State Terrorism in China
A talk by Sheng Xue
Monday, November 24, 2003
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
11377 Bunche Hall
UCLA
Recently, the authorities in the PRC have arrested and thrown into prison a growing number of democracy advocates, from ordinary students to famous writers -- including many who have been very cautious and temperate in their statements and activities. This recent tightening of controls, Sheng Xue argues, is a form of state terrorism. It relates to the Chinese authorities’ attempt to control speech, the internet, and belief, and to the role of and interaction between the former Chinese president, Jiang Zemin, and the current president, Hu Jintao.
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Sheng Xue grew up in Beijing. Soon after the June Fourth Tiananmen Massacre in 1989, she moved to Canada and joined the overseas Chinese democracy movement. In 1997, she joined Radio Free Asia and has been RFA’s Canadian correspondent. Meanwhile, as a freelance writer, she has published numerous news reports and commentaries in various Chinese-language media. In 2000, she won The Canadian Association for Journalists Award for Investigative Journalism and the National Magazine Award, for an investigative report on the lives of Chinese boat refugees published in the Canadian magazine Maclean’s. She is the first Chinese in Canada who have won such prestigious awards.
In 2001, Sheng Xue investigated China’s most prominent smuggling case and published a book (in Chinese), Unveiling the Yuan Hua Case, which soon became a best-seller in Chinese communities outside of China and created shockwaves both inside and outside of China. China’s Propaganda Ministry immediately banned the book.
Since March 2002, Sheng Xue has been a regular commentator for NTDTV, a global Chinese TV network.
On Sheng Xue's investigative report on Chinese boat refugees, and the Canadian Association for Journalists award, click here.
For more information please contact
Richard Gunde
Tel: 310 825-8683
gunde@ucla.edu
Sponsor(s): Center for Chinese Studies
