Word: weis
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Exhausted as Wei was by the 13-hour trip and the medical exams, he needed only a few days' rest before stepping out into the spotlight. At the New York press conference he spoke of those he left behind. "I have waited decades for this chance to exercise my right to free speech," he declared, "but the Chinese people have been waiting for centuries." Wei seemed confident that he had not seen the last of his homeland. "I certainly plan to go back," he said. "I never planned to leave." In fact, he added, "I'd be willing to return...
...euphoria over Wei Jingsheng's freedom was muted by the grim reality he left behind. For fellow dissidents remaining in China, life is worse than ever. Virtually all are either imprisoned and tortured or hounded daily by authorities who keep them largely separated from society. What's more, foreign governments that claim to pressure China on the dissidents' behalf now seem more concerned with trading rights than human rights...
...Wei's departure moves others to the top of release wish lists kept by human-rights groups and the U.S. government. The most attention is now focused on Wang Dan, 28, a leader of the 1989 uprising that was brutally suppressed in Tiananmen Square; he is serving an 11-year term. Like Wei, Wang is reportedly ill, enduring stomach pains stemming from a nerve disorder. Family members say they've been told he may have a brain tumor, but that his jailers won't allow a CAT scan. Chinese officials say he's faking the illnesses...
Some prisoners, desperate for a medical parole like the one granted Wei, are said to be intentionally infecting themselves with hepatitis with the help of visitors--a potentially deadly gamble. But others have refused to seek such paroles, on the theory that if they leave China, they will never be allowed to return. They feel that exile means irrelevance. "Frankly," says Boston University's Merle Goldman, "none of these dissident groups [overseas] have had much impact back in China...
...essence, China is waging a war of attrition against dissidence--and winning. While the Chinese government wouldn't have let Wei go without pressure from the U.S. and President Jiang Zemin's successful summit with Bill Clinton, China ultimately risked little in Wei's departure beyond a brief loss of face. Because the government has a tight grip on information, Wei and other exiles can do little to get their message heard at home. Even now, most Chinese don't know who Wei...