BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS

A champion of human rights who was jailed in a Chinese prison for his

views recently received a service award from Rep. Christopher Cox

(R-Newport Beach).

Cox presented Henry Wu with the “American Century Award,” sponsored by

the Washington Times Foundation in the nation’s capital. Wu was

imprisoned for 19 years in China for speaking against the Soviet invasion

of Hungary.

“Harry Wu has personally endured what most of us cannot even imagine in

our worst nightmares,” Cox said. “This award is but one token of our

admiration for his fight for freedom for China’s people.”

Once released from prison, Wu immigrated to the U.S. where he spoke about

his homeland’s human rights violations. He returned to China in 1995 but

was arrested when authorities discovered he had secretly crossed country

borders. His trip was intended to document conditions in labor camps, but

Wu found himself one of the oppressed. He spent 66 days in prison and

then returned to the U.S., where he wrote a book called “Troublemaker,” a

name given to him by Chinese police.

Wu estimates there are as many as 1,500 camps in China today, holding

between 6 and 8 million prisoners.