Wu'erkaixi, Chinese journalist and activist
Örkesh Dölet (Uighur: ئۆركەش دۆلەت; alternatively transliterated Uerkesh Davlet), commonly known as Wu'erkaixi (from the pinyin spelling of his name), is a political commentator known for his leading role during the Tiananmen protests of 1989.
Of Uyghur heritage, he was born in Beijing on 17 February 1968, with ancestral roots in Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang. He achieved prominence while studying at Beijing Normal University as a hunger striker who rebuked Chinese Premier Li Peng on national television. He was one of the main leaders of the pro-reform Beijing Students' Autonomous Federation and helped lead abortive negotiations with officials.
Wu'erkaixi eventually settled in Taiwan, where he works as a political commentator. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Legislative Yuan twice, in 2014 and 2016.
1968Feb, 17
Wu'erkaixi
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Events on 1968
- 30Jan
Tet Offensive
Vietnam War: Tet Offensive launch by forces of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army against South Vietnam, the United States, and their allies. - 31Jan
Tet Offensive
Vietnam War: Viet Cong guerrillas attack the United States embassy in Saigon, and other attacks, in the early morning hours, later grouped together as the Tet Offensive. - 29Apr
Counterculture of the 1960s
The controversial musical Hair, a product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, opens at the Biltmore Theatre on Broadway, with some of its songs becoming anthems of the anti-Vietnam War movement. - 14Oct
U.S. Marine Corps
Vietnam War: The United States Department of Defense announces that the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps will send about 24,000 soldiers and Marines back to Vietnam for involuntary second tours of duty in the combat zone there. - 20Oct
Jacqueline Kennedy
Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy marries Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.