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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release December 13, 1995

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY ON WEI JINGSHENG CONVICTION

China announced today that Wei Jingsheng was tried, convicted and sentenced to 14 years imprisonment on charges of conspiring to overthrow the Chinese government. The United States condemns this or any action designed to silence the voices of democracy. Wei, an internationally-acclaimed spokesman and activist for democracy in China, nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize and recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Foundation award for human rights, has been held incommunicado by Chinese security authorities since April 1994. We have often called for his release and do so again.

The international community recognizes the right of persons to express peacefully their political and religious views. China's statements of adherence to these international covenants should be matched by its actions.