Wei Jingsheng became one of the best-known figures of China’s Democracy Wall period after publishing the 1978 essay commonly known as “The Fifth Modernization,” arguing that democracy was essential to political modernization. He was arrested in 1979 and received a long prison sentence after a state-security prosecution.
After release in 1993 he resumed public advocacy and received international recognition, including the 1993 Gleitsman International Activist Award. He was detained again and sentenced in 1995, then released in 1997 and sent into exile. His later work has focused on democracy, political prisoners and human rights.
The P1 evidence layer separates original writings, official legal/state records, independent reporting and retrospective advocacy sources. Original court and prison records remain priority archival targets, and source-specific political labels are not adopted as neutral descriptions.
Languages: EN · 简中 · 繁中 · FR · DE · ES
Corrections and primary-source contributions are welcome.
Free China 