Xu Wenli is a veteran Chinese democracy activist associated with the Democracy Wall period and April Fifth Forum. Archival and human-rights records document his arrest in 1981, a 15-year prison sentence, and his release in 1993 after roughly twelve years in prison. He subsequently continued advocating for an organized political opposition. Hoover Institution records a November 1997 program in which Xu called for ending one-party rule, establishing a “Third Republic,” rebuilding constitutional democracy and protecting human rights and freedom.
In 1998 he helped establish the Democracy Party of China. He was arrested and on December 21, 1998 sentenced to thirteen years in prison after a brief trial. Human Rights Watch, contemporaneous Chinese-language reporting and other independent sources document the crackdown and sentence. Xu was released on medical parole on December 24, 2002 and left for the United States. His personal papers are now preserved by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Evidence note: Government criminal allegations are identified as charges. Xu’s own writings are primary evidence of his views, not independent corroboration of external facts. Exact early judicial dates and original judgments remain priority archival targets. Corrections and additional primary sources are welcome.
Free China 