2012
Yu Jie
Introduction by Philip Bobbitt, Professor and Director of the Center on National Security at the Columbia Law School
[F]or some the call to witness is a sharp, insistent tinnitus that can’t finally be ignored. We may deny it at first — like Peter — or it may overwhelm us all of a sudden — like Paul — but for those persons whose civil courage — in John Train's felicitous phrase — importunately asserts itself there is no turning back and no avoiding the retaliation and costs incurred…
[W]hile we honor [Yu Jie] for his courageous past, his most important contributions may lie ahead of him, as he and others lead the world’s most populous country toward democracy and the rule of law.