Why Not Wei Jingsheng?

The unexpected winner has surprised most people. U.S. President Obama has received the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. Starting with the sound of surprise on site when of the list of nominees was publicly announced, this announcement was as if a super tsunami rapidly drew the entire world into an awkward situation in which one is unable to laugh or cry.

The typical reaction is to recognize that Obama is perhaps a very popular person, but does he actually have the qualifications to win the Nobel Peace Prize? Since being established in 1901, this may be the Nobel Prize’s greatest controversy.

Not mentioning others, the worst part of this prize is that it rewards a person who has only had remarkable achievement in the preceding year. Yet, Obama assumed the office of the American president only nine months ago. Did the Nobel Prize committee count even his campaign as an “achievement”? The committee said the reasons Obama won the prize included “strengthening international communication” and “promoting cooperation between different ethnic groups.” Relying upon these words alone, which contain only vagueness and generalities, does this even count as Obama’s feat?

Obama’s identity as the first African American president does indeed represent racial peace. But what led him to his status today is the U.S.’s democratic system and the voters. Therefore, today, the qualifications needed to obtain the Nobel Peace Prize are those of the 2008 U.S. presidential election, but not Obama himself.

Sometimes, the Nobel Peace Prize’s list of names is quite stirring, including names like the International Campaign to Ban Landmines in 1997 and Muhammad Yunus for his “poor person bank” in 2006. These kinds of prize winners were not great people, but their achievements stirred people and moved their hearts. This year’s peace prize unexpectedly hit this “audiences all ask why Obama” phase because the big name has brought big doubts.

Wei Jingsheng has continued to be unable to obtain the Nobel prize or have the committee look upon his name in favor. The committee members ought to think attentively about what happened 30 years ago. China had just ended Mao Zedong’s 30 year turmoil when a middle school graduate and inglorious electrician wrote “the Fifth Modernization.” Once more, his thoughts represented the voice of several billion common people (in what became the Wei Jingsheng speech). Although it is not accepted by the Chinese Communist Party, it is actually the real driving force behind China’s current “reform and open door policy.”