Chinese Dissident Xu Wenli

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After years of living in a tiny Chinese prison cell, Xu Wenli is finally tasting freedom.

Mr. Xu first went to prison in 1981, convicted of printing an unauthorized political journal. He remained there for 12 years. After his release, he returned to his pro-democracy activities and was jailed again in 1998 for trying to establish an opposition party. He was supposed to be locked up for 13 years, but this past Christmas Eve he was released and sent into exile in the United States.

Mr. Xu says now that he is in the West, he plans to study, to find ways to bring democracy to China. Democracy is not just a political system he says, “It’s a way of life, essential as bread, air and water.”

Guests:

Xu Wenli.