People of 1989: Xiao Bin (肖斌)

Xiao Bin was a worker from Da Lian, who happened to be at Beijing during the Tiananmen Massacre. On June 5, 1989, the day after the massacre, reporters from ABC were interviewing crowds in the streets of Beijing. Xiao Bing provided an animated presentation of the massacre which was largely out of his own imagination, including claims of "20,000 were killed," etc.

The Chinese government intercepted ABC's satellite signal and broadcast the interview on CCTV as an example of rumor-mongering.

Xiao Bin's co-workers recognized him from the broadcast and turned him in. He was arrested on June 11. Although he immediately made a confession and apology on TV, he was sentenced to 10 years for "counter-revolutionary propaganda and instigation" on July 14. His prison term was longer than any of those received by student leaders.

Xiao Bin served out his sentence and was released in 1999. He is unwilling to talk about his experience.


People of 1989