Published byTibet News Digest - November 1995

Xinhua reports that Wei Jingsheng, considered the father of China's tiny democracy movement, was formally arrested on the charge of trying to overthrow the government. Conviction on the charge, which is virtually assured, could be punishable by death. This was the first official word on the whereabouts of Wei since he disappeared into police custody in April, 1994, after meeting with a senior U.S. human rights official. Wei, nominated for the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize, was released on parole in September, 1993, after serving 141/2 years of a 15 year prison term on charges of "counter-revolutionary" crimes. In 1992, from prison, Wei addressed a long letter to Deng Xiaoping on the question of Tibet, asking him to start negotiations with the Dalai Lama. During his six months of freedom, the unrepentant Wei frequently and openly attacked the government.