Photo: Photo Claude TRUONG-NGOC / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Wei Jingsheng moves me more than most people in this database, because his fame was never sought, it was the cost of conscience. Posting 'The Fifth Modernization' on Beijing's Democracy Wall in 1978, demanding democracy alongside the Party's economic reforms, took a courage most of us will never be tested for, and he paid with years of imprisonment. The roll call of honors, the Sakharov Prize, the Robert F. Kennedy and Olof Palme awards, only confirms what his life already proved. I find it striking that a man defined by a single essay reshaped how the world reads China's democracy movement. His example unsettles and inspires in equal measure.
Overview
Wei Jingsheng (Chinese: 魏京生; born 20 May 1950) is a Chinese human rights activist and dissident. He is best known for his involvement in the Chinese democracy movement. He is most prominent for having authored the essay "The Fifth Modernization", which was posted on the Democracy Wall in Beijing in 1978.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Wei Jingsheng
- Name (Japanese)
- 魏京生
- Reading
- ぎ・きょうせい
- Born
- May 20, 1950 (age 76)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Taurus / Tiger
- Origin
- Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- human rights defender / writer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China
- University
- High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China
Awards & achievements
- 1996 Sakharov Prize
- 1998 Amnesty International Menschenrechtspreis
- 1996 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award
- 1994 Olof Palme Prize
- 2000 Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
- Official sitehttps://www.weijingsheng.org
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AD%8F%E4%BA%AC%E7%94%9F
Human rights defender — see all → · Writer — see all → · More people from People's Republic of China →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.