WASHINGTON, DC

Two leading Chinese dissidents today called on President George Bush and President Jiang Zemin to make human and worker rights the centerpiece of their summit and called for the release of political prisoners and freedom for Chinese workers to form free and independent trade unions.

Han Dongfang, a labor leader who was jailed for his participation in the Tiananmen Square demonstrations and now continues his dissident activities from Hong Kong, and Harry Wu, a dissident who spent 19 years in Chinese prisons and is now a U.S. citizen, called on Bush and Jiang to address these issues.

 “The events of the past year demonstrate that Chinese workers want and need strong and independent representation at the workplace,” Han said.  He noted that the outbreaks of sustained protest by over 80,000 workers in different cities earlier in 2002 represented the strongest labor unrest in recent years. Unfortunately, the mass protests were soon met by relentless government repression. Han called the Chinese leadership’s strategy of stability through repression misplaced and ultimately counterproductive.  

“Real stability is much more likely if workers have representation that they have chosen themselves through democratic elections.” Han said. “The answer to the effects of the economic transformation in China is freedom of association, not a crackdown.” 

Han Dongfang spent two years in a Chinese prison following his arrest after the Tiananmen Square massacre.  In prison he contracted tuberculosis. Released for treatment in the U.S., Han was subsequently denied re-entry to the Mainland. He now resides in Hong Kong, where he edits the China Labor Bulletin and hosts a talk show broadcast aimed at workers in the Mainland.

Harry Wu urged the two leaders to seize the opportunity presented by the pending change in leadership.  

“This summit, taken on the eve of a leadership change in China, presents an opportunity for a change in the Chinese government’s human rights policy as well,” said Wu.  “President Jiang is still in a position to influence policy and events and I urge both leaders to seriously discuss the advisability of making substantive changes.” 

In the years since his release from prison, Wu has continued to take personal risks on behalf of prisoners in the Chinese prison camp system (“Laogai” in Chinese) as well as other persecuted groups. He is Executive Director of the Laogai Research Foundation. His courage and persistence are legendary in the human rights community. He was jailed again in 1995 for two months while on a trip to the Mainland.  

The men were in Washington, D.C. to address a Board meeting of the Albert Shanker Institute. Founded in 1998 by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and named after the late AFT President Albert Shanker, the Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to three themes – children’s education, unions as advocates for quality, and freedom of association in the public life of democracies. Its mission is to generate ideas, foster candid exchanges, and promote constructive policy proposals related to these issues. 

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