Chai Ling
Encyclopedia
Chai Ling (born April 15, 1966 in Rizhao
, Shandong Province
, People's Republic of China) was one of the student leaders in the Tian'anmen Square protests of 1989
. Today she is Founder of All Girls Allowed, a humanitarian organization working to restore value to girls in China.
Chai Ling graduated from Peking University
in 1987 and then undertook graduate study in Beijing Normal University
concentrating on child psychology
.
She participated in demonstrations asking the government for democratic reforms in 1987, even though she realized that speaking out could have enormous implications. Chai Ling emerged as one of the student leaders on the Square at a later stage of the movement. Chai Ling along with other student leaders such as Wuerkaixi and Wang Dan
"led six weeks of protests." The movement was the biggest threat ever to Communist Party rule."
Chai Ling organized many of the hunger strikes during demonstrations. She was known as the "general commander" during the student protests and was then listed as one of the 21 most wanted students by the Chinese government after the military crackdown. Chai Ling is still active in discussing China and the democracy movement as she gives speeches talking about her experience. According to the Associated Press on June 2, 2009, the eve of the 20th Anniversary of the Chinese government's crack down, Chai Ling issued a statement calling for the release of political prisoners in China.
In 1998, Chai founded an Internet company called Jenzabar. Jenzabar provides ERP
software to universities across the United States of America. She has been President since founding Jenzabar and Chief Operating Officer since 2001.
In June 2010, Chai Ling started a nonprofit called "All Girls Allowed" with the aim of stopping the human rights violations related to the One-Child Policy
.
In October 2011, Tyndale Publishers will release "A Heart for Freedom", a memoir authored by Chai Ling in which she reveals her role in China's struggle for freedom and the Tiananmen Square massacre.
Chai Ling has since felt a calling to bring Christianity to China. Her conversion has played a central role in her decision to establish a new organisation, 'All Girls Allowed'.
.
The one-child policy has been in place since 1979, and has led to sex selection in China. Due to a preference for males in China, families will use ultrasound screenings to determine whether the mother is expecting a boy or girl, and many parents will then choose to abort females or abandon them after birth to orphanages. Some abortions are carried out, not by choice, but through force in order to ensure women comply with the one-child policy. It is claimed that there are nearly 100 million missing girls as a result of the policy and that, in some of the provinces in countryside areas there are 130 boys being born for every 100 women which will mean many young men will not be able to find a spouse. The suicide rate is also high among Chinese women estimated at five times the world average and the most common cause of death for Chinese women ages 15 to 34. All Girls Allowed, various work is being done to help victims of forced abortions and sterilizations in China, such as legal aid and counselling, as well as programs to help change minds in China about the preference for male offspring.
Visitors to the AGA website can donate to save the lives of baby girls through the support of rural Chinese families, or sponsor the education of an orphan in China. There are opportunities for students, mothers, churches and other interested parties to become part of a movement of providing life, value and dignity to women and girls in China.
documentary contains footage, dated May 28, 1989, in which a quote from Chai appeared to imply that that the student leaders were making use of the students' lives and well-being to further their personal careers and financial interests. However, Chai claims that she was misquoted in that documentary. In a letter in her defense submitted to the creators of The Gate of Heavenly Peace, a group of students also involved in the 1989 protests in Beijing say that filmmakers and other critics used "selective quotes and interpretive and erroneous translation" in their portrayal of Ling, and that she and the other student leaders remained united right up until the end of the protest when they fled the Square in the last hour.
Chai and her firm have launched multiple lawsuits against the non-profit organization that created this film. An initial suit, in which Chai alleged defamation, has been dismissed. An additional ongoing suit claims that the organization infringed upon Jenzabar's copyright by mentioning the firm's name on its website. Her lawsuits have been criticized by some commentators, including columnists for the Boston Globe and the New Yorker.
Rizhao
Rizhao is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It is situated on the coastline along the Yellow Sea, borders Qingdao to the northeast, Weifang to the north, Linyi to the west and southwest, and faces Korea and Japan across the Yellow Sea to the east...
, Shandong Province
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
, People's Republic of China) was one of the student leaders in the Tian'anmen Square protests of 1989
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
. Today she is Founder of All Girls Allowed, a humanitarian organization working to restore value to girls in China.
Education and protest
Chai Ling's parents were members of the Communist Party. As a young student Chai herself joined the Central Communist Youth League, which named her a "model student" during high school for her "good health, grades and moral character," reported Paula Chin of People magazine.Chai Ling graduated from Peking University
Peking University
Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...
in 1987 and then undertook graduate study in Beijing Normal University
Beijing Normal University
Beijing Normal University , colloqiually known as 北师大 or Beishida, is a public research university located in Beijing with strong emphasis on basic disciplines of humanities and sciences...
concentrating on child psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
.
She participated in demonstrations asking the government for democratic reforms in 1987, even though she realized that speaking out could have enormous implications. Chai Ling emerged as one of the student leaders on the Square at a later stage of the movement. Chai Ling along with other student leaders such as Wuerkaixi and Wang Dan
Wang Dan
Wang Dan , a leader of the Chinese democracy movement, was one of the most visible of the student leaders in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Wang holds a Ph.D. in history from Harvard University. From August 2009 to February 2010, Wang taught cross-strait history at Taiwan's National...
"led six weeks of protests." The movement was the biggest threat ever to Communist Party rule."
Chai Ling organized many of the hunger strikes during demonstrations. She was known as the "general commander" during the student protests and was then listed as one of the 21 most wanted students by the Chinese government after the military crackdown. Chai Ling is still active in discussing China and the democracy movement as she gives speeches talking about her experience. According to the Associated Press on June 2, 2009, the eve of the 20th Anniversary of the Chinese government's crack down, Chai Ling issued a statement calling for the release of political prisoners in China.
Later career
Chai Ling fled from China in April 1990, with the help of Hong Kong-funded organizations. After 10 months of hiding, she settled in Paris, France, where she then accepted a full scholarship to Princeton University. She later received an honorary Masters degree in Political Science from Princeton University. After this, she served as a junior consultant at Bain & Co., a leading strategic consulting firm, during 1993–1996 in its Boston office. Then she moved on to acquire an MBA at Harvard Business School in 1998.In 1998, Chai founded an Internet company called Jenzabar. Jenzabar provides ERP
Enterprise resource planning
Enterprise resource planning systems integrate internal and external management information across an entire organization, embracing finance/accounting, manufacturing, sales and service, customer relationship management, etc. ERP systems automate this activity with an integrated software application...
software to universities across the United States of America. She has been President since founding Jenzabar and Chief Operating Officer since 2001.
In June 2010, Chai Ling started a nonprofit called "All Girls Allowed" with the aim of stopping the human rights violations related to the One-Child Policy
One-child policy
The one-child policy refers to the one-child limitation applying to a minority of families in the population control policy of the People's Republic of China . The Chinese government refers to it under the official translation of family planning policy...
.
In October 2011, Tyndale Publishers will release "A Heart for Freedom", a memoir authored by Chai Ling in which she reveals her role in China's struggle for freedom and the Tiananmen Square massacre.
Chai Ling's Christian Testimony
Chai Ling became a Christian on December 4, 2009 and was baptized on April 4, 2010.Chai Ling has since felt a calling to bring Christianity to China. Her conversion has played a central role in her decision to establish a new organisation, 'All Girls Allowed'.
All Girls Allowed
In June 2010, Chai Ling started a nonprofit called "All Girls Allowed" with the aim of exposing and stopping the human rights violations caused by China's One-Child PolicyOne-child policy
The one-child policy refers to the one-child limitation applying to a minority of families in the population control policy of the People's Republic of China . The Chinese government refers to it under the official translation of family planning policy...
.
The one-child policy has been in place since 1979, and has led to sex selection in China. Due to a preference for males in China, families will use ultrasound screenings to determine whether the mother is expecting a boy or girl, and many parents will then choose to abort females or abandon them after birth to orphanages. Some abortions are carried out, not by choice, but through force in order to ensure women comply with the one-child policy. It is claimed that there are nearly 100 million missing girls as a result of the policy and that, in some of the provinces in countryside areas there are 130 boys being born for every 100 women which will mean many young men will not be able to find a spouse. The suicide rate is also high among Chinese women estimated at five times the world average and the most common cause of death for Chinese women ages 15 to 34. All Girls Allowed, various work is being done to help victims of forced abortions and sterilizations in China, such as legal aid and counselling, as well as programs to help change minds in China about the preference for male offspring.
Visitors to the AGA website can donate to save the lives of baby girls through the support of rural Chinese families, or sponsor the education of an orphan in China. There are opportunities for students, mothers, churches and other interested parties to become part of a movement of providing life, value and dignity to women and girls in China.
Documentary controversy
The Gate of Heavenly PeaceThe Gate of Heavenly Peace (documentary)
The Gate of Heavenly Peace is a 1995 documentary film, produced by Richard Gordon and Carma Hinton, about the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.-Synopsis:...
documentary contains footage, dated May 28, 1989, in which a quote from Chai appeared to imply that that the student leaders were making use of the students' lives and well-being to further their personal careers and financial interests. However, Chai claims that she was misquoted in that documentary. In a letter in her defense submitted to the creators of The Gate of Heavenly Peace, a group of students also involved in the 1989 protests in Beijing say that filmmakers and other critics used "selective quotes and interpretive and erroneous translation" in their portrayal of Ling, and that she and the other student leaders remained united right up until the end of the protest when they fled the Square in the last hour.
Chai and her firm have launched multiple lawsuits against the non-profit organization that created this film. An initial suit, in which Chai alleged defamation, has been dismissed. An additional ongoing suit claims that the organization infringed upon Jenzabar's copyright by mentioning the firm's name on its website. Her lawsuits have been criticized by some commentators, including columnists for the Boston Globe and the New Yorker.
External links
- Jenzabar – Chai Ling's company (official website)
- Garry Emmons: Chai Ling – The meaning of freedom (Harvard Business School)