Jiang Weiping (; born c. 1955) is a veteran mainland Chinese journalist known internationally for his arrest by the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...

in 2001. In 1999, he began publishing a series of articles about the Communist Party corruption in the

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

magazine ''Frontline'' (), including a report on

Bo Xilai Bo Xilai (; born 3 July 1949) is a Chinese former politician who was convicted on bribery and embezzlement charges. He came to prominence through his tenures as Mayor of Dalian and then the governor of Liaoning. From 2004 to November 2007, ...

. He was arrested in December 2000 and sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of revealing state secrets, but was granted early release in 2006. After a period of house arrest, he emigrated to Canada in 2009.

Career in China

Jiang is a graduate of the University of Liaoning, where he studied history. In the 1980s, he became a reporter for

Xinhua News Agency Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...

. In 1984, he wrote his first story about official

, who was then a CCP official in a small town. In the early 1990s, Jiang became the

Northeastern China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of t ...

bureau chief of the pro-Beijing

Wen Wei Po ''Wen Wei Po'' is a pro-Beijing State media, state-owned newspapers in Hong Kong, newspaper based in Hong Kong. The newspaper was established in Hong Kong on 9 September 1948, after Wenhui Bao, its Shanghai edition was launched in 1938. Its h ...

newspaper in

. In mid-1999, Jiang also published a series of eight reports in ''Front Line'', a Hong Kong magazine, alleging corruption by various Chinese officials. Writing under the pen name "Wen Qingtian", Jiang stated that while mayor of

Dalian Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on the ...

, Bo Xilai had covered up corruption by his wife

Gu Kailai Gu Kailai (born 15 November 1958) is a Chinese former lawyer and businesswoman. She is the second wife of former Politburo member Bo Xilai, one of China's most influential politicians until he was stripped of his offices in 2012. In August 2 ...

, whose law firm had handled a number of government development and real estate deals. Another article, titled "Former Daqing Mayor Qian Dihua Arrested: Richest Man in the Area Who Kept 29 Mistresses", stated that a mayor had spent state money on cars and apartments for mistresses, while a third reported that Ma Xiangdong, deputy mayor of

Shenyang Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...

, had lost US$3 million of state money while gambling in

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

. Ma was executed in 2001 for the loss.

Arrest and imprisonment

Despite having written under a pen name, Jiang was soon located by authorities. He was detained in December 2000 on charges of revealing "state secrets". According to Jiang, his lawyer was also arrested one day after agreeing to represent him. On September 5, 2001, he was found guilty in a secret trial, and sentenced to eight years' imprisonment. The sentence was later reduced to six years by the Liaoning Province Higher People's Court. The sentence drew protest from journalist advocacy organizations around the world.

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...

described Jiang as "a courageous and exemplary journalist who did not think twice about the dangers he was running when he denounced corruption at the highest levels in the Communist Party of China". The administration of

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

also protested Jiang's detention and called for his release. Jiang wrote later that he was tortured by police in an attempt to force a

false confession A false confession is an admission of guilt for a crime which the individual did not commit. Although such confessions seem counterintuitive, they can be made voluntarily, perhaps to protect a third party, or induced through coercive interrogat ...

; he stated that he lost consciousness several times and once required hospitalization. After a sympathetic guard agreed to deliver letters to Jiang's wife, who had them published in '' Asia Weekly'', Jiang reported that his treatment improved. In 2003, Jiang was transferred to Wafangdian prison in Dalian, where he performed

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

Post-imprisonment

On January 3, 2006, Jiang was released from prison and placed under unofficial house arrest. In 2009, he was allowed to emigrate to Canada. He settled in Toronto, serving as a Scholar at Risk at

Massey College Massey College is a graduate residential college at the University of Toronto that was established, built and partially endowed in 1962 by the Massey Foundation and officially opened in 1963, though women were not admitted until 1974. It was mode ...

. In June 2012,

Knopf Canada Random House of Canada was the Canadian distributor for Random House, Inc. from 1944 until 2013. On July 1, 2013, it amalgamated with Penguin Canada to become Penguin Random House Canada. Company history Random House of Canada was established i ...

announced that it would publish Jiang's biography of Bo Xilai, who had recently made international news after his wife

was tried and convicted of the murder of British businessman

Neil Heywood Neil Heywood (20 October 1970 – 14 November 2011) was an English businessman who worked in China. He was associated with Bo Xilai (the former Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary for Chongqing, and a member of the Politburo of the Chin ...

Awards

Jiang was awarded a

CPJ International Press Freedom Award The CPJ International Press Freedom Awards honor journalists or their publications around the world who show courage in defending press freedom despite facing attacks, threats, or imprisonment. Established in 1991, the awards are administered by ...

in 2001 by the

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journa ...

, which recognizes reporters or publications who show courage in defending press freedom despite facing attacks, threats, or imprisonment. Initially unable to attend the ceremony due to his imprisonment, Jiang formally received his award in 2009. He was also awarded the "One Humanity Award" in 2006 by PEN Canada, which included a C$5000 cash prize.

Personal life

Jiang's is married to Li Yangling, who was briefly detained for protesting his imprisonment. The couple have one daughter. In 2004, before Jiang's own release from prison, PEN Canada secured permission for Li and her daughter to move to Canada.

References