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FORMER POLITICAL PRISONER YONGYI SONG TO SPEAK ON HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES IN CHINA AT OBERLIN COLLEGE FEBRUARY 28
FEBRUARY 12, 2001--Yongyi Song--an expert on China's Cultural Revolution and former political prisoner--will speak on "Human Rights and Freedom in China" at Oberlin College Wednesday, February 28, at 4:30 P.M. The free, public lecture will take place in King Building, Room 306, 10 North Professor St.
Song, a librarian and researcher at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, has published numerous books and articles, including The Historical Dictionary of the Cultural Revolution in China and The Cultural Revolution: A Bibliography 1966-1996. His most recent work (a 30 volume set), A New Collection of Red Guard Publications in Beijing Area, will be published in August, 2001.
As a Chinese citizen, Song experienced first-hand the Cultural Revolution of the 60s and 70s. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1989 with his family. He received a master's degree from the University of Colorado in Oriental Literature and a second master's degree in Library Science from Indiana University. On a research trip to China in 1999, Song and his wife were incarcerated in a Beijing detention center and charged with "the purchase and illegal provision of intelligence to foreigners." Despite efforts by Dickinson College, the State Department, the Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation, and many other organizations to secure his release, Song remained imprisoned until pressure from the United States government, Britain, and academic organizations worldwide forced his release on January 29, 2000.
On his return to the U.S., Song became a naturalized citizen and began to speak publicly about human rights issues in China. Song reported that he had been subject to mental torture and intense pressure to confess to crimes he had not committed, and that the Chinese government had tried to convict him without a trial. His experiences received wide media attention in the United States and Britain.
While in Oberlin, Song will discuss the Cultural Revolution with students and faculty, and meet with the Oberlin College Library staff and Friends of the Library.
Song's visit to campus is sponsored by the Oberlin Shansi Memorial Association, the Friends of the Library, and the Oberlin College President's Office.
Media Contact: Sue
Kropp
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