Chinese writer and scholar (born 1953)
Wang Lixiong
(
Chinese
:
王
力
雄
;
pinyin
:
Wang Lixiong
, born 2 May 1953) is a Chinese writer and scholar, best known for his political prophecy fiction,
Yellow Peril
, and for his writings on Tibet and provocative analysis of China's western region of
Xinjiang
.
[1]
Wang is regarded as one of the most outspoken dissidents, democracy activists, and reformers in China. He is married to
Woeser
, a
Tibetan
poet
and essayist.
[2]
Early life and education
[
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]
Wang Lixiong was born in 1953 at
Changchun
in
Jilin province
. His mother was a playwright with the
Changchun Film Group Corporation
and his father, Wang Shaolin, was the vice president of China First Automobile Works, and committed suicide in 1968 after being imprisoned during the
Cultural Revolution
.
Wang was sent to countryside for four years from 1969 to 1973 following
Mao Zedong's
Down to the Countryside Movement
. In 1973, he was admitted into
Jilin University of Technology
, and was assigned to work in China First Automobile Works after graduation.
Writings
[
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]
In 1991,
Yellow Peril
was published by Mirror Books under pseudonym Bao Mi (Mandarin for "Kept Secret"), painted an apocalyptic scenario in which civil war erupts between north and south China - with Nationalist-ruled Taiwan backing the south - and ends in nuclear conflict and millions of starving refugees spilling across borders. For years, the author of one of the best-selling novels
[
citation needed
]
in the Chinese-speaking world was known simply to readers as "Bao Mi", for Wang’s own protection because he broke taboos and spelled China's doomsday.
Yellow Peril
was recently translated into English as
China Tidal Wave
.
Beginning with his solitary adventure rafting across Tibet plateau along the upper reaches of
Yellow River
in 1984, and after more than a decade study of Tibet during which he had been to Tibet dozens of times and lived in that region for more than two years, Wang finished his book
Sky Burial: The Fate of Tibet
in 1998. The book, with the honest and unbiased views through investigation of histories, detailed analysis of issues and comprehensive supporting data, immediately won him high regards from both the supporters of Chinese government and followers of The Dalai Lama, and became a mandate in Tibet study.
[
citation needed
]
From 1991 to 1994, he wrote a book of political theory,
Dissolving Power: A Successive Multi-Level Electoral System
, which drew tremendous disruptive responses although he himself valued it the most ? some believed it offers a promising solution that China could and should adopt for a smooth transition towards democracy, some think it is purely a dream of utopia.
After ten more years of further study in progressive democracy, he completed another political theory book
Bottom up Democracies
in 2006. Realizing that it is not possible to promote his theory in China and make it a political reality, he started to research on internet development trying to find the linchpin which will connect his theory with real world.
Social activities
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]
In 1994, Wang Lixiong initiated as one of the founders
The Friends of Nature
, an environment protection organization, the first non-governmental organization in China, was forced to resign in 2003 on the request from Chinese government.
To support
Tenzin Delek Rinpoche
, an important Tibetan Lama of the region of Litang who was accused of being involved in a bomb attack and sentenced to death penalty, On December 13, 2002 Wang Lixiong and 24 other Chinese intellectuals issued a petition requesting the right to appoint independent lawyers for Rinpoche's trial, as well as the right for local and international media to cover the trial and interview Chinese government officials; in addition, the petition called for representatives of the Tibetan community in exile to attend the proceedings.
In 2001, Wang issued a public statement on his decision to resign from
Chine Writers Association
: “It is not only acquiescence which is demanded, but also the annihilation of the whole personality, of all conscience and of all individual pride, that we are being made into crouching dogs. Belonging to this organization is no longer an honor, on the contrary, is a shame of any writer worthy of the name”.
Believing that the Dalai Lama is the key to resolve the issues of Tibet[1], [2], Wang Lixiong, together with other Chinese intellectuals, strongly urged Chinese authorities to take the
Middle Way
approach proposed by the Dalai Lama into serious consideration as it showed the deepest sincerity from the Dalai lama, should be treated as the basis for any further negotiations for the future of Tibet. He was invited 4 times to meet with the Dalai Lama with regard to this matter. His analysis of
Middle Way
was elaborated in his work
Unlocking Tibet
.[3] And his meeting with the Dalai Lama was documented in his article
Dialogues with the Dalai Lama
.
In the wake of Tibet riot on 3/10/2008, Wang, with the support from the pro-democracy activities in China, urged the Chinese government to invite UN investigators to Tibet to change the international community’s distrust of China, and on March 22, 2008, issued a 12-point petition about the situation in Tibet.
[3]
Arrest and imprisonment
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]
Wang first began to study
Xinjiang
in 1999. When conducting research for a book following the same suit of
Sky Burial: The Fate of Tibet
, he was arrested for photocopying an internal publication - stamped as “secret” - of
Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps
. Refusing to recant or promise collaboration in order to obtain his release, he attempted suicide in the high-security prison in Miquan . He recorded the incident in a short essay entitled
Memories of
Xinjiang
published in 2001. In prison, he shared a cell with a Uyghur prisoner arrested in Beijing for organizing a demonstration protesting discrimination (Mokhtar), with whom he entered into a long and ongoing discussion on
Xinjiang
which formed the backbone of his book
My West China; Your East Turkestan
published in 2007. In this book, Wang concluded that
Xinjiang
’s issues had dangerously “Palestinized.” The
Xinjiang riot in July 2009
[4]
proved his fear.
Wang would be placed under house arrest whenever there were sensitive incidents or events. i.e. the outbreak of anti-Chinese protests in Tibet in March 2008.
[5]
Awards and honors
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]
2009
Light of Truth Award
honored by the Dalai Lama on behalf of ICT
[6]
2007 Honorary membership, Chinese Studies Association of New Zealand
2003 Hellman-Hammett Grants, Human Rights Watch
2002 Freedom of Expression Award, Independent Chinese Pen Association
2002 Visiting Scholarship, US Congress
1999 The 100 Most Influential Chinese Novels in 20th Century (Yellow Peril ranked 41st), Asia Weekly
Works
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]
Books
[
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]
2009
Voices from Tibet
(
??西藏
), Lotus Publishing (co-authored with Tsering Woeser)
2009
Sky Burial: The Fate of Tibet
[1]
, 2nd Edition (
天葬:西藏的命?再版
), Lotus Publishing
2009
The Struggle for Tibet
, Verso Publishing (co-authored with Tsering Shakya)
2008
China Tidal Wave
(English edition of Yellow Peril translated by Anton Platero), Global Oriental Ltd.
2008
Yellow Peril
, New Century Edition (
??新世?版
), Lotus Publishing
2007
The Ceremony
(
大典
), Da kuai wen Publishing
2007
My West China; Your East Turkestan
(
我的西域; ?的?土
), Lotus Publishing
2006
Bottom-up Democracy
(
??民主
), Lotus Publishing
2006
Unlocking Tibet
[2]
, Tersey Tsultim Publishing
2002
Dialogue with Dalai Lama
, Renjian Publishing
2002
The Spiritual Journey of a Free Soul
, China Movie Publishing
1998
Dissolving Power: A Successive Multi-Level Electoral System
(
溶解?力: 逐層??制
), Mirror Books Publishing
1998
Sky Burial: The Destiny of Tibet
(
天葬:西藏的命?
), Mirror Books Publishing
1991
Yellow Peril
(
??
), Mirror Books Publishing
1988
Drifting
(
漂流
), Huacheng Publishing
1984
Gate to Heaven
(
天堂之?
), Huacheng Publishing
Major essays
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]
2010
Democracy 2.0 - From Direct Democracy to Vector Democracy
Archived
2012-08-01 at the
Wayback Machine
民主2.0????量民主到矢量民主
Archived
2013-03-19 at the
Wayback Machine
2008
History of Tibetan-Chinese Relations
(
西藏?中?的?史?系
)
2008
Roadmap of Tibet Independence
(
西藏?立路??
)
2009
Mapp?
(
末法?代
)
2004
The Two Types of Imperialism That Tibet Encounters
(
西藏面?的??帝?主?
)
2002
Reflections on Tibet
[3]
(
西藏??的文化反思
)
2000
A Successive Multilevel Electoral System vs. a Representative Democratic System: Comparison on Resolutions for Tibet Issues
(
逐???制?代?民主制: 解?西藏??的方法比?
)
Columnist contribution
[
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]
- 2004?Present:
Radio Free Asia
, Washington D.C.
- 2002:
Ming Pao
, Hong Kong
External links
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]
Notes and references
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]
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