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Wang Wenyi

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Doctor Wang Wenyi (Chinese: 王文怡; pinyin: Wáng Wényí; born October 26, 1958 in Jilin) is a pathologist and journalist for the Falun Gong-affiliated newspaper The Epoch Times. She is known for having confronted President Jiang Zemin in 2001, and was arrested for heckling President Hu Jintao in 2006.

Biography

Wang Wenyi is a Chinese national. Wang graduated as a medical doctor from the Baiqiuyan Medical School, now part of Jilin University, China in 1983; holds a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Chicago[1], and recently completed her residency as a pathologist at New York City's Mount Sinai Hospital.[1]

Wang's application to renew her expired passport was apparently twice refused by the Chinese consulate.[2] Thus she could not travel back to China to work, and even for her father's funeral in 2005.[1] She is a mother of two[3], a naturalized U.S. citizen[4] who has lived in the United States for 20 years of her life, and who works as a journalist for the Epoch Times,[5] where she specialises in medical issues since about 2000.[6] Wang had helped researching Epoch Times articles on organ harvesting.

Protests

In 2001, she penetrated a security cordon in Malta during a visit of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin and accosted him.[7]

On April 20, 2006, during Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the United States, she got a valid journalist pass that gave her access to the ceremony. She unfurled protest banners and loudly shouted for over two minutes, by some accounts, during a speech given by Mr. Hu.[5]

Her shouted comments in Chinese and English, also directed toward American President George W. Bush, such as "President Bush, stop him from killing" and "President Bush, stop him from persecuting the Falun Gong." CNN and BBC feeds of Hu's visit were interrupted by state censors in China, blacking out the protester's action.[8] Secret Service ushered Wang away from the media platform. Wang's attorney stated that there was no evidence Hu heard the statements uttered, claiming that the scuffles to take away her banner and the attempt to silence her could have caused Hu to pause in his remarks.[6]

"Wang helped research the recent Epoch Times articles on organ harvesting and was "very overstressed"," Epoch Times said, "When she saw Bush shake the hand of the Chinese leader, she felt obligated to speak out".[6] At the time of the protest, she was not a US citizen, and could have faced deportation.[3]

After spending the night in jail, Wang was formally charged on April 21, 2006 with "knowingly and willfully intimidating, coercing, threatening or harassing … a foreign official performing his duties," a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in prison and a fine of $5,000.[1] Bush apologised to the Chinese for the protest incident[9]; Epoch Times also made an apology[10] to the US President.[6]

Wang's statement to reporters said: "What I did was say just a few words at a moment in history. It was an act of conscience and an act of civil disobedience."[1] She was released without bail pending further proceedings.[11]

She was charged with disorderly conduct[1]. On June 21, 2006, the U.S. Court in Washington D.C. dropped all charges against Dr. Wang. [12] "Today is not the important thing," Wang said. "The important thing is all the Falun Gong practitioners who are losing their lives."

On July 5, 2006, Dr. Wang attended a media conference at the National Press Club to accuse China of secret organ harvesting. "The civilized world must shout to China," Wang said, who had two recently imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners by her side[13].

References

Wikinews has related news:
  1. ^ a b c d e f Z. Byron Wolf. "Heckler Charged With harassing Chinese President". ABC News International. Retrieved 2006-05-20. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  2. ^ The Epoch Times: Chinese Consulate Denies Doctor's Passport
  3. ^ a b "Harvesting the truth". Ventura County Reporter. Retrieved 2006-07-08.
  4. ^ "Video interview". CNN. Retrieved 2006-05-20.
  5. ^ a b "Protester charged with Harassing Chinese leader". CNN. Retrieved 2006-05-20.
  6. ^ a b c d "Falun Gong Activist Defiant After Arrest". Washington Post. Retrieved 2006-05-20.
  7. ^ "China and Its President Greeted by a Host of Indignities", Dana Milbank, The Washington Post, Friday, April 21, 2006; Page A02
  8. ^ Jonathan Beale (April 21, 2006). "US protocol crumbles on Hu visit". BBC News. Retrieved 2006-05-20.
  9. ^ Ed Henry & Erika DimmlerBush apologizes to Hu for protester, CNN, April 21, 2006
  10. ^ "Bush presses China over currency". BBC News. April 21, 2006. Retrieved 2006-05-20.
  11. ^ "White House heckler charged". Aljazeera. Retrieved 2006-05-20.
  12. ^ "Chinese President Critic's Charges To Be Dumped". All Headline News. Retrieved 2006-07-08.
  13. ^ "China accused of secret organ harvesting". United Press International, Inc. Retrieved 2006-07-08.
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