WEI JINGSHENG FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE 1996

APPEAL TO MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENTS AND GOVERNMENTS, TO UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS OF LAW, PHILOSOPHY, HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE, TO THE MEMBERS OF THE INTERPARLIAMENTARY UNION.

The Nobel Peace Prize rewards personalities or organizations that have distinguished themselves for their contribution to world peace. Peace will never be achieved without recognizing human rights and the full establishment of democracy. Wei Jingsheng fully deserves such a Prize.

M. Wei Jingsheng is among the most prominent founders of the movement for human rights and democracy in China. During the "Democracy wall" movement in 1978-79, Wei Jingsheng published the non-official magazine "Exploration" (Tansuo) and became a relentless advocate of human rights and democracy. With an essay of great strength, "The fifth modernization", Wei maintains that the four sectors of modernization proposed by Deng (agriculture, industry, science and defence) would be defective without a fifth one: democracy.

"The fifth modernization represents from now on a new historic development of the most famous essays disputing People's China..." wrote the renowned sinologist Simon Leys.

Arrested on 29 March 1979 for "having disclosed secrets of State" to a foreigner, Wei was sentenced to five years in jail for "counter-revolutionary crimes".

In 1992, from the prison where he was detained, Wei addressed a long letter to Deng over the question of Tibet, asking him to start negotiations with the Dalai Lama.

In 1993 he was released by the authorities who were concerned about public opinion in obtaining the designation of Beijing as the host city of the 2000 Olympic games. Freed, Wei continued in overtly denouncing human rights violations in China; he helped the families of the victims of the repression of Tien An Men (4 June 1989) and actively pursued the fight for freedom. Commenting the phenomenon of some people's quick access to wealth, he declared: "a Mercedes doesn't make democracy".

He was arrested (abducted) again on April 1, 1994.

In 1995 an international campaign led to his nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. Such candidature had the effect of exposing the Chinese authorities: after about one year, they officially broke the silence over Wei's fate. "Wei Jingsheng is a criminal, he is not qualified to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize", declared Shen Guorang, speaker of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Reuter, 16 March 1995).

Wei Jingsheng was kept in custody for 20 months in a secret place, without being neither charged nor tried. Then, on 21 November 1995, the Chinese authorities opened a trial, a new parody of justice, accusing him of "attempting to overthrow the Government". At 45, Wei Jingsheng faces the risk of death penalty.

Chinese authorities know too well that Wei Jingsheng is very popular.

Backing Wei's nomination for the Nobel Prize means support for democracy for China. It means also support for the negotiations between China and Tibet.

It means instilling a new force into the struggle for human rights and democracy throughout the People's Republic of China, which counts as one fifth of humanity.

What's your opinion? Should you support the nomination of Wei Jingsheng for the Nobel Peace Prize, please send as soon as possible your endorsement to:

Radical Party

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