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15 Years
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Tiananmen, 15 Years On
Where Are Some of the “Most Wanted” Participants Today?
Wang
Youcai
“When I arrived in Beijing in 1987, my main interest was still physics.
I thought that academia would be my future. The tragedy of 1989 made me decide
to work for democracy in China.”
—May 2004
“The development of a democratic system is crucially important. Democracy
is the only way to avoid a second Tiananmen.”
—May 2004
When the events that culminated on June 4, 1989 began, Wang Youcai, a twenty-four
year-old graduate student in physics at Beijing University, was already committed
to political reform. His interest had been aroused when still an undergraduate
as he listened to physicist Fang Lizhi speak out about the need for democracy.
Wang held a number of different positions in the student movement during the
weeks of protests leading up to June 4, including that of general secretary of
the Beijing Students Autonomous Federation. Although he wasn’t in Tiananmen Square
when the end came, he immediately began to document what was happening, so as
to rebut with firsthand information what he believed would be an inevitable government
cover up.
Knowing he would be hunted, Wang fled Beijing, but as he said about himself, “I
was just an inexperienced student, so I went home.” Security forces detained
him on August 19, 1989 and took him back to Beijing, where he was sentenced to
a four-year term for “inciting subversion against the people’s government and
the [attempt at] overthrowing the socialist system during the 1989 turmoil and
rebellion.” Wang was released early for allegedly “showing repentance.” He attributes
the release to international pressure during the visit of then U.S. Secretary
of State James Baker to Beijing.
The continuance of pro-democracy work brought Wang endless government harassment.
He was repeatedly monitored, called in for questioning, and threatened by members
of the Public Security Bureau. The government finally clamped down in 1997 when
he and some friends formed the China Democracy Party, the first genuine opposition
political party since the 1949 founding of the People’s Republic of China in
1949. Wang was detained in August 1998, released, then rearrested in November.
In December 1998, he was sentenced to an eleven-year term on charges of subversion.
Released in May 2004 and exiled to the U.S. on medical parole, Wang is currently
a visiting scholar at Harvard University’s
Fairbank Center.
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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