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15 Years
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Tiananmen, 15 Years On
Where Are Some of the “Most Wanted” Participants Today?
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Liu
Gang
“We almost changed China. From the time of Tiananmen, people had more confidence
that the system could be changed. Before then, they thought the Party was too
stable, too powerful. They didn’t even want to try to change it. We didn’t
failfailure is the mother of success. There’ll be more chancesand
we have more experience.”
—May 2004
Liu Gang’s political activism began in the mid-1980’s when he began to espouse
the need for free expression, political pluralism, and human rights. By 1988,
he was involved in setting up “democracy salons” on university campuses to more
openly discuss such ideas. During April and May 1989, Liu, a graduate physics
student, helped coordinate the various Beijing university responses to unfolding
events.
After June 4, Liu managed two weeks of freedom before he was captured trying
to buy a railway ticket in Baoding, Hebei province. His ongoing activism earned
him one of the longer student sentences, six years of imprisonment on charges
of “conspiracy to subvert the government.” His association with the think tank
SERI and its directors, and with Fang Lizhi and Li Shuxian were cited as evidence
against him. True to form, Liu defended himself at length.
Liu served out his entire sentence, most of it in Lingyuan prison where he was
expected to undergo reeducation examination every day. His failure to do so and
his ability to rally other political prisoners, resulted in a three-month stint
in solitary confinement and intermittent torture. Shortly before his release,
Liu was transferred to a prison near home where he learned the thirteen restrictions
that would apply once he was “freed.” He also learned that his relatives would
be required to observe six restrictions. For example, he could not travel, contact
any relatives, or start his own business. Each week when he reported to the police
he was required to submit a “thought
report.”
Liu escaped to the U.S. in April 1996 and almost immediately enrolled at Columbia
University, where he earned a Masters degree in computer science. He has worked
as a mathematics researcher for such institutions as ATT and Bell Labs.
More Profiles:
Wang
Dan
“ The future for democracy in China is dependent not just on political institutions
but on the growth of a vibrant civil society.”
—May 25, 2004 |
Feng
Congde
“Tiananmen was the beginning of the end of the communist camp. It was a wake-up
call to Chinese inside and outside China.”
—May 2004 |
Zhang
Boli
“1989 stands out as a beautiful moment. We stood up. It wasn’t easy.
Overturning the government’s official verdict isn’t important; what’s important
is what we did. History will judge us properly.”
—June 2, 2004 |
Liu
Gang
“We didn’t failfailure is the mother of success. There’ll be more chancesand
we have more experience.”
—May 2004 |
Zheng
Yi
Zheng worked with other intellectuals to craft statements of support for
the students including the famous “Declaration of May 16.” |
Wang
Chaohua
“I jumped into the center of the movement. I thought I could
make a decision for myself....But this...decision had repercussions
for others, including ones I love dearly.”
—May 26, 2004 |
Li
Lu
“Once in [Tiananmen] Square you did anything and
everything that needed doing.” |
Zheng
Xuguang
“Within the movement we consistently adhered to the
principles of peace, reason and nonviolence.”
—1993 “Peace Charter” |
Zhang
Ming
Accused
of inciting subversion and attempting to overthrow the socialist
system, Zhang was sentenced in January 1991 to a three-year term. |
Xiong
Yan
“We believe, no matter whether the government does or does not, that history
will recognize this movement as a patriotic and democratic movement….”
—May 1989 |
Wang
Juntao
“Tiananmen changed Chinese history. It was a benchmark in Chinese
political development, furthering the liberal trend of the 1980s and
destroying the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party.”
—May 2004 |
Ma
Shaofang
Ma Shaofang, the former Beijing Film Academy student who
was No. 10 on the most wanted student list, has remained politically
active in China. |
Wang
Youcai
“The development of a democratic system is crucially
important. Democracy is the only way to avoid a second Tiananmen.”
—May 2004 |
Yang
Tao
Authorities charged Yang Tao had been an instigator of a “counterrevolutionary
rebellion,” had “advocated bourgeois liberalism,” and “wantonly
attacked Marxism.” |
Han
Dongfang
“1989 was the very first time the Chinese people themselves directly
faced the regime. Before that time, there was only hope.
—May 2004 |
Zhou
Fengsuo
“It was the one time I experienced the beautiful
character of the Chinese people longing for a democratic China
where we could freely speak our minds.”
—May 2004 |
Zhang
Zhiqing
Zhang Zhiqing, No. 16 on “Wanted List 1,” disappeared from view shortly
after June 4, 1989. None of the other students on the most wanted list
has heard from him since. |
Yan
Jiaqi
By the time the 1989 protests came to a head, Yan Jiaqi had
years of experience in reform politics, working both inside and
outside the system. |
Lu
Jinghua
“Tiananmen 100 percent changed my life. Even since ’89, I’ve tried
to make people understand what life without human rights is really
all about.”
—May 24, 2004 |
Fang
Lizhi
“June 4, 1989 was one of the most important events of the
last century.”
—May 2004 |
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Reports
 Nipped in the Bud: The Suppression of the China Democracy Party
Slamming the Door on Dissent: Wang Dan’s Trial and the New “State Security” Era
Leaking State Secrets: The Case of Gao Yu
China: Enforced Exile of Dissidents" Government "Re-entry Blacklist" Revealed
Further Reading

Chinese Scholars Detained
Human Rights Watch Campaign Document
Tiananmen
Mother’s Campaign
Off-Site Link
Dr.
Jiang Yanyong’s Letter and Petition
Off-Site Link
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