Resources for Teachers and Students

Prepare: Wei Jingsheng, a Chinese dissident, has been jailed twice, for a total of 18 years, because of his pro-democracy activities. His biography can be found in English on his foundation's website.

Read: Wei Jingsheng wrote an original essay for the Architects of Peace project. In it, he explains the obstacles confronting the democracy movement in China.

Explore: The Institute of International Studies of The University of California, Berkeley, produces an ongoing series of interviews called "Conversations with History." One of these conversations, conducted by the institute's executive director, Harry Kreisler, features Wei Jingsheng. It can be viewed online in streaming video, or as text.

Write: In his Architects Peace essay, Wei Jingsheng claims that all people "dream of freedom in the same way." If this is true, what accounts for the fact that billions of people worldwide currently live in societies that are not considered free? Asking the question differently, what elements are necessary in a society to establish and maintain freedom? Is a democratic society necessarily a free society? Write a two-to-three page reflection on what makes society free, and on the relationship between freedom and peace.

Extend: More than a decade after the pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, many of the student demonstrators arrested in the crackdowns seem to be "lost" in Chinese prisons, most without having been charged with crimes or tried in court. Amnesty International lists more than 200 people who are still imprisoned for having participated in the protests, and they think that this only represents a fraction of the dissidents still imprisoned. Those interested can find more information on this situation, or take action in concert with Amnesty International's members.

Additional Resource: A translation of Wei Jingsheng's most famous essay, "The Fifth Modernization," can be found on the Jingsheng Foundation website.

Biography of Wei Jingsheng