* Wei Jingsheng, 46, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, was sentenced on December 13, 1995, to fourteen years' imprisonment and three years' deprivation of political rights for "conspiring to subvert the government." Wei's "conspiracy" consisted of "communicating with hostile foreign organizations and individuals, amassing funds in preparation for overthrowing the government and publishing anti-government articles abroad." At his trial Wei freely admitted corresponding with international human rights organizations, making plans to provide financial assistance to victims of the June 4 Massacre and writing articles critical of the government, but denied that such peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression and association constituted criminal activities. The court informed Wei's family of his December 1 indictment on December 3, giving them little time to find a lawyer. Less than twenty-four hours before the trial his attorneys were permitted to peruse the court's 1,996-page case dossier. The trial was

only attended by a hand-picked audience. Wei appealed his conviction but his petition was rejected in ten minutes on December 28. The lawyers had only ten hours to look at the dossier. Active in the Democracy Wall movement of the late 1970s and sharply critical of Deng Xiaoping, Wei was arrested in 1979 and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. He was released six months early, in September 1993, as part of China's effort to improve its international image in its bid for the 2000 Olympic Games. Upon his release, Wei immediately began speaking out and publishing articles on the need for democratic change. He was detained on April 1, 1994, less than a month after meeting with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Shattuck. Until he was formally arrested on November 21, 1995, Wei spent 20 months in incommunicado detention, although the authorities claimed he was being held under "residential surveillance." These 20 months are not being counted toward his sentence. Wei is currently in Jile No. 1 Prison in Tangs

han, Hebei Province. He suffered from a heart condition, severe high blood pressure, arthritis and damage to his cervical vertebrae but officials have denied him treatment except for the traditional Chinese medicine sent by his family. In June 1997, Wei Jingsheng has been repeatedly beaten by his fellow prison inmates. The instigator of one such incident was granted a sentence reduction as a reward. (Sources: Human Rights in China - New York)