Wei Jingsheng is a leading activist and advocate for human rights and democracy in China and critic of the Chinese Communist Party’s rule. He was imprisoned twice for a total of more than 18 years for his activities, including his 1978 essay, “The Fifth Modernization.” He is the author of Courage to Stand Alone: Letters from Prison and Other Writings, which compiles essays written initially on toilet paper in jail. He is the founder of the Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition and co-founder of Asia Democracy Alliance. This essay is based on his presentation at Living Without Freedom, a History Institute for Teachers sponsored by FPRI’s Marvin Wachman Fund for International Education, May 5-6, 2007, held at and co-sponsored by the National Constitution Center and the National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia.
