The Innovation
When one considers the challenges and constraints that Wu Qing has faced in carrying out her efforts, her work is indeed innovative and transformational. To accomplish her vision of rule of law and empowerment of women, Wu Qing has had to consistently think outside of the box — while being within the box. As a democratically elected People’s Deputy, she has worked tirelessly to fight for the rights of people in general, and women in particular, using as her tool the Chinese Constitution. She has helped set up a women’s hotline and co-founded the Rural Women magazine and its outreach projects. These have had a ripple effect upon Chinese society, as both initiatives build women’s entrepreneurial spirit from the grassroots.
Background
While Chinese society modernizes and globalizes, women’s roles and rights continue to be heavily dominated by tradition, especially in rural areas. To change China, the situation in rural areas must change, since China is primarily rural. As women comprise the majority of the inhabitants in those areas, changing their mindsets will substantially change the country. Wu Qing has been an adept advocate of women’s rights in China for decades. In 1988, she helped launch China’s first university course on feminism. She also helped set up the first hotline to help women confront problems of family, marriage, divorce, sexual harassment and domestic violence. Wu helped set up the “Rural Women Knowing All” magazine to raise awareness of the importance of encouraging women to develop their own potential and improve their health, knowledge of law, skills in different areas and productivity. Wu has been a legislator since 1984. She has been elected for five terms as the People’s Deputy to the Haidian District People’s Congress and four terms to the Beijing Municipal People’s Congress (the city Parliament). In those capacities, she has been highly entrepreneurial, working long hours to hear the concerns of her constituents and using the Constitution to supervise the authorities and pushing for rule of law and justice. Such an approach is unusual in China. For Wu Qing, the “rule of law must override the rule of men.” The first step is to train the public.
Strategy
The Practical Skills Training Centre for Rural Women is one of the projects organized under the magazine umbrella. The centre is a place where rural women and girls learn skills for economic and political independence. Since April 1999, over 2,600 women and girls have participated in the programmes of the centre. Wu focuses on grassroots training projects on citizenship, gender, micro-credit, health and legal and political participation. She believes that women are trainers of future generations—and the centre of the Chinese movement towards democracy. She also talks to university students about citizenship, gender and social responsibility. The greatest challenge to Wu Qing’s work with women is the lack of an official policy on NGOs in China. But she is optimistic now that China is a member of the WTO and has a new government. The eyes of the world are on China, and particularly, on how it treats it citizens. She is preparing women to assume an important role that will continue to snowball as women seize future opportunities.
Personal Snapshot
Wu Qing is a role model for other Chinese women and for Chinese politicians. Her family background undoubtedly contributed to instilling the leadership qualities she demonstrates. Her mother was China’s most celebrated female author and her father brought the study of Sociology to China. Both were Chinese, but studied in the best US universities, returning to their country to serve its people. Wu Qing also played a seminal role in ensuring that Chinese women participated in the 1995 UN Conference on Women in Beijing.
http://www.schwabfound.org/schwabentrepreneurs.htm?schwabid=767&extended=yes
吴青，女，北京外国语大学教授，北京市人大代表，第一届、第二届、第三届“中国地方政府创新奖”全国选拔委员会委员。
不惟权只惟法
１９８４年３月５日，吴青当选海淀区人大代表。选民选她的理由是：正直、正气、敢言、无畏。当选后的吴青对党委书记表态：“我当了就要真当”、“这个差事对我不是荣誉是责任。”
人大 代表当选之日，冰心送女儿１９８２年版的《中华人民共和国宪法》。冰心曾是全国人大代表。吴青说她接过的不仅是一部宪法，更是父母那一代经历过“五四”运 动的知识分子追求民主科学的精神。自此，吴青随身携带三件宝：《中华人民共和国宪法》、《代表法》、代表证。自此，吴青字斟句酌学宪法。宪法第７６条：全 国人民代表大会代表应当同原选举单位和人民保持密切联系，听取和反映人民的意见和要求，努力为人民服务。该条使吴青每周二下午４时设人民代表接待日——倾 听民声、反映民意、沟通民心。她向选民公开家中电话，电话成了法律热线。
吴青 办实事的最经典例子，是用宪法搬走北外化粪池。１９８４年，海淀区四季青乡将化粪池建在外国语大学西院宿舍楼旁。教职工怨气冲天，与四季青乡交涉无果。待 怨声反映到吴青耳中，吴青遂对四季青乡负责人念宪法第５３条：中华人民共和国公民必须遵守社会公德。“把粪坑建在别人生活区旁就是不遵守社会公德。”吴青 手持宪法奔波在区农业、环保等部门间。最终，化粪池被搬走了。
最被人称道的实事，是吴青力争６年推动政府修了一条安全通道。北京外国语大学东、西院间是繁华的西三环路，车多人众，危险丛生。这条路先后夺走９条人命。吴青为修地下通道从１９８４年奔走到１９９０年。市政府最终出资１００多万元为人民铺就一条安全通道。
最大 胆之举，是２００１年北京市人代会上，吴青与４６名人大代表用宪法第５条“任何组织或个人都不得有超越宪法和法律的特权”、宪法第５３条“一切国家机关和 武装力量、各政党和各社会团体、各企业事业组织都必须遵守宪法和法律。一切违反宪法和法律的行为必须予以追究”质询北京市高级人民法院——领导批条子越权 干预海淀区法院执法。
开风 气之先的事例是１９８８年，吴青第一次参加北京市人代会。会上，她投了两个反对票，两个弃权票。她独立思考的右手改写了中国人政治生活中习惯的“一致通 过”。这天起，吴青成为“有争议”人物。她将种种非议告知母亲。母亲给女儿写了林则徐名言“苟利国家生死以，岂因祸福避趋之”。吴青将母亲墨迹挂在墙上， 记在心中。
吴青办实事的风格是，转信有关部门时一律在信中手书“请核实意见，依法处理”，然后监督落实，一追到底，直至解决。人称吴代表办事风格“死缠烂打”。选民称她“吴青天”，吴青不喜欢此称呼，她喜欢群众唤她“吴代表”。
具有出色的公共服务精神
吴青工作的重中之重是维护妇女儿童权益。她根据宪法第４８条：“中华人民共和国妇女在政治、经济、文化、社会和家庭生活等各方面享有同男子平等权利”，监督政府对这一弱势群体的保护力度。她还在“北京大学法学院妇女研究与服务中心”这一免费民间机构任顾问。
中国 文盲中，妇女占总数的３０％，她们不仅自身得不到发展，还影响子女发展。吴青在给各地妇联讲授“社会性别意识和公民意识”时强调“要改变中国就要改变农 村，要改变农村，就要改变农村妇女。教育农村男人是改变一个人，教育农妇是改变一家人甚至几代人。”她从相关机构得到１９９０年至１９９４年的统计——农 村妇女年平均自杀１７万人；轻生原因多为经济压力；自杀方式多为喝农药。吴青数赴农村做自杀干预课题。她建议出台限制农药出售的法规。“关键是”，她说： “给农家女提供受教育和发展的机会。”做了７年全球妇女基金会董事的她，逢出席国内国际会议，总是选择距离麦克风最近的位置落座。她不放过任何争取中国妇 女权益的机会，人称吴青“国际叫花子”。２００１年，吴青获得有“亚洲诺贝尔奖”之称的菲律宾拉蒙·麦格塞塞公众服务奖。授奖词为：具有出色的公共服务精 神。吴青将奖金５万美元用于农家女文化发展基金。
同情 心、愤怒是吴青在行使代表权利时最常涌现的感情。“按说老鼠过街，人人喊打，但现实是当直面丑恶时，一些人睁只眼闭只眼，说‘没办法’。”吴青说自己选择 “看见老鼠就喊打。明知说了也白说，白说也得说，一定要让自己的声音出去。”多年来，路见不平、敢于喊打的吴青承受着“发神经”、“太书生”的或极端或温 和的指责。
１９８７年，吴青胆囊被摘除。自此，人称大胆无畏的吴青“无胆英雄”。
如果 说法院是维护社会公正的最后屏障，法官则是最后屏障的守门人。社会公正赖于司法公正。一个不公正审判的恶果要数倍于破坏法律本身。吴青说来访群众述说的种 种错案，多是被素质不高、心术不正的执法人员的粗暴、草率和腐败造成。吴青意识到“法律纠纷不断的根本原因是政府不作为或滥作为”。“必须从源头抓起”， 她说：“否则，星期二这天永远有人喊冤。我的接待没有终点。”
每年 年末，吴青向选民汇报“我解决了哪些问题，哪些问题还没解决，阻力在哪儿。我要通过哪些努力使之解决”。出席会议时，熟人常开她玩笑“吴代表，吴宪法，今 天要用宪法第几条哇？”她认真作答“第５条”。她承认“第５条用得最多。”她每年深谢选民：“是你们给了我实现法制社会理想的机会。”一幅对联表达了选民 对吴代表的信任，“任劳任怨不计个人得失，群众心里有杆秤；尽心尽力从未怠于职守，愧煞自称公仆人。”北京外国语大学一选民评说吴青：“这人实实在在。坚 持这么多年，太不容易了。”他希望“更多一些像吴代表这样的代表。”
Wu Qing
Champion of people's rights
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Since 1984, Wu Qing has been a People's Deputy in the Beijing People's Congress. This means she votes with other Deputies on laws and policies put forward by the Beijing city government. Since becoming a People's Deputy, she has been unusual among her peers for holding weekly meetings, open to her constituents, in which they air their opinions, highlight local issues or ask for Wu's help in solving problems or cases of injustice against them.
Wu is an advocate of what the Chinese call "supervision" -- the idea that the public should closely watch the government in order to prevent abuse of power -- with the law as its tool.
"I believe in the rule of law. I believe in transparency. I believe in democracy. I believe in supervision," she told China from the Inside. "But none of these exist in our Chinese culture. It's always been authoritarian. It's like in a family, [all it takes is to say] 'I'm your father!' and no one else dares say a word."
She attempts to hold the government to the many promises made in the statute books and in the constitution -- promises that are often broken in a country where many people feel power and money are all that count. The law actually specifies many rights that in practice many people do not exercise. Whereas many Deputies are seen as simply going along with whatever the Party and government says, Wu has a reputation for listening to her constituents and voicing their concerns to the people in charge, even if they go against the grain, because the law allows her to do this.
Wu has been a trailblazer in another way: In 1988, she was one of the first people to cast a "no" vote at a People's Congress. At the time, a dissenting vote was a rare expression of public disapproval of Party policy. Nowadays, dissenting votes are often cast, though in the National People's Congress, China's parliament, Party policy has yet to be overturned.
Wu's maverick approach has made her unpopular with some government officials, but a star among her constituents. In 1989, the Communist Party branch at the Beijing Foreign Language College where she taught declared that Wu Qing would not be allowed to stand for re-election to the People's Congress. However, voters insisted on nominating her, citing a rule that anyone who received ten nominations would be allowed to stand as a candidate, and Wu went on to receive 70 percent of the vote.
"People often ask me 'Wu Qing, aren't you afraid? How can you be so confident?,'" she said. "I tell them I have two secrets. One is the support of the people. The other is the constitution."
The constitution is so important to Wu that she carries a copy at all times and even knows large sections of it, which she quotes. She encourages ordinary people to be just as familiar with the law and their rights. "A new clause has been added to the constitution recently, saying that the government should respect and protect basic human rights," she said. "However, if someone doesn't know what his basic rights are, how can he ask for them from the government?"
Apart from her work as a People's Deputy, Wu is also well known for promoting women's rights in China, particularly in rural areas. "China is still a Third World country," she said. "To change China, you've got to change the countryside. To do that, you've got to change the status of the women there. If you educate a woman, it's like educating a whole family, even several generations of the family. If you educate a man, you are only educating one person."
Wu heads the school for young rural women run by Xie Lihua's Rural Woman magazine and runs projects encouraging women to stand as candidates in village elections.
Wu's dedication has won her international recognition. In 2001 she won "Asia's Nobel Prize," the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service. She was the first Chinese woman to do so.
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