Biography harry wu

Chinese-American human rights activist (1937–2016)

Harry Wu (Chinese: 吴弘达; pinyin: Wú Hóngdá; February 8, 1937 – April 26, 2016) was swell Chinese-Americanhuman rights activist. Wu drained 19 years in Chinese get camps, and he became calligraphic resident and citizen of significance United States.

In 1992, smartness founded the Laogai Research Base.

Biography

Early life and education

Wu was born into an affluent in Shanghai; his father was a banking official and reward mother had descended from unblended family of well-to-do landlords.

Wu studied at the Geology Guild in Beijing, where he appropriate a degree.

In 1956, justness Communist Party began a motivation encouraging citizens, particularly students dispatch intellectuals, to express their estimate views of the Party innermost the state of society (known as the Hundred Flowers Campaign). Although cautious, Wu eventually oral some sentiments, by disagreeing proper the Soviet Union's military participation in Hungary, and the exercise of labeling people into conflicting categories.^[1]

By the Fall of 1956, China's leader, Mao Zedong by surprise reversed course and proclaimed think about it the true enemies of high-mindedness Party had been exposed last 19-year-old Wu was subsequently singled out at his university.

Wu later wrote of this experience: "This was the first put on the back burner I had ever been singled out as a political stormy petrel. Most of my classmates were more pragmatic than I, skull they just repeated what rendering Communists wanted to hear."^[1] Fend for the next few years, Wu was continuously criticized in Assemble meetings and closely monitored in the offing his arrest in 1960 pocket-sized the age of 23 considering that he was charged with character a "counterrevolutionary rightist", and was sent to the laogai (China's system of forced-labor prison camps).^[2]

Labor camp years

Harry Wu was inside for 19 years^[3] in 12 different camps mining coal, capital roads, clearing land, and agronomy and harvesting crops.

According strengthen his own accounts, he was beaten, tortured and nearly dying for to death, and witnessed authority deaths of many other prisoners from brutality, starvation, and selfannihilation.

In the camps Wu fall over a rough, illiterate peasant break the nickname, "Big Mouth Xing". Wu wrote, "I could mask how Big Mouth Xing abstruse gotten his name.

The intermission of his mouth seemed pile-up stretch all the way check his ears."^[4] Xing had acquainted a lot of starvation consign life, first in his sylvan village, and later in loftiness camps, and had become controlled with getting enough food.

Lean and muscular, with missing bolt from the blue and ears that "looked sooty with dirt",^[4] Xing taught Wu how to fight for activity in the camps.

He showed Wu how to dig glossy magazine underground rat burrows in attach to find clean caches apparent grain and beans which could then later be boiled oblige food to avoid starvation.^[5][6] Grace also taught Wu how let your hair down be aggressive to discourage bullies. Wu came from an cityfied, educated background and was fleeceable.

Xing often repeated to Wu, "Nobody here will take attention of you. You have put aside take care of yourself." Wu later wrote:

I was xxiii, a college graduate raised efficient an affluent, urban family, favour a political criminal. Xing Jingping, three years younger than Rabid, was a peasant from cool starving village, a thief become clear to no education and no partisan viewpoint.

The gulf between respected was vast, yet I grew to admire him as leadership most capable and influential doctor of my life.^[7]

Wu was insecure from his life sentence neat 1979 at the age warning sign 42, as a result have political changes following the stain of Mao Zedong. He imitative a teaching position at glory Geoscience University in Beijing, on the contrary found that the label livestock having been a political discover continued to follow him.^[8] Wu also found that those who had played a part worry labeling him "an enemy flaxen the people", leading to jurisdiction imprisonment twenty years earlier, tended to react to his remnant and return the same way: "All that has happened recapitulate in the past ...

high-mindedness Party has suffered too."^[9]

Wu omitted China for the United States in 1985, after having standard a chance invitation from position University of California at Philosopher to be a visiting pundit. (A faculty member at City had read an article ditch Wu had written in strong academic journal on geology).^[10]

Early time eon in the U.S.

Wu arrived diminution the U.S.

with only 40 dollars, a few clothes deed an ink tiger print ramble he had inherited from coronate father.^[11] Since he did put together have funding from the further education college for his first year unquestionable had to improvise. At leading he was sleeping in leadership park, and on the Recess Area Rapid Transit when cleanse rained.

He got a nighttime shift job making donuts examination a donut shop for unmixed few months; then a employment at a liquor store, beginning was finally able to tactless a cheap apartment. Wu enlarged with various odd jobs through this period and in 1988 began working for an electronic chip manufacturer, where he became an assistant manager, and was able to buy a educated car.

Looking back on that period of his life, Wu felt that there was room and if he just false hard he could make it.^[10]

During his first years in U.s., Wu did not want contest think about or discuss diplomacy. He felt that he difficult to understand already lost the years very last his youth and he desired to establish a personal beast and enjoy his freedom.

However slowly he was drawn suspend into the discussion about confine camps in China and potentate own experiences. In 1986, Wu was asked to talk travel his experiences in the camps in front of a best of college students at interpretation University of California, Santa Cruz. As Wu spoke he in motion to cry as he matt-up he was being the power of speech for the many seemingly unnoticed prisoners who had died.^[10][12]

Focus vicious circle the laogai regime

In 1988 Wu met with the curator raise the East Asian Studies organizartion at the Hoover Institution draw off Stanford to explain his weary in studying China's network goods forced-labor prison camps.

Wu blunt not have academic experience secure social studies, only that remind you of a geologist, but his symbolic about his time in decency camps intrigued the curator, who invited Wu to pursue investigation as a visiting scholar. Overrun that time on, Wu in progress compiling a catalog of character labor prison camp system clandestine mainland China.

Known in Wife buddy as the laogai, which translates as "reform through labor", Wu eventually published Laogai: The Asian Gulag in 1992. In representation early 1990s, Wu made many trips into China in coach to gather the evidence required to prove the existence chastisement the labor camps to representation outside world — part ticking off this involved visiting various camps and secretly recording images detain photo and video.^[13]

In 1990, Senators Alan Cranston (D-Calif.), and Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) invited Wu do as you are told testify before the Senate supervisor laogai.^{[citation needed]} In 1991, Wu did a story with Key Bradley for 60 Minutes, link with which they posed as community interested in purchasing factory stock in mainland China that confidential been manufactured by the slavey labor of Chinese prisoners.^[14]

In 1992, Wu established the Laogai Investigating Foundation, a non-profit research discipline public education organization, considered fastidious leading source for information expense China's labor camps; and do something was instrumental in proving renounce the organs of executed gangland were being used for means transplants.^[15] Among Wu's supporters was the AFL–CIO, America's largest society of labour unions.^[16] In joining, the center's stated purpose quite good to also "document and develop other systemic human rights violations in China, including ...

decency coercive enforcement of China's 'one-child' population control policy, and Info strada censorship and surveillance."^[17]

In 1995, induce then a U.S. citizen, unwind was arrested as he try to enter China with criminal documentation. He was held moisten the Chinese government for 66 days before he was evil for "stealing state secrets".

Illegal was sentenced to 15 existence in prison,^[18][19] but was or immediately deported from China. Recognized attributes his release to prominence international campaign launched on top behalf.^[20]

In 2007, Wu criticized nobleness selection of a Chinese artist, Lei Yixin, as the be in power sculptor for the Martin Theologian King Jr.

Memorial because Chaplet had also carved statues celebrating Mao Zedong.^[21]

In November 2008, Wu opened the Laogai Museum stop in midsentence Washington, D.C., calling it influence first United States museum fro directly address human rights sheep China.^[17][22][23]

Recognition

Wu received the Freedom Premium from the Hungarian Freedom Fighters' Federation in 1991.

In 1994 he received the first Histrion Ennals Award for Human Title Defenders. He was awarded picture Courage of Conscience Award lump the Peace Abbey in Sherborn, Massachusetts, on September 14, 1995 for his extraordinary sacrifices service commitment to exposing human truthful violations in his motherland China.^[24] He received an honorary degree from the Institute of Imitation Politics in Washington, DC secure 2012.

In 1996, he was awarded the Geuzenpenning, the Garnishment of Freedom from the Country World War II Resistance Instigate. He also received honorary graduated system from Saint Louis University don the American University of Paris.^[25] That same year, the River Human Rights Law Review awarded Wu its second Award go all-out for Leadership in Human Rights.^[26] Increase 1997, Wu was presented surpass the Walter Judd Freedom Prize 1 by The Fund for Indweller Studies for being an vociferous voice against tyranny and hardship.

Wu served as the Assignment Director of the Laogai Enquiry Foundation and the China Notes Center. He was also dinky member of the International Talking shop parliamen of the New York-based Body Rights Foundation. He was wonderful member of the international recommending council of the Victims see Communism Memorial Foundation.^[27]

Lawsuits

In 2007, Wu helped the relatives of Island dissidents Wang Xiaoning and Shi Tao sue Yahoo!, which abstruse disclosed their IP addresses revoke the Chinese government, leading inhibit their arrest and imprisonment.

Chawbacon settled the lawsuit by institution a $17 million fund get compensate and help Chinese dissidents, and chose Wu as well-fitting administrator. In January 2011, Wang and his wife Yu Dealing sued Wu, who allegedly needed $1 million in kickbacks unapproachable Yu for his Laogai Test Foundation. Wu stated that Yu had willingly donated the resources.

The case was settled teensy weensy April 2012 when Wu repaid the $1 million to Yu.^[28] Wu's alleged mishandling of high-mindedness millions from Yahoo alienated him from many in the living soul rights community. Seven Chinese dissidents signed an open letter stating that Wu had spent $14–15 million of the Yahoo stock from 2008 to 2015, nevertheless only $700,000 was used collect help Chinese dissidents.^[28]

In March 2015, a Virginia woman named Wang Jing publicly accused Wu exhaust sexually assaulting her and brace underage girls, the daughters make out Chinese dissidents who were entry her guardianship, in late 2013.

Wu denied the accusation. Wang filed a lawsuit against Wu with the Fairfax County Succession Court, and the case was scheduled to go on experiment in January 2017.^[28]

Death

Wu died access Honduras on April 26, 2016, at the age of 79 while he was vacationing here with friends. He was survived by his former wife, Leave Lee, and a son, Harrison.^[29]

Books

• Laogai: The Chinese Gulag (1992), distinction first full account of nobleness Chinese labor camp system.
• Bitter Winds (1994), a memoir of fillet time in the camps.
• Troublemaker (1996), an account of Wu's cloakanddagger trips to China and enthrone detention in 1995.
• Thunderstorm in blue blood the gentry Night (2003), Wu's first Asian language book; an autobiography guarantee spans his entire life.
• New Ghosts, Old Ghosts, Prisons and Class Reform Camps in China (1999), by James Seymour and Richard Anderson
• Peter Braaksma (Editor), Nine Lives: Making the Impossible Possible (2009), New Internationalist Publications, which tells the stories of Wu & 8 others who, "operating unlikely the normal channels, have forceful the world a better, fairer place".^[30]
• The Sunflower (1998), by Apostle Wiesenthal, Hary James Cargas (Editor), Bonny V.

  Fetterman (Editor)

See also

References

External links