HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Uerkesh Davlet (; zh, 吾尔开希·多莱特), commonly known by his
pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...
name Wu'er Kaixi, is a Chinese political commentator known for his leading role during the
Tiananmen protests of 1989 The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts between t ...
. Uerkesh achieved prominence while studying at
Beijing Normal University Beijing Normal University (BNU) () is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education of China, and co-funded by the Ministry of Education and the B ...
as a
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...
r who rebuked
Chinese Premier The premier of China, officially the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, is the head of government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and leader of the State Council. This post was established in 1911 near the e ...
Li Peng Li Peng (; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the 4th premier of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, from ...
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'er Kaixi eventually settled in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, where he works as a political commentator. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the
Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan () is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...
twice, in 2014 and 2016.


Early life

Born in Beijing on 17 February 1968, Wu'er Kaixi has ancestral roots in
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture in northern Xinjiang, China. Its capital is Yining, also known as Ghulja or Kulja. Covering an area of 268,591 square kilometres (16.18 per cent of Xinjiang), Ili Prefecture shares ...
,
Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...
.


Protests and discussions

Wu'er Kaixi arrived on the scene in
Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square () is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen ("''Gate of Heavenly Peace''") located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City. The square contains th ...
, Beijing, in mid-April 1989, the very beginning of the student movement, after having founded an independent student's association at
Beijing Normal University Beijing Normal University (BNU) () is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education of China, and co-funded by the Ministry of Education and the B ...
. 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 of the University of Political Science and Law narrowly defeated Wu'er Kaixi 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 4th premier of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, from ...
for the first time in May 1989, in an encounter recorded on national television, Wu'er Kaixi 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'er Kaixi 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 ..." Regarding the motives for the protests, Wu'er Kaixi said "So what do we want? Nike shoes, lots of free time to take our girlfriends to the bar, the freedom to discuss an issue with someone and get a little respect from society". Wu'er Kaixi 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 original purpose was "to assess the performance ...
, 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" Wu'er Kaixi left the square several hours before the massacre inside the square that he claimed allegedly occurred.


Post-1989

After the protests, Wu'er Kaixi was number two on China's list of most wanted student leaders. He fled to France through Hong Kong under the aegis of
Operation Yellowbird Operation Yellowbird ( zh, t=黃雀行動) or Operation Siskin was a British 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 f ...
,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 university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
in the United States. After one year of study there, he moved to the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
and continued his studies at Dominican University. Afterward he emigrated to Taiwan, where he has married a 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'er Kaixi converted to Christianity in 2002, but this has never been substantiated and Wu'er Kaixi himself has made no public statements about the issue of faith. Wu'er Kaixi appears frequently on television programs as a political commentator. His standpoint has been to defend the democracy on the island, and promoting civil society. He has often criticized the
Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...
(DPP), 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 Youn ...
supporter. However, he is now identified as a supporter of
Pan-Green 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), Social Democratic Party ( ...
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'er Kaixi 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. 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 is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by 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, D.C., where the Chinese embassy decided to ignore him completely. He again attempted to turn himself in at Hong Kong in late 2013, and was deported to Taiwan once again. In December 2013, Wu'er Kaixi helped with the launch of a Chinese version of the anonymous and ephemeral communication platform Kwikdesk. In 2019, during the 30th anniversary of the
Tiananmen Square Massacre The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts between t ...
, Wu'er Kaixi testified before the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
. 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 annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent date and depe ...
for Best Documentary at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...
. In 2019, he was detained in Taiwan on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. In 2024 he suffered a fall that placed him in a serious coma.


Politics

Wu'er Kaixi's politics are strongly tied to his activism. He has ties to
centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...
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), Social Democratic Party ...
, 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'er Kaixi announced his candidacy for the legislative seat formerly held by
Lin Chia-lung Lin Chia-lung (; born 13 February 1964) is a Taiwanese political scientist and politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan since 20 May 2024. He previously served as Secretary General to the President of Taiwan from 2023 t ...
, who had earlier defeated
Jason Hu Hu Chih-chiang (; born 15 May 1948), also known by his English name Jason Hu, is a Taiwanese diplomat and politician. He served as the mayor of Taichung from 2001 to 2014, when the city was a Provincial city (Taiwan), provincial city (2001–2 ...
for the mayoralty of Taichung in the
local elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...
. A few weeks later, Wu'er Kaixi 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'er Kaixi, backed by the Constitutional Reform Fraternity Coalition, launched an unsuccessful second bid for the
Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan () is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...
in July 2015. In 2019, Wu'er Kaixi 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

* and some * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wu'er Kaixi 1968 births Living people Beijing Normal University alumni Chinese Protestants Chinese democracy activists Chinese anti-communists Chinese dissidents Chinese former Sunni Muslims Converts to Protestantism from Sunni Islam Chinese emigrants to Taiwan 1989 Tiananmen Square protesters Republic of China politicians from Beijing Taiwanese television journalists Uyghur activists Uyghur Christians Naturalized citizens of Taiwan Taiwanese people from Beijing Taiwanese Protestants Taiwanese people of Uyghur descent