Wu'erkaixi

2016-12-18T15:24:07Z

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{{Infobox person
|name=Wu'erkaixi ئۆركەش دۆلەت 吾爾開希
|image=Wu'erkaixi from VOA (1).jpg
|caption=Wu'erkaixi in Taipei, 2013
|birth_date={{birth date and age|1968|2|17|df=y}}
|nationality=
|residence=[[Taiwan]]
|birth_place=[[Beijing]], [[China]]
|alma_mater=[[Minzu University of China]] [[Beijing Normal University]]
|spouse=Chen Huiling
|other_names=Uerkesh Davlet, Wu'er Kaixi
}}

{{Chinese|uig=ئۆركەش دۆلەت|uyy=Ɵrkəx Dɵlət|usy=Өркәш Дөләт|uly=Örkesh Dölet|s=吾尔开希·多莱特|t=吾爾開希·多萊特|w=Wu2-erh3-k'ai1-hsi1 To1-lai2-t'e0|p=Wú'ěrkāixī Duōláite|mi={{IPAc-cmn|wu|2|er|3|k|ai|1|x|i|1|-|d|uo|1|l|ai|2|t|e}}}}

'''Örkesh Dölet''' ([[Uyghur language|Uyghur]]: '''ئۆركەش دۆلەت'''; alternatively transliterated '''Uerkesh Davlet'''), commonly known as '''Wu'erkaixi''' (from the Chinese spelling of his name: {{zh|s=吾尔开希|t=吾爾開希|p=Wú'ěrkāixī}}), is a Chinese dissident of [[Uyghurs|Uyghur]] heritage known for his leading role during the [[Tiananmen protests of 1989]].

As an ethnic [[Uyghur people|Uyghur]], he was born in Beijing on February 17, 1968 with ancestral roots in [[Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture]], [[Xinjiang]]. He achieved prominence while studying at [[Beijing Normal University]] as a [[hunger strike]]r who rebuked [[Premier of the People's Republic of China|Chinese Premier]] [[Li Peng]] on national television. He was one of the main leaders of the pro-reform [[Beijing Students' Autonomous Federation]], and helped lead abortive negotiations with Chinese officials.

He now resides in [[Taiwan]], where he works as a political commentator. His attempts to turn himself in to Chinese authorities have made him one of the most visible dissidents in recent years. He has run for office in Taiwan's Legislative Yuan twice.

==Protests and discussions==
Wu'er Kaixi arrived on the scene in [[Tiananmen Square]], 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]] of the University of Political Science and Law narrowly defeated Wu'er Kaixi to be its first president.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.standoffattiananmen.com/2009/04/this-day-in-1989-april-23.html |title=Standoff at Tiananmen Square |publisher= Sensys Corp; 1st edition |date=16 March 2009 |isbn= 0-9823203-0-2}}</ref> After organizing the most successful demonstration of the 1989 movement on April 27, he was then elected as the president of the Autonomous Union.

Upon meeting Premier [[Li Peng]] 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 [because 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 ..."<ref>''[[Xinwen Lianbo]]'' (News Simulcast) CCTV-1, 18 May 1989. Chinese text available on Chinese Wikipedia.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3757433.stm |date=28 May 2004 |title=Witnessing Tiananmen: Student talks fail|work=BBC News}}</ref>

==Post-1989==
After the protests, Wu'er Kaixi was No 2 on China's list of most wanted student leaders. He fled to [[France]] through [[Hong Kong]] under the aegis of [[Operation Yellowbird]],<ref name=standard32996398>Wong, Natalie (12 July 2011) [http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=30&art_id=113005&sid=32996398&con_type=3&d_str=20110712&sear_year=2011 "Let down by self-centered Chai Ling"]. ''The Standard''</ref> and then studied at [[Harvard University]] in the United States. After one year of study there, he moved to the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] and continued his studies at [[Dominican University of California|Dominican University]]. Afterward he emigrated to [[Taiwan]], where he has married a native Taiwanese wife and started a family. He was a talk show host for a local radio station from 1998 to 2001.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2004/jan/15/world/fg-dissident15 |title=Activist Hopes to Return to China |author= Tyler Marshall |date= 15 January 2004 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> 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,<ref>{{cite book|title=Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity is Transforming China and Changing the Global Balance of Power|first=David|last=Aikman|publisher=Regnery Publishing|year=2003|page=11}}</ref> but this has never been substantiated and Wu'er Kaixi 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 Coalition|Pan-Blue]] supporter. However, he is now identified as a supporter of Pan-Green politics, and have 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.' <ref>{{Cite news|url=http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/05/q-and-a-wuer-kaixi-on-tiananmens-hopes-and-taiwans-achievements/?_r=0|title=Q. and A.: Wu’er Kaixi on Tiananmen’s Hopes and Taiwan’s Achievements |author= Austin Ramzy |date= 5 June 2014 |work=New York Times}}</ref>

After 20 years, he is still the second most wanted person in China for his role at Tiananmen. On June 3, 2009, he arrived in Macao in transit to China intending to surrender and clear his name in court. The Macao authorities refused to arrest him and had him deported to Taiwan.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tiananmen student leader vows to try again to return to China|url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/china-taiwan-relations/2009/06/04/210899/Tiananmen-student.htm |date=4 June 2009 |author=Deborah Kuo}} {{cite news |last=Gillis |first=Charles |date=4 June 2009 |title=Tiananmen: The cover-up continues |url=http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/tiananmen-the-cover-up-continues/ |newspaper=MacLeans |publisher=Rogers Media |location=Canada |access-date=17 April 2015 }}</ref> In 2009, Taiwanese President [[Ma Ying-jeou]] praised the progress on human rights in China in his comment on the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen incident of 1989. Wu'er Kaixi criticized Ma, saying that he could not understand what progress Ma was referring to.<ref>{{cite news|title=吾尔开希被澳门当局遣返台湾|url=http://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/64_student-06042009114441.html|accessdate=2 December 2014|publisher=Radio Free Asia|date=4 June 2009}}</ref> On 4 June 2010, he was arrested by the Japanese police in Tokyo, when he tried to force his way into the Chinese Embassy in order to turn himself in.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hsiu-chuan|first1=Shih|title=Wuer Kaixi held by Japanese police|url=http://taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2010/06/06/2003474796|accessdate=10 December 2014|work=Taipei Times|date=6 June 2010}}</ref> He was released two days later without charge.<ref>{{cite news|title=Japanese police release Tiananmen Square activist Wuer|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2010/06/07/national/japanese-police-release-tiananmen-square-activist-wuer/#.VIe0xNapdKp|accessdate=10 December 2014|work=Japan Times|date=7 June 2010}}</ref> On 18 May 2012, he tried to turn himself in the third time to the Chinese embassy in Washington DC, where the Chinese embassy decided to ignore him completely.<ref>{{cite news|last1=MacLeod|first1=Calum|title=In D.C., Chinese dissident hopes for arrest|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2012-05-18/chinese-dissident-hopes-for-arrest/55051752/1|accessdate=10 December 2014|work=USA Today|date=18 May 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Tiananmen leader gets cold-shoulder from Chinese Embassy|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/05/18/tiananmen-leader-gets-cold-shoulder-from-chinese-embassy/|accessdate=10 December 2014|work=National Post|agency=Agence France Press|date=18 May 2012}}</ref> He again attempted to turn himself in at Hong Kong in late 2013, with the same outcome as before.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Chen|first1=Chien-fu|title=Hong Kong response to Wuer Kaixi too cautious|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2013/12/03/2003578182|accessdate=2 December 2014|publisher=Taipei Times|date=3 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/wuer-kaixi-the-chinese-dissident-who-cant-get-himself-arrested--not-even-to-go-home-and-see-his-sick-parents-8963140.html|last1=Coonan|first1=Clifford|title=Wu’er Kaixi: The Chinese dissident who can't get himself arrested - not even to go home and see his sick parents|accessdate=10 December 2014|work=The Independent|date=25 November 2013}}</ref>

In December 2013 Wu'er Kaixi helped with the launch of a Chinese version of the anonymous and ephemeral communication platform [[Kwikdesk]].<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1368191/new-social-messaging-tool-taps-chinese-dissident-expansion |title=New Social Messaging Tool Taps Chinese Dissident Expansion - South China Morning Post}}</ref>

==Politics==

Wu'er Kaixi'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]], he still considers himself of Chinese nationality, noting that "China is the home of my parents. Taiwan is the home of my children".<ref>{{cite news|title=China Tiananmen dissident Wuer Kaixi bids for Taiwan seat|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33648548|accessdate=17 January 2016|publisher=BBC|date=24 July 2015}}</ref>

In December 2014, Wu'er Kaixi announced his candidacy for the legislative seat formerly held by [[Lin Chia-lung]], who had earlier defeated [[Jason Hu]] for the mayoralty of Taichung in the [[Taiwan local elections, 2014|local elections]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hau|first1=Hsueh-ching|last2=Wu|first2=Lilian|title=Wu'er Kaixi to run in legislative by-election|url=http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201412010041.aspx|accessdate=2 December 2014|publisher=Central News Agency|date=1 December 2014}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hou|first1=Elaine|last2=Hau|first2=Hsueh-ching|title=Wu'er Kaixi drops bid for Legislature, vows to run in 2016|url=http://mfocustaiwan.cna.com.tw/news/aipl/201412260016.aspx|accessdate=26 December 2014|agency=Central News Agency|date=26 December 2014}}</ref>

Wu'er Kaixi, backed by the Constitutional Reform Fraternity Coalition, launched an unsuccessful second bid for the [[Legislative Yuan]] in July 2015.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tiananmen Square dissident Wu'er Kaixi to stand for election to Taiwan parliament|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1843565/tiananmen-square-dissident-launches-election-bid-taiwan|accessdate=17 January 2016|work=South China Morning Post|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=25 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Makinen|first1=Julie|title=Heavy metaler hopes to rock the vote in Taiwan with his candidacy|url=http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-taiwan-rocker-20160115-story.html|accessdate=9 April 2016|work=Los Angeles Times|date=15 January 2016}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Wu'erkaixi}}
*[http://www.wuerkaixi.com Wu'erkaixi's blog] {{en icon}} and some {{zh icon}}
*{{cite news|title=Mr. Wu’er Kaixi’s Statement on Attempt to Turn Himself In|url=http://www.initiativesforchina.org/?p=1137|accessdate=10 December 2014|publisher=Initiatives for China|date=19 May 2012}}
{{1989 Tiananmen protests}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wuerkaixi}}
[[Category:1968 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Beijing Normal University alumni]]
[[Category:Chinese Christians]]
[[Category:Chinese democracy activists]]
[[Category:Chinese dissidents]]
[[Category:Chinese former Muslims]]
[[Category:Converts to Protestantism from Islam]]
[[Category:Tiananmen Square protesters of 1989]]
[[Category:Republic of China politicians from Beijing]]
[[Category:Taiwanese television journalists]]
[[Category:Uyghurs]]
[[Category:Uyghur Christians]]
[[Category:Naturalised citizens of the Republic of China]]
[[Category:Taiwanese people from Beijing]]

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Wu'erkaixi