Human Rights Watch - Zhang Ming - Tiananmen Square, 15 Years On

Tiananmen, 15 Years On

Where Are Some of the “Most Wanted” Participants Today?

Photo courtesy of Human Rights in China

Zhang Ming
When the pro-democracy started in April 1989, Zhang Ming, a Jilin province native, was an automotive engineering student at Qinghua University in Beijing. During the ensuing two months, he became a key figure in the Beijing Students Autonomous Federation based in Tiananmen Square. Zhang’s attempt to escape to Hong Kong ended in September 1989 when he was caught in Shenzhen and returned to Beijing for trial. Accused of inciting subversion and attempting to overthrow the socialist system, Zhang was sentenced in January 1991 to a three-year term on charges of counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement and transferred nearer home to Lingyuan prison in Liaoning province where according to confidential sources, he was tortured.

Following his release in the spring of 1992, Zhang went into business with friends, eventually becoming president of his own successful Shanghai-based company. In September 2002, authorities re-arrested Zhang on charges of “endangering public safety” for allegedly plotting to destroy a multi-story building in the city. By the time he received a seven-year sentence in 2003, the charges had been changed to “abuse of executive benefits.” In May 2004, it became known that the China’s Supreme People’s Court had ordered the Shanghai Supreme Court to re-hear Zhang’s case.

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 fail—failure is the mother of success. There’ll be more chances—and 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

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