Family Seeks Foreign Help for Dissident

Supporters and the family of Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng, sentenced to 14 years in prison Wednesday for “conspiring to subvert the government,” appealed for foreign pressure on Beijing’s political leadership to win the release of the country’s leading democracy advocate.

Wei, 45, was convicted Wednesday after a five-hour trial in which government prosecutors accused him of plotting to overthrow the government, illegally soliciting foreign funds to establish a “Democracy Movement Bank,” illegally publishing articles in foreign publications, giving financial support to anti-government factions and “advocating Tibetan independence.”

Wei was given 10 days to appeal his conviction. Family members and other supporters called for concerted pressure on the Beijing government--including raising the possibility of economic sanctions--during the appeal period.

“If within these 10 days the international community levels the same kind of severe criticism as it did after Tiananmen Square, then he has a chance to be freed,” Wei’s sister, Wei Shanshan Blank, said in a telephone interview from Washington.

The United States condemned Wei’s conviction and urged clemency from the Beijing government.

White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry said the United States will raise the case with Beijing officials and join other nations in pressuring China.

“China’s image is going to suffer dearly . . . and perhaps will be beyond fixing,” said Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.), chairman of the House subcommittee on international operations and human rights.

Speaking at a news conference with Wei Shanshan Blank, Smith also lambasted the American business community in China for its “complicity” by being “abysmally silent” on the issue of human rights.

“Is money more important than freedom of conscience?” asked Wei Shanshan Blank, who spoke at the news conference through an interpreter.

International human rights organizations joined in the chorus of condemnation.

“Only the personal intervention of President Clinton and other world leaders may save Wei now,” said a statement from New York-based Human Rights Watch. “The next few days will be critical as Beijing waits to see if it will pay any political or economic price for silencing Wei.”

Some of Wei’s supporters hope his harsh sentence can be replaced by an internationally brokered exile.

This would allow the Chinese government to send a message domestically about dissent but avoid international condemnation for jailing Wei, who in 1979 was one of the first dissidents to openly criticize Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping.

A similar arrangement was made this summer for Chinese-born human rights activist Harry Wu. A naturalized American citizen, Wu was convicted of espionage after he attempted a clandestine fact-finding mission to China. On a recent visit to China, Chancellor Helmut Kohl of Germany, where Wei Shanshan Blank lives with her German husband, offered to “receive” Wei in his country.

Wei’s trial was held under heavy security in the Beijing First Intermediate People’s Court on the western fringes of the capital. Only family members, two defense attorneys and selected citizens were allowed into the courthouse, which was ringed by state police. Despite repeated requests, no foreign diplomats or journalists were permitted to observe the proceedings.

Wei’s younger brother, Wei Xiaotao, who attended the trial, said government prosecutors presented six pieces of evidence. Among them were shares of stock that Wei allegedly bought in a bank or credit cooperative; documents purporting to show that he engaged in labor union activities, and receipts showing that he donated money to help victims of the June 4, 1989, army massacre of civilians in Tiananmen Square.

One of the more bizarre claims, read by a stern-faced announcer on the national evening television news, was that Wei organized “nongovernmental art exhibitions.”

“He didn’t do any of it. Not any of it,” Wei Xiaotao said.

He said the family was relieved to see Wei--who has been out of public view for 19 months--appearing healthy “although a little thin.” He said his brother read his defense statement in a clear voice, “not too soft and not too loud.” However, at one point during the court session, Wei complained of fatigue, and the court recessed for 30 minutes so that he could rest.

Times staff writer Ed Chen in Washington contributed to this report.