Wang Bingzhang (; born December 30, 1947) is a Chinese

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing cam ...

and founder of two Chinese pro-democracy movements. He was abducted in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

in June 2002 and detained by Chinese secret police. The Chinese government announced his detention in December 2002, charging him with espionage and terrorism. He was sentenced to life in prison and is considered a

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although nu ...

of China.

Biography

Wang Bingzhang was born on December 30, 1947, in

Shijiazhuang Shijiazhuang (; ; Mandarin: ), formerly known as Shimen and romanized as Shihkiachwang, is the capital and most populous city of China’s North China's Hebei Province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about southwest of Beijin ...

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and ...

, China. He graduated from

Beijing Medical University } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

and served as a doctor for eight years. In 1979, he was sponsored by the Chinese government to study abroad in

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Univer ...

, Canada where he obtained his Ph.D. degree in

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

in 1982.An Introduction Of Dr. Wangbingzhang
/ref> Wang Bingzhang is the first citizen of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

to get a doctorate degree in North America. In 1982, Wang established ''China Spring'', the first pro-democracy Chinese magazine overseas. The next year, he launched the (translated variously as "Alliance for Democratic China"/"China Alliance for Democracy"/"Union of Chinese Democracy Movement"), publicly denouncing the

one-party rule A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...

in China. He later traveled back to China and co-founded two

opposition parties Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term '' government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ...

, the Chinese Freedom Democracy Party and Chinese Democracy Justice Party in 1989 and 1998, respectively. The latter led to his arrest in China. He was expelled from the country, but was not sentenced. In early 2002, Wang was in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

where

Royal Thai Police The Royal Thai Police (RTP) ( th, สำนักงานตำรวจแห่งชาติ; ) is the national police force of Thailand. The RTP employs between 210,700 and 230,000 officers, roughly 17 percent of all civil servants (excludi ...

investigated him at the request of the

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

. Finding no evidence against him and fearing for his safety, Dr. Wang was urged to leave the country. In June 2002, Wang went to

with Yue Wu and Zhang Qi where they were seized by Chinese secret agents. In December 2002, the Chinese government announced his arrest after six months in custody.China: Further information on Possible disappearance/Incommunicado detention/Fear for Safety
Press Release from Amnesty International - February 12, 2003 In February 2003, Wang was sentenced to life in prison, on charges of

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tang ...

and

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

. His trial was closed to the public and lasted for one day. He is imprisoned in the Shaoguan Prison. In March 2006, Wang was punished for misbehaving when he went on

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 ...

to plead for release to pay a final respect to his father at his funeral; but he was handcuffed by and locked with a jail guard in his jail cell. This resulted in prolonged punishment. Visitation rights were restored in November 2006. According to Dr. Bing Wu Wang, Wang's younger brother, his physical health had deteriorated rapidly since the last visitation. This was due, according to Wang, to a new prison warden who served much lower food quality, harsher physical abuse and intense political study sessions. Wang Bingzhang is a loyal Christian. In Nov. 2017, the first edition of the book written by Wang Bingzhang during his time as a political prisoner was published. The book is about decoding the Bible. The publication ceremony was at the Bible Museum in Washington DC on the 19th of November. Various international organizations, including the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...

Worldrights
and the

Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights The Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (RWCHR) is a Montreal-based non-governmental organization dedicated to pursuing justice through the protection and promotion of human rights. The RWCHR's name and mission is inspired by Raoul Wallenbe ...

have voiced their opposition to Dr. Wang's imprisonment, saying China is arbitrarily detaining him. The United States and Canadian legislatures have both passed legislative bills in support of Wang and in denunciation of the CCP's actions.Full text of Canadian Parliamentary Resolution
/ref>

Notes

External links

Worldrights

China's veteran dissident
(BBC)
Chinese Democracy Justice Party
website {{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Bingzhang 1947 births Living people Chinese dissidents Chinese democracy activists Chinese human rights activists Chinese prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the People's Republic of China McGill University Faculty of Medicine alumni Chinese political prisoners

Biography

See also

Notes

External links