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Encyclopedia :
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DA :
DAI :
Dai Qing |
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Dai Qing Dai Qing, born in August 1941, (Chinese: 戴晴, Pinyin: Dŕi Qíng) was a journalist and activist for China-related issues; most significantly against the Three Gorges Dam Project. Dai is also a author who has published many influential books, articles, and journals. BiographyEarly lifeDai, also called Fu Ning (傅凝/傅小慶), was born in Chongqing (重慶), Sichuan (四川) in August 1941. She was the daughter of Fu Daqing (傅大慶) and Yang Jie (楊潔). Fu was a Chinese intellectual and Communist Party (中國共產黨) martyr. He was killed by Japanese soldiers in 1944. Dai Qing was then adopted by her father's friend, Ye Jianying (葉劍英), who was a major Chinese political figure and one of the ten marshals of the People's Liberation Army (人民解放軍). Reasons for becoming a journalistIn 1966, Dai wrote a short story that was well accepted by the public. At that time, her daughter was about 7 to 8-year-old. Unfortunately, her daughter did not have any books to read. Dai then wondered why children in other countries, like the United States, had books to read, but there was none for children in China. She then tried to study English in Nanjing(南京) for two years. By this way, she could translate English books into Chinese for her daughter. At that time, however, only a minority of Chinese could study English, such as those in the military. As Dai could not afford English education, she returned to her engineering career. She worked on guided missiles to make them go straight. However, she knew that she could be an accomplished writer but could only have little achievement as an engineer. During the Cultural Revolution (文化大革命) in 1966-1976, Dai and her husband, Wang Tak Ka(王德嘉), were sent to the countryside to be "reformed through labour" and worked as peasants. They were forced to leave Beijing where their daughter, Wang Siu Ka (王小嘉) lived. This showed Dai the uglier side of the Chinese government and made her realize that Chinese citizens were of least importance to her. After the Cultural Revolution, Dai was unable to return to her former career. Later on, she worked on surveillance equipment and after that as a writer for the People's Liberation Army(人民解放軍). In 1982, she left the Army and joined Guangming Daily(光明日報) as a news reporter. Early life as a journalistIn 1966, Dai Qing graduated from the Harbin Military Engineering Academy (哈爾濱軍事工程學院). After graduation, she furthered her studies in Japan to become an oil engineer, and she was also trained as a missile engineer. In the same year, she worked as an engineer in a top secret plant which specialized in intercontinental missiles. After working as an engineer, she started her career as a writer/news reporter. She was noticed in 1969 when the Guangming Daily published her short story which depicted the plight of a husband and a wife separated during the Cultural Revolution. As a result, she joined the Chinese Authors Association (中國作者協會) in 1982. After publishing the short fiction, "Pan" ("盼"), she was paid high tribute as an author. She then became a reporter for the Guangming Daily (光明日報) (also called Enlightenment Daily in English) and she remained as a columnist from 1982 to 1989. Dai was the first Chinese journalist to announce the views and points of dissidents — people such as astrophysicist Fang Lizhi(方勵之), who held different political views. At that time, Dai was a dedicated patriot. She once said that she would die if Mao Zedong (毛澤東) needed her to do so -- but after three to five years, she gradually changed her stance. Dai wanted to understand her community and the lives of ordinary citizens through the eyes of a journalist. She hoped to be able to contribute to the community. Opposition against the Three Gorges DamIn 1979, when Dai Qing returned from France to China, she was sent south to cover the Sino-Vietnamese War. At that period, she decided to reveal the dark side of the Three Gorges Dam. As a famous and fearless China journalist and writer, Dai hoped her writing would encourage Chinese people to speak out and avoid repeating past mistakes. Thus, she openly opposed the Three Gorges Dam Project (三峽工程) on the Yangtze River (長江) in 1989. She regarded the project as "the most environmentally and socially destructive project in the world". She collected a lot of information on the project which led to the publication of the book Yangtze! Yangtze! (揚子!揚子!). The information included interviews and essays from the Chinese scientists and journalists who also opposed the project. During the period, a conference was held in the Hall of Chinese People's Political Forum about the Three Gorges Dam, and Dai was the only reporter who attended and reported the forum. She even went to Japan in 1996 to ask the Japanese government not to provide loans or any kind of financial assistance for that project. Her hard work has paid off because the potential environmental problems were recognized and addressed by the Chinese government. She argued that there was already serious immigration today, either legal or illegal, from China to other counties, like Canada, the United States, Europe and so on. The project would create a large number of refugees who had to find a place for them to reside. As a result, the legal or illegal immigration problem would be aggravated. In addition, the project would have had global effect on the climate. Dai claimed that there was a potential risk for the Yangtze River (長江) and the Yellow River(黃河) to dry up, leading the sandstorms in Inner Mongolia to have a greater influence on Korea, Japan and even the west coast of the United States. Life as a prominent journalistBesides publishing Yangtze! Yangtze!, she also authored many books to share her opinions, especially about the Three Gorges Dam project such as The River Dragon Has Come! (水龍來了!). However, Yangtze! Yangtze! was banned after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 on (天安門屠殺 June 4, 1989). Because of that event, she was denounced on June 4, 1989, and quit the Chinese Communist Party on June 5, 1989. In addition, she was jailed for ten months and was not allowed to publish books in China. When she was released from jail in May 1990, she declined political asylum (政治庇護) from the United States and Germany. As a result of the event, She has been honored with several fellowships and awards. Turning point for DaiDai Qing took part in the opposition of the Three Gorges Dam project because, as a journalist, she thought that the project was environmentally destructive. Around 1986, a group of old respected Chinese scientists, including Zhou Peiyuan 周培源 and Lin Hua (林華), visited Three Gorges to inspect the region for dam construction. One day a conference was held in the Hall of the Chinese People’s Political Forum about Three Gorges which The Ministry of Media told the press not to report. As the only journalist who went to the conference, Dai did not know much about the Three Gorges Dam project. However, after the conference, she found the scientists to be very reasonable. Dai's turning point came in 1987 when she made a visit to Hong Kong. She saw that every journalist and intellectual were free to express their opinions on the Three Gorges Dam project on the Yangtze River, and she was touched by their concerns for China. However, since the Chinese media was controlled by the Chinese government, even citizens who were most susceptible to the disastrous effects of the Three Gorges Dam project knew nothing and the disadvantages of building the dam. She felt ashamed because the Hong Kong media was way ahead of China's. Extremely anxious, Dai felt that it was her responsibility to let people know the opposing views about the Three Gorges Dam project. Therefore, she decided to publish a book to voice out her concerns. Eventually she met a writer named Lin Feng, and after he discovered her concerns about the Three Gorges, he mailed her all the Hong Kong newspaper articles related to this issue. Life in prisonIn 1989, the Tiananmen Square incident broke out. Many scholars and students disappeared and were sent to jail under unreasonable charges. Dai Qing, as an outspoken critic and reporter, was arrested a month later on June 14, 1989. After the incident, the situation got worse. Many scholars either disappeared or fled overseas. Dai Qing, not knowing whether to flee or not, only managed to make phone calls everyday to comfort her friends and relatives. According to one of her famous books, Wo de Ruyu (My Imprisonment; 我的入獄), Dai mentioned that the police had visited her the day before her imprisonment as a way of warning her. However, She did not plan to run away for her life because she loved her country. She said, "As a citizen of a country, I cannot leave her. And I have to critise it in order to build a more perfect and stronger one." Thus, on June 14, 1989, she was arrested and started her life in prison. She understood that although she had not committed any crimes, she could still be convicted and be sentenced to death. Soon she discovered that there were many holes all around her room. However, no matter how hard she tried, she could not escape from her cell. She was released on January 21, 1990, but was kept under surveillance for three months. She went back home on May 9, 1990, and although she was being watched, she was granted a free atmosphere to write. She then wrote the article My Imprisonment (我的入獄) in which she said, "What I can fight for is to let others know I am innocent but have a rebellious spirit." As a former reporter for the Guangming Daily, she used to write a lot. However, her imprisonment after the publication of the Yangtze! Yangtze! made her change. From Wo de Ruyu, she declared she would no longer be a reporter. Since she was no longer a member of the Communist Party, she said, "They (the Communist Party) will probably give me up, but I will not be glad to work with them neither." She is currently calm and objective enough to be more suitable than ever to write as an independent unit. Dai's current lifeDai currently resides in Beijing. She argues that China has not yet abolished the mode of collective society from the previous eras. Therefore, she continues her views on human rights, democracy, and environmentalism with people in both China and the West. Fellowships and awardsWorksBooksArticlesReferencesWebsites
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