Liu Jingsheng is a Chinese

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 political opposition activist and a former co-editor of Tansuo (Explorations), a journal

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

 he founded in the late 1970s with Wei Jingsheng

Wei Jingsheng

Wei Jingsheng is a Chinese activist known for his involvement in the Chinese democracy movement, most prominent for authoring the document Fifth Modernization on the "Democracy Wall" in Beijing in 1978. He is generally known for getting arrested and spending 15 years in prison due to the document...

.

Biography

Liu played a leading role in the Democracy Wall

Democracy Wall

The Democracy Wall was a long brick wall on Xidan Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, which became the focus for democratic dissent. Beginning in December 1978, in line with the Communist Party of China's policy of "seeking truth from facts," activists in the Democracy movement—such as Xu...

 and was arrested (when?). Upon his release, Liu resumed his job as a bus driver

Bus driver

A bus driver, bus operator or omnibus driver is a person who drives buses professionally. Bus drivers typically drive their vehicles between bus stations or stops. They often drop off and pick up passengers on a predetermined route schedule. In British English a different term, coach drivers, is...

. In 1992, he was arrested again for his associations with "counter-revolutionary organizations." Liu was released in November 2004.

Liu was awarded the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award

PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award

The PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award honours writers anywhere in the world who have fought courageously in the face of adversity for the right to freedom of expression....

in 1998.

External links

• http://www.pen.org/freedom/hm/liu.htm
• http://usinfo.state.gov/dhr/Archive/2004/Dec/01-313610.html
• http://www.laborrightsnow.org/Liu_case.htm