Chai Ling
 |
Chai Ling | |
|---|---|
 Chai Ling (2009) | |
| Born | April 15, 1966 Rizhao, Shandong, China |
| Alma mater | Peking University Beijing Normal University Princeton University (MLA) Harvard Business School (MBA) |
| Occupation | President & Chief Operating Officer of Jenzabar |
| Spouse(s) | Feng Congde Robert Maginn |
Chai Ling (Chinese: 柴玲; Pinyin: Chǎi Líng) (born April 15, 1966 in Rizhao, Shandong Province, People's Republic of China) was one of the student leaders in the Tian'anmen Square protests of 1989. Today she is Founder of All Girls Allowed, a humanitarian organization working to restore value to girls in China.
Education and protest
Chai Ling's parents were members of the Communist Party. As a young student Chai herself joined the Central Communist Youth League, which named her a "model student" during high school for her "good health, grades and moral character," reported Paula Chin of People magazine.
Chai Ling graduated from Peking University in 1987 and then undertook graduate study in Beijing Normal University concentrating on child psychology.
She participated in demonstrations asking the government for democratic reforms in 1987, even though she realized that speaking out could have enormous implications. Chai Ling emerged as one of the student leaders on the Square at a later stage of the movement. Chai Ling along with other student leaders such as Wuerkaixi and Wang Dan "led six weeks of protests." The movement was the biggest threat ever to Communist Party rule."[1]
Chai Ling organized many of the hunger strikes during demonstrations.[2] She was known as the "general commander" during the student protests and was then listed as one of the 21 most wanted students by the Chinese government after the military crackdown.[3] Chai Ling is still active in discussing China and the democracy movement as she gives speeches talking about her experience.[4] According to the Associated Press on June 2, 2009, the eve of the 20th Anniversary of the Chinese government's crack down, Chai Ling issued a statement calling for the release of political prisoners in China.[5]
Later career
Chai Ling fled from China in April 1990, with the help of Hong Kong-funded organizations. After 10 months of hiding, she settled in Paris, France, where she then accepted a full scholarship to Princeton University. She later received an honorary Masters degree in Political Science from Princeton University. After this, she served as a junior consultant at Bain & Co., a leading strategic consulting firm, during 1993–1996 in its Boston office. Then she moved on to acquire an MBA at Harvard Business School in 1998.[6]
In 1998, Chai founded an Internet company called Jenzabar. Jenzabar provides ERP software to universities across the United States of America.[7] She has been President since founding Jenzabar and Chief Operating Officer since 2001.[8]
In June 2010, Chai Ling started a nonprofit called "All Girls Allowed" with the aim of stopping the human rights violations related to the One-Child Policy.[9]
In October 2011, Tyndale Publishers released "A Heart for Freedom", a memoir authored by Chai Ling in which she reveals her role in China's struggle for freedom and the Tiananmen Square massacre.[9]
Faith
Chai Ling became a Christian on December 4, 2009 and was baptized on April 4, 2010.[10]
Chai Ling has since felt a calling to bring Christianity to China. Her conversion has played a central role in her decision to establish a new organisation, 'All Girls Allowed'.[9][11][12][13]
Documentary controversy
The Gate of Heavenly Peace documentary contains footage, dated May 28, 1989, in which a quote from Chai appeared to imply that that the student leaders were making use of the students' lives and well-being to further their personal careers and financial interests.[1] However, Chai claims that she was misquoted in that documentary.[14] In a letter in her defense submitted to the creators of The Gate of Heavenly Peace, a group of students also involved in the 1989 protests in Beijing say that filmmakers and other critics used "selective quotes and interpretive and erroneous translation" in their portrayal of Chai, and that she and the other student leaders remained united right up until the end of the protest when they fled the Square in the last hour.[15]
Chai and her firm have launched multiple lawsuits against the non-profit organization that created this film. An initial suit, in which Chai alleged defamation, has been dismissed. An additional ongoing suit claims that the organization infringed upon Jenzabar's copyright by mentioning the firm's name on its website.[16] Her lawsuits have been criticized by some commentators, including columnists for the Boston Globe and the New Yorker.[17][18]
References
- ^ a b Agence France Presse, June 1, 2009 – byline Pascale Trouillaud
- ^ Washington Times, June 5, 1990
- ^ Agence France Presse, May 31, 2009
- ^ University Wire, Daily Nebraskan, March 6, 1998
- ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ "Business Week article from June 23, 1999 [2]." Chai Ling: From Tiananmen Leader to Entrepreneur Retrieved on December 7, 2008.
- ^ "Jenzabar.net:About Jenzabar". Archived from the original on December 18, 2007. Retrieved December 29, 2007.
- ^ "About Jenzabar -Management Bios". Jenzabar.net. Archived from the original on December 18, 2007. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
- ^ a b c "About Chai Ling". allgirlsallowed.org. Retrieved November 2, 2010. Cite error: The named reference "About Chai Ling" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Tiananmen Square Leader Chai Ling Embraces Christian Faith and Freedom". Retrieved April 22, 2010.
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ [5]
- ^ Capital Times, Madison, WI, Oct 24, 1998
- ^ Tiananmen Massacre – June 4, 1989 六四檔案 > 焦点
- ^ MacArtney, Jane (May 4, 2009). "Tiananmen activist Chai Ling sues makers of film about 1989 protest". The Times. London. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
- ^ Abraham, Yvonne (June 7, 2009). "Beijing lesson unlearned". The Boston Globe.
- ^ Letter from China: The American Dream: The Lawsuit : The New Yorker
External links
- Jenzabar – Chai Ling's company (official website)
- Garry Emmons: Chai Ling – The meaning of freedom (Harvard Business School)