Li Bifeng (born 1964 in Mianyang,[1][2] Sichuan, China) is a Sichuanese activist, poet, and Christian.[3][4] He has been imprisoned since 1998.
Li Bifeng | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 李必丰 |
| Born | 1964 Mianyang, Sichuan, China |
| Occupation | Activist, poet, writer |
| Notable works | Die Flügel des Himmels (lit. 'The Wings of Heaven') |
Life and imprisonment
editThe poet and campaigner for democracy, Li Bifeng, wrote a report in 1998 about a courageous sit-in of a group of textile workers on a Chinese highway. He passed the report to human rights organizations abroad. In 1989, he was arrested and sentenced to 5 years because of "economic crimes", after he had taken part in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and had been on the run for half a year.
After being released from prison in 1994, Li joined an "unofficial church" and established an organization of conscience-based care for Chinese with fellow Christians to conduct written reports on the living conditions of laid-off workers, women, and children across the country, providing information and acting on both domestic and international levels. In 1998, he was arrested again and sentenced to 7 years in prison for "economic fraud".[1]
In November 2012, 48-year-old Li was sentenced to another twelve years in prison with no plausible reason or evidence and despite worldwide protests. The authorities accused him of helping his friend Liao Yiwu, the writer and winner of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade in 2012, when he fled to Germany.
On 4 June 2013, the Berlin International Literature Festival held a worldwide reading for Li Bifeng.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Zhang, Ping (16 September 2018). "'残酷的童话'：狱中作家李必丰小说在柏林获赞" ["A Cruel Fairy Tale": Li Bifeng's Novel Well Received in Berlin]. dw.com (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 28 September 2023.
- ^ Yang, Qi (4 September 2020). "四川异见作家李必丰出狱后在宾馆隔离" [Sichuanese dissident writer Li Bifeng quarantined in hotel after being released from prison]. chinaaid.net (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 28 September 2023.
- ^ Liao, Yiwu (2013-06-04). For a Song and a Hundred Songs: A Poet's Journey Through a Chinese Prison. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 343–. ISBN 9780547892634. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ "四川基督徒异议诗人李必丰再次入狱，疑因去年暗助廖亦武流亡海外" [Li Bifeng, the Christian Dissident Poet from Sichuan, Has Been Jailed Again]. chinaaid.net (in Simplified Chinese). 1 September 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
- ^ "04.06.2013 - Worldwide Reading for Li Bifeng — Worldwide Reading". www.worldwide-reading.com. Retrieved 2016-03-31.