MISSION

 It is the mission of the Wei Jingsheng Foundation to promote the democratization of China and the improvement of human rights condition in China.

BACKGROUND

During the Xidan Democracy Wall Movement of 1978 in Beijing – China, Wei Jingsheng, an electrician then, wrote an essay demanding that Deng Xiaoping add a “Fifth Modernization” to his “Four Modernizations” program. That fifth modernization was democracy. After spending 18 years in Chinese prison subsequently for such demand, Wei Jingsheng was exiled by force to the United States where he now continues to fight for democracy and human rights.

Wei Jingsheng Foundation was established in 1998, in New York City to support projects forwarding improvement of Chinese political system, human rights and democratization in China.

PROJECTS

Our projects include, but not limited to:

• Chinese labor union Project

• Information campaign through Internet and other technological means

• Lawyer and paralegal, urban and rural civil society training

• International Consultation Program

• Coalition of Chinese democrats

OUTLOOK

Today’s China appears very different from the China in which Wei Jingsheng wrote his famous essay. However, no amount of superficial economic prosperity or market potential should blind the international community to the simple fact that the country remains one in which people have no basic guaranteed rights, a country where human rights can be taken away at the whim of the government. It is because of the international community’s blindness and unwillingness to this situation that efforts promoting human rights and democracy in China are more important than ever.