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Örkesh Dölet ( ug, ئۆركەش دۆلەت, zh, 吾尔开希·多莱特; commonly known by his
pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally writte ...
name Wu'erkaixi) is a political commentator known for his leading role during the
Tiananmen protests of 1989 The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Four ...
. Of Uyghur heritage, he was born in Beijing on 17 February 1968, with ancestral roots in
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture ( kk, Іле Қазақ автономиялық облысы) (also as Yili) is an autonomous prefecture for Kazakh people in Northern Xinjiang, China, one of five autonomous prefectures in Xinjiang. Yining Cit ...
,
Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
. He achieved prominence while studying at Beijing Normal University as a
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
r who rebuked
Chinese Premier The premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, commonly called the premier of China and sometimes also referred to as the prime minister, is the head of government of China and leader of the State Council. The premier is ...
Li Peng Li Peng (; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the fourth Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Ch ...
on national television. He was one of the main leaders of the pro-reform
Beijing Students' Autonomous Federation The Beijing Students' Autonomous Federation ( zh, s=北京高校学生自治联合会, p=Běijīng gāoxiào xuéshēng zìzhì liánhé huì) was a self-governing student organization, representing multiple Beijing universities, and acting as the ...
and helped lead abortive negotiations with officials. Wu'erkaixi eventually settled in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, where he works as a political commentator. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Legislative Yuan twice, in 2014 and 2016.


Protests and discussions

Wu'erkaixi arrived on the scene in
Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square (; 天安门广场; Pinyin: ''Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng''; Wade–Giles: ''Tʻien1-an1-mên2 Kuang3-chʻang3'') is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the eponymous Tiananmen ...
, Beijing, in mid-April 1989, the very beginning of the student movement, after having founded an independent student's association at Beijing Normal University. He quickly emerged as one of the most outspoken student leaders as the size of the crowds increased. According to Eddie Cheng, at a hastily convened meeting to form the Beijing Students Autonomous Federation and elect its leader,
Zhou Yongjun The Zhou Yongjun incident was a political controversy which involved the rendition of Zhou Yongjun (), a former student activist during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, by the Hong Kong authorities to the People's Republic of Chin ...
of the University of Political Science and Law narrowly defeated Wu'erkaixi to be its first president. After organizing the most successful demonstration of the 1989 movement on 27 April, he was then elected as the president of the Autonomous Union. Upon meeting Premier
Li Peng Li Peng (; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the fourth Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Ch ...
for the first time in May 1989, in an encounter recorded on national television, Wu'erkaixi interrupted Li during his introduction, saying "I understand it is quite rude of me to interrupt you, Premier, but there are people sitting out there in the square, being hungry, as we sit here and exchange pleasantries. We are only here to discuss concrete matters, sir." After being interrupted by Li, who said that he was being somewhat impolite, Wu'erkaixi continued. "Sir, you said you are here late ecause of traffic congestion.. we've actually been calling you to talk to us since 22 April. It's not that you are late, it's that you're here ''too'' late. But that's fine. It's good that you are able to come here at all ..." Wu’erkaixi claimed that he was present at the square when the soldiers arrived after martial law was declared and that he had personally seen around 200 student protesters cut down by gunfire in Tiananmen square. However, according to the
Columbia Journalism Review The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its contents include news and media industry trends, an ...
, all verified eyewitness accounts had attested that the students who remained in the square when troops arrived to clear them, had all been allowed to leave the square peacefully. It was later "proven" that Wu’erkaixi himself had already left the square several hours before the massacre inside the square that he claimed allegedly occurred. US embassy cables obtained and released by Wikileaks in 2011 claim that while there were killings in the larger Beijing area, there were, in fact, no killings in Tiananmen Square.


Post-1989

After the protests, Wu'erkaixi was No 2 on China's list of most wanted student leaders. He fled to
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
through
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 Delta i ...
under the aegis of
Operation Yellowbird Operation Yellowbird, or Operation Siskin (), was a Hong Kong-based operation to help the Chinese dissidents who participated in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 to escape arrest by the Chinese government by facilitating their departure ov ...
,Wong, Natalie (12 July 2011
"Let down by self-centered Chai Ling"
. ''The Standard''
and then studied at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
in the United States. After one year of study there, he moved to the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
and continued his studies at Dominican University. Afterward he emigrated to
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, where he has married a native Taiwanese woman and started a family. He was a talk show host for a local radio station from 1998 to 2001. In his book, ''Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity is transforming China and Changing the Balance of Power'', David Aikman claims Wu'erkaixi converted to
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
in 2002, but this has never been substantiated and Wu'erkaixi himself has made no public statements about the issue of faith. He also appears frequently on television programs as a political commentator. His standpoint has been defending the growing democracy in the island, and promoting civil society. He has often criticized the Democratic Progressive Party, leading some to consider him to be a
Pan-Blue The pan-Blue coalition, pan-Blue force or pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and Young ...
supporter. However, he is now identified as a supporter of Pan-Green politics, and has made statements strongly criticizing the KMT as well. In a June 2014 interview with the New York Times, he stated that while he was 'not a nationalist', if asked to 'choose today', he would 'join the majority of Taiwanese people here for independence. The reason Taiwanese people say we aren't sure, we want to maintain the status quo, is that the status quo is that the mainland's missiles aren't dropping on our heads. That is the status quo they want to maintain. It's not that they like the idea that Beijing claims Taiwan as part of them. It's not so much that they like that China prevents Taiwan from entering any international arena. It's not that they want to reserve a chance to one day go back to China. It's not that. It's just that we don't want war.' Wu'erkaixi has expressed a strong desire to return to mainland China to see his parents, whom he has not seen since 1989 after fleeing mainland China under
Operation Yellowbird Operation Yellowbird, or Operation Siskin (), was a Hong Kong-based operation to help the Chinese dissidents who participated in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 to escape arrest by the Chinese government by facilitating their departure ov ...
. He has been unable to enter the mainland, and his parents have been unable to obtain passports to see him overseas. On 3 June 2009, he arrived 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 p ...
in transit to mainland China intending to surrender and clear his name in court. The Macao authorities refused to arrest him and had him deported to Taiwan. On 4 June 2010, he was arrested by Japanese authorities in Tokyo, when he tried to force his way into the Chinese embassy in order to turn himself in. He was released two days later without charge. On 18 May 2012, he tried to turn himself in the third time to the Chinese embassy in
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, where the Chinese embassy decided to ignore him completely. He again attempted to turn himself in at
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 Delta i ...
in late 2013, and was deported to Taiwan once again. In December 2013, Wu'erkaixi helped with the launch of a Chinese version of the anonymous and ephemeral communication platform
Kwikdesk KwikDesk is a computer platform that supports the discreet and secure movement of data. The founder, Kevin Abosch, a world-renowned visual artist created Kwikdesk as a conceptual art-project to facilitate the anonymous exchange of information ...
. In 2019, during the 30th anniversary of the
Tiananmen Square Massacre The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...
, he testified before the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
. His testimony was filmed for the feature documentary ''The Exiles'' (2022) which won the
Grand Jury Prize A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...
for Best Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival.


Politics

Wu'erkaixi's politics are strongly tied to his activism. He has ties to center-left and progressive human rights and political organizations. In Taiwan, he has "pledged to take a tougher approach to Taiwan's relations with mainland China". Despite recent open support for the
Pan-Green Coalition The pan-Green coalition, pan-Green force or pan-Green groups is a nationalist political coalition in Taiwan (Republic of China), consisting of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP), Taiwan Solidarity Union ...
, he still considers himself of Chinese nationality, noting that "China is the home of my parents. Taiwan is the home of my children". In December 2014, Wu'erkaixi announced his candidacy for the legislative seat formerly held by
Lin Chia-lung Lin Chia-lung (; born 13 February 1964) is a Taiwanese academic and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) politician. He was elected mayor of Taichung City in November 2014 and took office on 25 December 2014. In the early 2000s he served in various ...
, who had earlier defeated
Jason Hu Jason Hu (; born 15 May 1948) is a Taiwanese politician. He was the mayor of Taichung as provincial city in 2001-2010 and as special municipality in 2010–2014. He is a member of the Kuomintang (KMT), and has been the Vice Chairman of the p ...
for the mayoralty of Taichung in the
local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...
. A few weeks later, Wu'erkaixi withdrew from the race, as he felt the by-election and resulting one-year term would not be enough time to accomplish his political goals. Wu'erkaixi, backed by the Constitutional Reform Fraternity Coalition, launched an unsuccessful second bid for the Legislative Yuan in July 2015. In 2019, Wu'erkaixi showed support for the Hong Kong protests over the Mainland extradition bill and said he saw a connection between this current struggle and that which took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989; "The central government do not want to give its people freedom. It's an identical part f the two events it's the same enemy of the people that links the two demonstrations; one in Beijing 30 years ago and one in Hong Kong going on today. I think it will come to the showdown moment."


References


External links


Wu'erkaixi's blog
and some * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wu'erkaixi 1968 births Living people Beijing Normal University alumni Chinese Protestants Chinese democracy activists Chinese dissidents Chinese former Muslims Converts to Protestantism from Islam 1989 Tiananmen Square protesters Republic of China politicians from Beijing Taiwanese television journalists Uyghur people Uyghur Christians Naturalised citizens of Taiwan Taiwanese people from Beijing Taiwanese Protestants Taiwanese people of Uyghur descent