.png)
 |
| oSha Shireman |
Last Wednesday evening, January 23, I was privileged to attend U of L’s Center for Asian Democracy’s 2013 Lecture. Harry Wu, a human rights’ activist and former political prisoner in China, delivered a speech entitled, “In the Mouth of the Dragon: U.S. & China Relations in the 21st Century.” Wu spoke of his imprisonment in the Laogai and compared that experience to those of the gulag in the former Soviet Union. He spoke of the fear of being taken to the Laogai for no particular reason, simply for standing out in any crowd. He was intent that "Laogai" be put into the dictionary, and despite his efforts to do that through his work at the Laogai Research Foundation in Washington, DC, the Chinese government has outlawed the term “Laogai.”
It was eye-opening to hear of Mr. Wu's stories: getting his arm broken for having a secret copy of Les Miserables and other gross human rights abuses of the other members of the Laogai. Wu advised to always keep a critical eye when traveling in China and to never take things for what they seem. I am excited to get the opportunity to research and observe in person some of the things that Mr. Wu spoke about when I travel to China this summer with my McConnell Scholars’ group.
oSha Shireman is a junior McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. She is studying political science and social change.