because of this. Nobody can tamper with history. If the
CCP authorities intend to change the isolated situation of being spurned by the
whole world, they must take a practical action of improving the human rights
situation. Any attempt to deceive public opinion both at home and abroad with
lies and quibbles can only excite stronger condemnation both at home and abroad.
The pro-democracy movement in China is an important component part of the
international human rights activities. The existence of the one-party autocracy
of the CCP is a severe threat to the international human rights movement. The
autocratic iron curtain in East Europe and the Soviet Union have been smashed.
The Chinese people who account for nearly one fourth of the world population are
still enduring the great suffering of having no freedom. This is a grim reality
facing the present international human rights movement.
The British Broadcasting Corporation, November 20, 1991
We call on the United Nations, various international organizations,
governments in various countries, political parties, groups and personages to
show their concern for the human rights situation in China, and put necessary
pressure on the CCP authorities unceasingly to compel them to respond and make
concessions to the unanimous demand of the international community. We also call
on the international community to provide support for the pro-democracy movement
in China in terms of morality and materials. In particular, they should express
humanitarian support and rescue those pro-democracy activities who are jailed
and persecuted.
2. Since the CCP became a ruling party, it has imposed a
bureaucratic-monopoly, military and police rule on China to exercise
comprehensive autocracy over the Chinese people politically, economically and
culturally, and deprive the Chinese people of the basic human rights which they
should have enjoyed a long time ago.
From the large-scale persecution of the intellectuals in 1957 to the 10-year
catastrophe of the Great Cultural Revolution which started in 1966, and to the
massive massacre and persecution of the pro-democracy activists in 1989, the
crime of the CCP authorities of exercising autocracy has triggered off a hatred
of all Chinese people, including the majority of those fair-minded Communist
Party members with a conscience.
The British Broadcasting Corporation, November 20, 1991
The perverse acts of the CCP authorities have brought poverty and sufferings
to the Chinese nation. Only by awaking promptly, proceeding from national
righteousness, conforming to popular will and historical trend, giving up its
one-party private gains, and practicing democratic politics, can the CCP
authorities free themselves from the hopeless situation. Only thus can our
national invigoration stand a chance of success.
As the first step of national political reconciliation, we call on the CCP
authorities to
-release as early as possible all political and religious prisoners, and not
impose cruel torture and inhumane treatment on them;
-stop all political persecution of pro-democracy organizations and activists
and rehabilitate their reputation;
-acknowledge citizens' political rights and the existence and rights of all
persecuted underground dissidents and organizations and convene at an early date
a national meeting extensively attended by various political parties and
people's representatives to common discuss a series of important issues
connected with the future and destiny of the state, and hold a referendum when
necessary.
The British Broadcasting Corporation, November 20, 1991
We call on democratic political parties, pro-democrary organizations, and
activists both at home and abroad to unite and coordination their actions to
force the CCP authorities to follow the track of rationality and rule by law.
Let us work as one and make contributions to democracy, unification and
development in China!
[Signed] China Freedom and Democracy Party
[Dated] 12th November 1991
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LEVEL 1 - 20 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1991 The British Broadcasting Corporation
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts
October 16, 1991, Wednesday
SECTION: Part 3 The Far East; B. INTERNAL AFFAIRS; 2. CHINA; FE/1204/B2/ 1;
LENGTH: 514 words
HEADLINE: PRO-DEMOCRACY GROUP PLANS ANTI-CCP MOVEMENTS IN CHINA
SOURCE:
'Ming Pao', Hong Kong 12 Oct 91
Text of report
BODY:
Ni Yuxian [0242 5148 6343] , responsible person of one of the overseas
pro- democracy organizations the '' China Freedom Democratic Party' ' [CFDP]
, said in Hong Kong yesterday [11th October] that the organization is currently
planning to shift its focus of activities from overseas to mainland China and
The British Broadcasting Corporation, October 16, 1991
recruit members from workers and peasants, with an aim to wait for opportunities
to launch anticommunist workers' movements.
As first vice-president and secretary-general of the CFDP, Ni Yuxian said at
a news conference yesterday that the party sent four persons including Yang
Zheng [2799 6927] back to the mainland last August; and last September another
five, including the party's vice-president Yue Wu [1471 2976] and Ni, also went
back to China to carry out a series of activities. According to him, their move
created a precedent in directly sending pro-democracy organizations' leaders and
''criminals at large'' wanted by the CCP into the mainland.
Ni Yuxian said they went to China via Thailand and Vietnam, and entered the
country through ''secret channels''. In Vietnam, they obtained assistance from
local Vietnamese officials for business reasons, taking advantage of
Sino-Vietnamese border trade. However, because of different passports they held,
only two of the five were granted approval to enter Hong Kong with a transit
visa. By now, Ni Yuxian has stayed in Hong Kong for 10 days, and troubles are
expected with his exit.
According to Ni Yuxian, during the period when they were on the mainland,
they went to places such as Peking, Shanghai and Canton to get into touch with
local CFDP branches; paid visits to some families of those who died in the 4th
The British Broadcasting Corporation, October 16, 1991
June incident; submitted ''letters of admonition'' to relevant CCP departments;
and inspected conditions in disaster areas in eastern China.
However, Ni was reluctant to disclose the number of members on the mainland,
but indicated that the members of his organization are also among cadres and PLA
[People's Liberation Army] troops.
The CFDP now has about 600 overseas members, and its present president is
Wang Bingzhang [3769 3521 4545] , former president of the ''Democratic Union''.
Ni Yuxian said the core members of the CFDP are ''counter-revolutionaries''
persecuted by the CCP, and the basic programme of the party is ''not to rule out
the possibility of overthrowing the despotic rule of the CCP through violence''.
Compared with the CFDP, the key members of the ''Democratic Front'' and the
''Democratic Union'' are reformist forces which were once cultivated by the CCP.
They stand for a ''structural reform'' and hold ''peace, reason and
non-violence'' as their principles.
Ni Yuxian is one of the heroes in Liu Binyan's reportage entitled ''A Second
Loyalty''. He was once in the army and later entered the Shanghai Marine
Transport Institute through examination. He was sentenced to death for opposing
the ''Gang of Four''. After the downfall of the ''Gang of Four'', Ni was
released from prison, and he went to settle down in the USA in 1986.
The British Broadcasting Corporation, October 16, 1991
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LEVEL 1 - 21 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1991 Reuters
Reuters North American Wire
October 11, 1991, Friday, AM cycle
LENGTH: 304 words
HEADLINE: PRO-DEMOCRACY PROTEST LEADERS VISIT CHINA TO CONTINUE MOVEMENT
DATELINE: HONG KONG
BODY:
A Chinese pro-democracy protest leader who sneaked into China to meet members
of the underground movement predicted Friday that communism there would soon
collapse.
"The Chinese Communist Party can't continue to hold onto power for much
longer given the historic trend," said Ni Yuxian, first deputy chairman of the
U.S.-based Democracy Freedom Party of China.
"After (paramount leader) Deng Xiaoping dies, a power struggle will
immediately follow. Once the party begins to collapse, it will collapse very
Reuters North American Wire, October 11, 1991
quickly," he told reporters after returning to Hong Kong.
Ni, who sneaked into China with four other dissidents, said the number of
underground groups had been growing since Beijing brutally cracked down on
pro-democracy protests on June 4, 1989, with heavy loss of life.
The five sneaked into China in three separate groups through Hong Kong or
Vietnam, spending 20 days in major cities to meet underground organizations and
discuss the future of the democracy movement.
"The movement of course includes party cadres and military officers. We have
members in the Chinese military and we want to prepare them to lead the people
if there is a collapse," Ni said.
The five also sent letters to party and central government offices, warning
of a revolution to overthrow the Communist regime if China's leadership did not
change.
"We faced great risk going back to China, but we felt it was essential to go
back to further the movement to a new stage," said Ni, who said he was on
Beijing's most-wanted list after the June 4, 1989, crackdown.
Reuters North American Wire, October 11, 1991
The 600-member Democracy Freedom Party is one of three main overseas Chinese
dissidents groups. It openly advocates the overthrow of the Communist system and
maintains the right of the Chinese people to defend themselves against any use
of force by Beijing.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
911011
LEVEL 1 - 22 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1991 Reuters
The Reuter Library Report
October 11, 1991, Friday, BC cycle
LENGTH: 304 words
HEADLINE: PRO-DEMOCRACY PROTEST LEADERS VISIT CHINA TO CONTINUE MOVEMENT
DATELINE: HONG KONG, Oct 11
BODY:
A Chinese pro-democracy protest leader who sneaked into China to meet members
of the underground movement predicted on Friday that communism there would soon
collapse.
"The Chinese Communist Party can't continue to hold onto power for much
longer given the historic trend," said Ni Yuxian, first deputy chairman of the
U.S.-based Democracy Freedom Party of China.
"After (paramount leader) Deng Xiaoping dies, a power struggle will
immediately follow. Once the party begins to collapse, it will collapse very
The Reuter Library Report, October 11, 1991
quickly," he told reporters after returning to Hong Kong.
Ni, who sneaked into China with four other dissidents, said the number of
underground groups had been growing since Beijing brutally cracked down on
pro-democracy protests on June 4, 1989, with heavy loss of life.
The five stole into China in three separate groups through Hong Kong or
Vietnam, spending 20 days in major cities to meet underground organisations and
discuss the future of the democracy movement.
"The movement of course includes party cadres and military officers. We have
members in the Chinese military and we want to prepare them to lead the people
if there is a collapse," Ni said.
The five also sent letters to party and central government offices, warning
of a revolution to overthrow the communist regime if China's leadership did not
change.
"We faced great risk going back to China, but we felt it was essential to go
back to further the movement to a new stage," said Ni, who said he was on
Beijing's most-wanted list after the June 4, 1989, crackdown.
The Reuter Library Report, October 11, 1991
The 600-member Democracy Freedom Party is one of three main overseas Chinese
dissidents groups. It openly advocates the overthrow of the communist system and
maintains the right of the Chinese people to defend themselves against any use
of force by Beijing.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: 101191
LEVEL 1 - 23 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1991 The British Broadcasting Corporation
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts
August 26, 1991, Monday
SECTION: Part 3 The Far East; A. INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS; 1. GENERAL AND WESTERN
AFFAIRS; FE/1160/A1/ 1;
LENGTH: 116 words
HEADLINE: OTHER REPORTS ON CHINA AND TAIWAN;
Xinhua reports expulsion of foreigners
SOURCE: Xinhua News Agency, Peking, in English 1226 gmt 23 Aug 91
BODY:
(FE/1158 i [4] - Text) Four members of the '' China Freedom and Democracy
Party' ' were asked by Peking public security organs to leave China on 22nd
August, as they were involved in activities which are not conformable to their
identity. The public security organs made the decision in accordance with the
Law on the Entry and Exit of Foreigners and other relevant Chinese decrees.
The British Broadcasting Corporation, August 26, 1991
The four people are Yang Zheng, Ning Qinqin, Xu Ruxue and Liu Qiyang. They
arrived in Peking on 17th August and 20th August, respectively, bringing with
them copies of the 'China Spring' newspaper and other reactionary propaganda
materials. (Xinhua News Agency, Peking, in English 1226 gmt 23 Aug 91)
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LEVEL 1 - 24 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1991 Kyodo News Service
Japan Economic Newswire
AUGUST 24, 1991, SATURDAY
LENGTH: 113 words
HEADLINE: ASIAN NEWS;
CHINA EXPELS 4 SUPPORTERS OF DEMOCRACY HUNGER STRIKERS
DATELINE: BEIJING, AUG. 24
BODY:
CHINESE AUTHORITIES HAVE EXPELLED FOUR FOREIGN WOMEN WHO WERE VISITING THE
COUNTRY TO SUPPORT TWO JAILED DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS STAGING A HUNGER STRIKE,
ACCORDING TO XINHUA NEWS AGENCY.
XINHUA SAID FRIDAY THE FOUR WOMEN, AMERICANS AND CANADIANS OF CHINESE
DESCENT, ARE MEMBERS OF THE " CHINA FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY PARTY, " AN OVERSEAS
GROUP WHICH SUPPORTS DEMANDS FOR DEMOCRACY BY CHINESE CITIZENS.
Japan Economic Newswire, AUGUST 24, 1991
THE FOUR ARRIVED IN BEIJING EARLIER THIS WEEK TO SUPPORT SOCIAL SCIENTISTS
CHEN ZIMING AND WANG JUNTAO, BOTH SENTENCED TO 13-YEAR PRISON TERMS FOR
PARTICIPATING IN THE POPULAR DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT IN 1989.
THE TWO HAVE BEEN ON HUNGER STRIKE SINCE THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LEVEL 1 - 25 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1991 Reuters
The Reuter Library Report
August 24, 1991, Saturday, BC cycle
LENGTH: 276 words
HEADLINE: CHINA CONFIRMS EXPULSION OF FOREIGN BACKERS OF HUNGER STRIKERS
DATELINE: BEIJING, Aug 24
BODY:
China has confirmed it expelled four women, including two U.S. nationals, who
came to Beijing this week to support two pro-democracy dissidents on a hunger
strike.
The official New China News Agency described the four as "overseas
reactionary organisation members" in a report issued late on Friday.
"Four members of the ' China Freedom and Democracy Party' were asked to
leave China on August 22, as they were involved in activities not conformable
with their identity," it said.
The Reuter Library Report, August 24, 1991
Diplomats said the women were rounded up from their rooms in a plush Beijing
hotel late on Wednesday night and early on Thursday.
The women were identified by diplomats as Canadian Ning Chyn, Americans Liu
Qiyang and Yang Cheng Borchert, and a Taiwan national with a U.S. residence
permit, Hsu Ru-hsieh.
The women, who arrived in China this week from the United States were
sponsored by the Chinese Liberal Democratic Party, a pro-democracy group in
exile.
Their mission was to plead for better treatment for two of China's most
prominent jailed dissidents and to bring money to the men's families.
Chen Ziming and Wang Juntao have entered the second week of a hunger strike.
Both are serving 13-year sentences for allegedly organising the 1989
pro-democracy demonstrations.
Chen, 39, joined his former colleague Wang Juntao, 33, in a hunger strike on
August 14 to protest against conditions in jail.
The Reuter Library Report, August 24, 1991
Wang, like Chen a former economist, is reportedly seriously ill with the
liver disease hepatitis-B. Friends fear a hunger strike could endanger his life.
Both men have been held in tiny "punishment cells" in the Beijing Number Two
Prison since early April.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: 082491
LEVEL 1 - 26 OF 31 STORIES
The Xinhua General Overseas News Service
The materials in the Xinhua file were compiled by The Xinhua News Agency. These
materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The
Xinhua News Agency.
AUGUST 23, 1991, FRIDAY
LENGTH: 100 words
HEADLINE: overseas reactionary organization members expelled
DATELINE: beijing, august 23; ITEM NO: 0823099
BODY:
four members of the ' china freedom and democracy party' were asked by
beijing public security organs to leave china on august 22, as they were
involved in activities which are not conformable to their identity. the public
security organs made the decision in accordance with the law on the entry and
exit of foreigners and other relevant chiense decrees. the four people are yang
zheng, ning qinqin, xu ruxue and liu qiyang. they arrived in beijing on august
17 and august 20, respectively, bringing with them copies of the 'china
The Xinhua General Overseas News Service, AUGUST 23, 1991
spring' newspaper and other reactionary propaganda materials.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: August 24, 1991
LEVEL 1 - 27 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1991 Reuters
Reuters North American Wire
August 23, 1991, Friday, AM cycle
LENGTH: 307 words
HEADLINE: CHINA SAYS IT EXPELLED FOREIGN BACKERS OF HUNGER STRIKERS
DATELINE: BEIJING
BODY:
China has confirmed it expelled four women, including two U.S. citizens, who
came to Beijing this week to support two pro-democracy dissidents on a hunger
strike.
The official New China News Agency described the four as "overseas
reactionary organization members" in a report issued late Friday.
"Four members of the ' China Freedom and Democracy Party' were asked to
leave China on August 22 (Thursday) as they were involved in activities not
conformable with their identity," it said.
Reuters North American Wire, August 23, 1991
Diplomats said the women were rounded up from their rooms in a plush Beijing
hotel late Wednesday night and early Thursday.
The women were identified by diplomats as Canadian Ning Chyn, Americans Liu
Qiyang and Yang Cheng Borchert, and a Taiwan national with a U.S. residence
permit, Hsu Ru-hsieh.
The women, who arrived in China this week from the United States, were
sponsored by the Chinese Liberal Democratic Party, a pro-democracy group in
exile.
Their mission was to plead for better treatment for two of China's most
prominent jailed dissidents and to bring money to the men's families.
Chen Ziming and Wang Juntao have entered the second week of a hunger strike.
Both are serving 13-year sentences for allegedly organizing the 1989
pro-democracy demonstrations.
Chen, 39, joined his former colleague Wang Juntao, 33, in a hunger strike
Aug. 14 to protest against conditions in jail.
Reuters North American Wire, August 23, 1991
Wang, like Chen a former economist, is reportedly seriously ill with
hepatitis. Friends fear a hunger strike could endanger his life.
Both men have been held in tiny "punishment cells" in the Beijing No. 2
Prison since early April.
In Washington, Li Lu, a 25-year-old student who was a student leader during
the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations, has been staging a sympathy hunger strike
in front of the Chinese Embassy since last Saturday.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
910823
LEVEL 1 - 28 OF 31 STORIES
Copyright 1990 The Daily Telegraph plc;
The Daily Telegraph
June 1, 1990, Friday
SECTION: Pg. 17
LENGTH: 348 words
HEADLINE: Where are they all now?
BYLINE: BY GRAHAM HUTCHINGS
BODY:
AT Peking University they are showing Lady Chatterley's Lover, and The Last
Metro, a French film popular with young intellectuals. Neither has been deemed
suitable for general release but both can pull an audience - a useful thing
right now.
"It is a ruse, of course," said a philosophy student. "They have shipped in
a number of films they think will appeal to students to keep us occupied. It's a
tactic to keep us quiet." Other tactics include periodically holding out, and
The Daily Telegraph plc, June 1, 1990
then withdrawing, the possibility of a job after graduation. "They sometimes
want us to feel comfortable, but not too comfortable. It's very clever."
To the casual observer, the elegant, spacious campus of Peking University -
one of the centres of last year's unrest - seems the epitome of academe.
Students lounge on the lawns, or wander in groups along the footpaths that link
the faculties. It is difficult to believe that this is the ideological
frontline; the point where China's leaders have concentrated their retribution
for the protests that so humiliated them last summer.
The student body is under no illusion. Screening Lady Chatterley, and
playing cat and mouse with jobs are part of an offensive designed to ensure that
such things never happen again. Other measures include compulsory political
education and a year in the army: the true school of socialism.
The party has also prescribed a strong dose of work at the "grassroots" for
all those who want to pursue higher degrees, or work in senior party and
government positions. This, it is hoped, will school them in the realities of
China, and lessen the appeal of " democracy and freedom" .
For the party, whose war against intellectuals began the day it was born
in 1921, these measures have isolated the contagion of unorthodoxy. For the
The Daily Telegraph plc, June 1, 1990
students, the whole situation has a temporary feel. Few will talk about it
openly, but fewer still have forgotten that this time last year, students from
600 colleges and universities took to the streets in more than 80 cities
demanding change - until the unthinkable happened.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: June 2, 1990
Picture from the Party
Conference of PFDC
Picture from the Party
Conference of PFDC
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