Wu (Hongda Harry) collection, 1943-1995

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Title:
Hongda Harry Wu 吴弘达 collection
Dates:
1943-1995
Creators:
Wu, Hongda Harry
Abstract:
The Hongda Harry Wu 吴弘达 collection (1943-1995) consists of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) publications and internal documents compiled by Wu, a political activist who spent nineteen years (1960-1979) as a political prisoner in a Chinese forced-labor camp. These materials document forced-labor camp 劳改 and reeducation camp 劳教activities in China, particularly during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and post-Mao decades (1980s-1990s).
Extent:
5 manuscript boxes, 1 microfilm reel (2.1 Linear Feet)
Language:
In Chinese
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Hongda Harry Wu 吴弘达 collection, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of original, printout, and photocopied publications and internal government documents created by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) related to forced-labor camp 劳改 and reeducation camp 劳教activities in China, particularly during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and post-Mao decades (1980s-1990s). After spending nineteen years (1960-1979) as a political prisoner in a Chinese forced-labor camp, Wu immigrated to the United States where he became a political activist and compiled these materials to document the existence of, and criticize the conditions in, Chinese prison camps.

Biographical / historical:

Hongda Harry Wu 吴弘达 (1937-2016) was born in Shanghai into an affluent banking and landlord family before attending the China University of Geosciences, Beijing (1955-1960). During the Hundred Flowers Campaign in 1956, he criticized the Soviet Union's invasion of Hungary. In 1960, he was charged as being a "counterrevolutionary rightist," and spent nineteen years as a political prisoner in a laogai劳改, or forced-labor camp. After Wu was released in 1979, he taught at the China University of Geosciences, Wuhan (1980-1985) before immigrating the United States where he was visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley (1985-1987) and Hoover Institution (1988) before becoming an American citizen in 1994. His research, publications, and foundations were dedicated to documenting the existence of, and criticizing the conditions in, forced-labor camps 劳改 and reeducation camps 劳教 in China.

Acquisition information:
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 1993.
Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Amanda Robb
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-02-23 09:51:32.033338

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Hongda Harry Wu 吴弘达 collection, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
Website