Talk:Harry Wu/Archive 1

Archive 1

Removal of "An inconsistency of his story..."

I removed the part "An inconsistency in his story is that had he been arrested, it would not have been possible for him to graduate by 1959".

Wu studied at the Geology Institute in Beijing, where he was first arrested in 1956 for criticizing the Communist Party during the brief period of liberalization in China known as the Hundred Flowers Campaign. He has also claimed that he protested the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956. An inconsistency in his story is that had he been arrested, it would not have been possible for him to graduate by 1959. In 1960 he was sent to the laogai ("re-education through labor"), the Chinese labor camp system, as "counterrevolutionary rightist."

Reason

As a neutral reader, I erased the sentence for the following reasons:

1. The erased sentence seems to have been placed there only for political purposes. There is no doubt that Harry Wu was prosecuted by the communist government for his ideas.
2. The fact that Wu had been arrested in 1956 does not imply that he would not graduate in 1959, because:
   1. one can be arrested and then immediately released;
   2. one can be allowed to study and take a diploma even while in prison.

By Vitaltrust (talk) 10:05, 31 May 2008 (UTC).

You say you are neutral. This may be true.

For neutrality's sake, have we a copy of his diploma or other confirmation of his academic status?

After all, your points (1) and (2) stand as speculation unless you can footnote details of (1) his inmate education and (2) any paroles. --Arthur Borges 13:30, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

Details Please

It is nice to see there is a Wiki article for Sherborn, but what about details of what "Courage of Conscience Award" and the "Peace Abbey" are?

More importantly, who finances the Laogai Foundation? In the interests of neutrality, it is essential to identify the main backers. Is it Lyndon LaRouche, the CIA, NED or Chanel and Walmart?

--Arthur Borges 13:30, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

Clarification Please

I have an issue with: "He established the Laogai Research Foundation, a non-profit research and public education organization which was financed by the AFL-CIO and in fact was based there in the early years."

Does "there" refer to AFL-CIO or to Laogai? Perhaps "based at the former/latter" might be more transparent.

Lead-In

The first sentence says he is an "activist in...China" but then says he lives "in" the USA. Omnipresence failing, the lead-in should read "from" not "in".

Links

Funny how the neutrality obtains a link to "Chinese anti-communists" but not to "Chinese communists" or any link at all to websites that find any blemish in Mr. Wu's background.

Details of the charges laid against him are entirely absent. This leaves us infer that there never were any although most legal systems will at least present a veneer of justice.

Neutral?

--Arthur Borges 13:42, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

Laogai or laojiao?

This article appears to confuse these two concepts merging them into one, when if fact they are distinct. An overhaul is needed. --Cdogsimmons (talk) 17:36, 21 October 2008 (UTC)