Monday, June 1, 2009

This Day in 1989, June 1, Chai Ling Kidnapped, Liu Xiaobo Prepares Hunger Strike

The biggest news of the day, June 1, 1989, was that student leaders Chai Ling and Feng Congde were kidnapped by their own fellow students in the early morning. Li Lu found them tied up and gagged in a tent and was able to summon enough student marshals to release them. The culprit of the kidnapping was apparently Wang Wen (王文), a young student who was involved in the hunger strike leadership from the very beginning. Wang Wen was upset about Chai Ling's leadership styles and the financial handling in the occupation.

It was the International Children's Day. Students, while continued to stay at Tiananmen Square, did make a gesture of their own in cleaning up the place and preparing gifts for kids who came to visit.

The government was on the move. Soldiers could be seen marching or jogging on the streets in formation, coming as close as a couple of blocks within Tiananmen. They were left alone by students and residents.

At Beijing Normal University, Professor Liu Xiaobo was upset about the status of the standoff. He decided to plunge in himself in order to provide some adult leadership. But he was having trouble in locating and persuading friends to join him into a hunger strike.


Days of 1989

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