This Day in 1989: May 10, 1990, Dai Qing, Zhou Dou, and other Intellectuals Released

On May 10, 1990, Chinese government announced that 211 people arrested for participating in the 1989 movement were released without prison sentences. These include intellectuals such as Dai Qing, Cao Siyuan, Li Honglin, Zhou Dou, Yang Baikui, Li Nanyou.

Dai Qing was interviewed by phone with a Hong Kong TV station. She stated that she had not been mistreated while in jail, but had to endure interrogations and write statements.


Days of 1989

Days of 1989: June 14, More Arrests and Crackdowns

On June 14, 1989, under the intense pressure of the Most Wanted, Zhou Fengsuo was arrested at his home, reportedly turned in by his own sister. (Zhou Fengsuo later claims that his sister had been deceived.) Xiong Yan was caught in a train. Ma Shaofang and Xiong Wei chose to turn themselves in separately.

Also arrested on this day were Dai Qing and Gao Xin.

More Most Wanted were published, this time include leaders of the Workers Autonomous Federation Han Dongfang, He Lili, and Liu Qiang.


Days of 1989

Pictures of 1989: Intellectuals March to Support Students on May 15, 1989

Beijing intellectuals march in support of students.

Dai Qing (right) shows up to join the march but is turned away by her compatriots.

An intellectual gives a speech.

Pictures of 1989

This Day in 1989: March 14, 43 Intellectuals Sign Open Letter to People's Congress

On March 14, 1989, 43 intellectuals, led by Dai Qing, co-signed an open letter to the People's Congress, calling for amnesty and the release of Wei Jingsheng. This is the third and last such open letter in support of the original call by Professor Fang Lizhi.


Days of 1989

Document of 1989: 43 Intellectuals Open Letter to NPC

On March 14, 1989, 43 intellectuals signed an open letter to the National People's Congress which was in session at the time. This is the 4th and last in the wave of open letters appealing for amnesty in the spring of 1989.

The Seventh National People's Congress, Second Plenary Session

At this moment just before the the 40th anniversary of our country, we call on the National People's Congress to follow the precedents since the founding of nation and provide amnesty to some prisoners. A little earlier, some intellectuals called for the release of Wei Jingsheng and others. We believe their suggestion is in accordance to the Constitution and the will of people. Therefore, we once again appeal for the National People's Congress to consider it.

Dai Qing, Su Wei, Xu Youyu, Zhao Shijian, Shi Tiesheng, Li Dan, Zhang Shengyou, Zhao Yuesheng, Nie Zhidi, Wu Fang, Sun Naixiu, Zhou Faxiang, Chen Yangu, Xu Ming, Jin Dacheng, Ruan Xun, Wang Xingzhi, Wang Xing, An Yanming, Sun Xiaoming, Liu Mingjiu, Su Guoxun, Cha Jianying, Mao Chongjie, Yuan Hong, Ling Gang, Wang Hui, Chen Jiaying, Zhu Zhengling, Yan Jiaqi, Wu Yuming, Zhang Aixin, Wu Bing, Chen Xuanliang, Zhang Wei, Zheng Yefu, Chen Kuide, He Huaihong, Yuan Zhiming, Kuan Yang, Li Ming, Li Yinghe, Zhou Fucheng

(For the Chinese names of the signatories, please view the original version here.)


Documents of 1989

Who Are and Who Are Not Attending the Nobel Ceremony

It is quite clear that Liu Xiaobo will not be able to make it to the ceremony of Nobel Peace Prize, neither could his wife Liu Xia. It is likely that, for the first time in the history of this award, an empty chair will represent the honoree.

In the diplomatic scene, the Chinese government was successful to persuade or pressure only 5 other countries to boycott the ceremony: Russia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Morocco, and Irag. On the other hand, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be there to represent America, a very high-profile gesture.

Lynn Chang, a famous Chinese American violinist, will be performing at the ceremony. Also invited to perform was a children's choir from China, but they eventually declined for fear of repercussions. A children's choir from Norway will sing in their stead.

Former student Wang Dan expressed his regret for not being able to make the trip on his Facebook page today. He cited difficulty in schedule at the time of finals for the course he is teaching in Taiwan.

Another dissident who won't be there is Dai Qing, who previously had made a public announcement to attend the ceremony in support of Liu Xiaobo. She had the trip planed but then cancelled it after she learned that Wan Yanhai (万延海), another invitee on Liu Xia's list, will be able to make the trip. Dai Qing is now on her way back to China.

Wan Yanhai is an AIDS activist in China who has recently moved to US.

Dai Qing Announces Intention to Attend Nobel Ceremony

The question of who would be able to show up and accept the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo is still up in the air weeks before the scheduled ceremony. It is almost certain that Liu Xiaobo himself, who is currently in jail, or his wife Liu Xia would not be able to make the trip. So much so that Liu Xia had issued an open invitation to their friends. Most on that list are currently under government surveillance and lost their freedom in China. Except perhaps for one.

That one is Dai Qing, a famous journalist and writer who had actively participated in the 1989 student movement (albeit in a somewhat controversial fashion). Dai Qing is also a fellow of the environmental organization Probe International and is on a cross-Canada speaking tour on its behalf. Therefore, she is not under the direct control of the Chinese government.

In an essay titled Liu Xia's Grand List, Dai Qing reflected on her feelings of the award and current state of human rights in China and went on to offer herself as the last resort of attending the ceremony:

Now Liu Xia’s Grand List is flying through cyberspace. Although the seats in the award ceremony hall are limited, people still hope that if Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia are ultimately not allowed to go, the Chinese authorities will allow their comrades to go.

I was honored to be included in Liu Xia’s Long List of “Xiaobo’s fellow friends.” In all fairness, I cannot compare with anyone else on the list in terms of my contribution or hardship in China’s struggle for modernization. I also cannot compare with the others in my personal relationship with Xiaobo: our face-to-face contact could be counted in only dozens of hours, not to mention that I have also written articles critical of him.

Like many Chinese citizens, it is painful and sad for me to see China’s foreign relations leading to so many conflicts. Compared with our current territorial and resource challenges and other pressing concerns, Xiaobo’s matter would seem to have an easy resolution: Release Xiaobo. Tell the world that in China, any citizen is free to propose ideas on national affairs to the government. If Liu Yunshan (China’s propaganda chief) believes this would cause the collapse of heaven and earth, then the authorities could just release Liu Xia, whose life for the past many years has been devoted to her poetry and photography.

If none of this takes place, there is still more than a month before the awards ceremony. The closest friends and comrades of the Laureate, who have been with him through all of the hardship, should be allowed to go to Oslo. But if the authorities ignore all these calls and no one on Liu Xia’s list is permitted to go abroad through the proper procedures, it happens that I am in Canada now for an academic conference.

To comfort Xiaobo in prison and Liu Xia under house arrest, and for all who are on Liu Xia’s list – those who are either under police surveillance or in custody or warned to behave during a forced “tea conversation with the police,” or worse, those “wearing a wig” (a term to describe those hooded and taken away by the security police) – then I shall tell the world that it is not true that no Chinese citizen who fights against authoritarianism will be able to attend the grand ceremony in Oslo. If necessary, I will go there to fulfill my duty to my friend.

This Day in 1989: May 15, Gorbachev in Beijing, a New Headquarters Forms

On May 15, 1989, Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev landed in Beijing. A small welcoming ceremony was held at the airport and his motorcade had to dodge traffic while avoiding Tiananmen Square, where students continued their hunger strike.

The collapse of the dialogue with Yan Mingfu the day earlier was a significant blow to the hunger strikers' morale. In the early morning of this day, Wuer Kaixi had made a desperate plea for the students to move away from the Great Hall of People so a proper ceremony could still be held for Gorbachev. He succeeded in doing that but paid a heavy price in personal reputation from which he would never recover. His good-will effort would also be in vain.

Upset with Wuer Kaixi, Chai Ling and Li Lu decided to formally launch their own leadership for the hunger strikers. In the morning, Chai Ling announced the new Hunger Strike Headquarters, with herself as the commander-in-chief. She assigned Li Lu as her deputy. Li Lu carried out a census and found that there were a little more than 1,000 hunger strikers at the scene this morning.

Support was also gradually building as the hunger strike entered its third day. Prominent intellectuals, organized by Zheng Yi, marched along Chang'an Avenue. They refused Dai Qing to join, claiming that she was a mole. Zheng Yi would stay at Tiananmen Square and became an advisor/aid to the hunger strike students.

In the evening, a huge thug gathered at the front gate of the Great Hall of People, threatening to storm the building where a state banquet was held in honor of Gorbachev. Chai Ling led her weakened students onto the stairs and forced the crowd to back down. Back at the Square, Chai Ling and Li Lu were confronted by other leaders who challenged their unelected headquarters. The challengers were particularly upset and alarmed at Li Lu, who claimed to be a student from Nanjing University but could not produce any proof for his identity. Chai Ling emotionally defended Li Lu's credibiilty and honor.

As the night fell, the future of the hunger strikers was as gloom as ever.


Days of 1989

This Day in 1989: May14, Dialog with Yan Mingfu

On May 14, 1989, the hunger strikers started to settle in Tianamen Square after spending their first cold night there. Feng Congde brought the giant "Hunger Strike" flag he made the night before and they raised it on the poles in the Square. The visible flag announced the purpose of their presence. Feng Congde also spent the day to build a makeshift broadcasting station there with loudspeakers.

The second day of the hunger strike proved to be rather eventful. Yuan Mingfu finally made the biggest concession on the government's side and agreed to a formal dialogue on the students terms. Yet the harshly organized dialogue collapsed under the weight of emotions, miscommunication, and mistrust, as described in my book excerpt here.

Before she crashed the dialogue, Wang Chaohua had spent a good part of the day soliciting prominent intellectuals to persuade students to end the hunger strike. In that evening, after the collapse of the dialogue, a dozen intellectuals were led into the Square to address the students directly. The intellectuals were cheered on enthusiastically when they expressed admiration and support to students, but were boo-ed when the word withdraw was mentioned. The mood turned sour when students objected Dai Qing's condescending tune and her perceived own agenda.

As the hunger strike continued, a fateful decision was made that the welcome ceremony for Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was moved from Tiananmen Square to the airport. It was not only a huge slap in the face of the government but also a move by the government in calling the students' bluff, who was using the occasion as their main bargaining chip.


Days of 1989

Book Excerpt: Dialogue with Yan Mingfu

The following excerpt is from my book Standoff at Tiananmen, chapter 8, describing the dramatic failure in a dialogue between student leaders and government officials.

In that same morning Yan Mingfu learned that a decision had already been made to move the welcoming ceremony for Mr. Gorbachev out of Tiananmen Square. He was stunned. The summit was not only a diplomatic milestone for China, it had also attracted a huge crowd of international media. It would be worse than a slap in the face for the government. Visibly angry, he was nonetheless still clinging to hope. Encouraged by the previous meeting, he thought he might still have time. But he had to act even more boldly and quickly.

Yan Mingfu found Wang Dan, Wuer Kaixi, and Wang Chaohua still in the compound of his United Front Department. He gathered them in a small conference room. Calmly but officially, Yan Mingfu told them that the government was now ready for a formal dialogue. Students were free to select their own representatives. Yan Mingfu, and several other minister-level officials would represent the government side.

The students could not believe what they were hearing. It was a major concession to the demands of the students, something Yan Mingfu was not ready to do even the night before. Essentially, he was holding this dialogue completely on the students' terms: not only had he recognized them as legitimate student leaders, he also framed them as an equal party. Only a week earlier, the State Council Spokesman Yuan Mu had sworn to the world that this would never happen. In a state of shock, Wang Dan and Wuer Kaixi murmured that the representation on the government side might not be high enough. They would prefer either General Secretary Zhao Ziyang or Premier Li Peng. Yan Mingfu would have none of that. He cut them off and vigorously defended his own rank. Wisely, the students did not insist.

But they did have another request. The dialogue had to be broadcast live. Because of censorship rules, very few events were broadcast live in China. Everything, from government proceedings to the popular gala for Chinese New Year, was taped and edited before it could be shown to a general audience. The student leaders had no choice however. Rumors of contact with Yan Mingfu had been circulating in Tiananmen Square. The hunger strikers were worried that they might be sold out behind their backs. Without a live broadcast, they told Yan Mingfu, they might never be able to keep the confidence of their own people.

It was Yan Mingfu's turn to be reasonable. He was open to the idea but not sure if it would be technically feasible. Most equipment had been allocated to the summit. They might not be able to set up a live broadcast in time. He proposed an alternative that the dialogue would be videotaped. As soon as each tape was completed, it would be sealed and transported to CCTV under students' monitoring. So, even though it was not live, it would be a faithful delayed feed to be shown in its entirety. In the mean time, students could also make audio tapes on their own and send them to Tiananmen Square for replaying.

While the student leaders were still pondering the idea, Yan Mingfu dropped the bomb: the Gorbachev welcoming ceremony might not be held at Tiananmen Square whether if they withdrew from it or not. That sealed the deal.

The very possibility that the government might call their bluff on such a grand scale weighted heavily on Wang Dan, Wuer Kaixi, and Wang Chaohua. They had never intended to interfere with the nation's diplomatic work and never thought that it could even be possible. Not only would they bear the responsibility of embarrassing the nation, they would also lose the biggest bargaining chip in their hand. Without it, how could all this come to an end?

Wang Chaohua volunteered to find some prominent intellectuals to help persuade students to leave. Yan Mingfu was ready to help. He dispatched an office vehicle for Wang Chaohua to use. Another van was sent out shortly after to the University of Political Science and Law. Its mission was to fetch the Dialogue Delegation.

Wang Chaohua was familiar with the intellectual circle in the capital from her family background. She was particularly fond of Dai Qing, a famous journalist at the intellectual-oriented newspaper Guangming Daily. Ten years younger than Yan Mingfu, Dai Qing was also a child prodigy. After her father was martyred in the early years of revolution, Dai Qing was raised by Ye Jianying, one of the ten marshals of the People's Liberation Army who was instrumental in the coup that deposed the "Gang of Four." Yet Dai Qing had acquired a strong sense of independence. Taking advantage of the protection from her background, she published many daring essays echoing the views of dissidents such as Fang Lizhi. She also made a name for herself with a staunch, Quixotic opposition to the plan of building the Three Gorges Dam on environmental grounds. Wang Chaohua had known Dai Qing since her childhood. The two also worked on the same floor when Wang Chaohua interned at Guangming Daily.

On the night when the hunger strike decision was made, Wang Chaohua had visited Dai Qing and did nothing but cry in her tiny living room. She was hoping Dai Qing, with her name recognition, could provide needed guidance to the much younger students.

But Dai Qing had her own agenda in mind. This had been a couple of very good weeks for journalists. With Zhao Ziyang's blessing, the decades-old censorship policy melted away over night. With much personal nagging, Dai Qing had managed to get Hu Qili's approval for Guangming Daily to publish a full page of opinions by prominent but controversial intellectuals, an opportunity that was unthinkable just weeks earlier. She was busy assembling them into a symposium. Her invitees included many big names, such as Yan Jiaqi, a political scientist who had written a book on the history of the Cultural Revolution, and Bao Zunxin, who had spearheaded a series of enlightening books introducing ideas from the west. A month earlier, a similar but unauthorized symposium with many of the same attendees had convened to commemorate Hu Yaobang's death. The proceedings were published in the Shanghai-based World Economic Herald and resulted in its shutdown. Now, Dai Qing had the approval from a Politburo standing committee member to do the very same thing.

Wang Chaohua arrived at Guangming Daily just as Dai Qing was greeting her distinguished guests in a conference room. Dai Qing was in an exhilarated mood. She could see the paper, carrying the words of these people, causing a storm in its readership. She was not, however, prepared to see Wang Chaohua.

With one look at Wang Chaohua's tired and sad face, Dai Qing knew why she was here. Although sympathetic, Dai Qing was not about to have her little symposium hijacked by the student movement. Nonetheless, she invited Wang Chaohua into the room and introduced her as a student leader from the Square. But before Wang Chaohua could say anything or even shed a tear, Dai Qing laid out the purpose and importance of their symposium. With great excitement, she announced the deal she had struck with Hu Qili. A full page on Guangming Daily! Her enthusiasm was shared. To her audience, this was a tremendous breakthrough.

One by one, the intellectuals in their fifties and sixties read through their prepared speeches. There was little discussion or interruption. Wang Chaohua felt excruciating pain with the slow and dull pace of their lofty words with no substance. But she had to bite her tongue. She was raised with the greatest respect and deference for learned scholars. Hours were ticking away.

Finally, all of them finished what they had planned to say. As a courtesy, they asked Wang Chaohua for a few words. That was when she choked up. Tears streamed down her cheeks before she could utter a single word. In a rambling, bumbling voice, she told the meeting that the situation at Tiananmen Square was not the glorious and historical event the intellectuals had been fantasizing in their talks. Rather, it was extremely dire. As she went on, she was getting more and more upset because she knew her words were incoherent. She felt panic because she was failing to express what she needed to say. But through her teary eyes, she sensed that many in the room were also crying. As she begged the intellectuals that they must go to the Square and persuade students to withdraw, everyone echoed, "Yes, we have to go. We can't just sit and watch."

As Wang Chaohua was regaining her composure, the intellectuals set out to do what they did best. In a matter of minutes, they came up with a draft statement. Addressing the students in a parental manner, it expressed that the authors were "very understanding, very sad, and very worried" after hearing the news of the hunger strike. Since democracy could not be achieved in one day, and for the sake of long-term interests of China's reform and the Sino-Soviet summit, it appealed to students "to carry on the spirit of rationality and temporarily withdraw from Tiananmen Square."

It was not clear what the term "temporarily" meant. But it would not matter anyway, as the statement changed its tone right after that and spelled out its own demands of the government. It asked top leaders to make a public speech praising the student movement as patriotic and democratic and promise not to punish student leaders after the dust settled. It also demanded that the government recognize the autonomous organizations and pledge never to use force against students engaged in hunger strikes or sit-ins. If the government could not fulfill these demands, the statement said, its authors pledged to "fight to the end along with the students."

Perhaps the ending statement was just an empty slogan thrown in to appease students or to satisfy the authors' own egos. But it appeared that these intellectuals were ready to join the movement, thereby negating the appeal for students to withdraw. Their demands actually went beyond of those of the students, who had already consolidated theirs into two core items: "Not Turmoil, Equal Dialogue."

Wang Chaohua knew something was not right with this statement. But with her state of mind she could not quite put her finger on the flaw. It started to dawn on her that her hopes with these intellectuals might have been misplaced. They were hopelessly out of touch with reality. Reluctantly, she expressed her worry that a statement like this would not be able to persuade students to withdraw. Her voice was weak. She knew that she was not convincing anyone. Yan Jiaqi was already frustrated with the statement as it was. He smashed his palm on the table and declared that they were barking up the wrong tree. It was the government, not the students, he shouted angrily, that they should appeal to.

Wang Chaohua held a last bit of hope. Maybe she could get these intellectuals in a room with the hunger strike leaders. If they could persuade Chai Ling privately, the mission could become more hopeful. Dai Qing called the United Front Department, a natural place for such a meeting. She only heard a frantic voice on the other end claiming that nothing was available. After a few more phone calls, Dai Qing secured a small place for the meeting. Wang Chaohua took off in her designated car toward the United Front Department. She thought she would find Chai Ling there at the dialogue with Yan Mingfu.

But she was not prepared for what she would encounter.


It was finally the time for the Dialogue Delegation to shine. They were founded for this very purpose and had been preparing for several weeks. They had assigned designated speakers, each with a supporting team, to address specific issues. They had practiced and rehearsed. They felt confident and even comfortable to sit across a table with government officials to voice their issues reasonably and rationally.

In order for that to happen, though, Xiang Xiaoji and Shen Tong understood that they had to control the crowd on their own side, especially the hunger strikers. Yet they did not have much leverage. It was the hunger strike that had finally brought Yan Mingfu to the table. It would be impossible to exclude the hunger strikers, who distrusted the Dialogue Delegation, at this point.

The hunger strikers, on the other hand, had their own ideas. The prospect of a national broadcast, even with tape delay, had gotten them excited. What a great opportunity to get their voices heard! Chai Ling hurriedly collected banners from Tiananmen Square, including the one saying "Mom, I am Hungry" and rushed to the United Front Department. She placed them in the conference room as a backdrop on the students' side. She also brought a tape of her reading the Hunger Strike Manifesto. If they got to play the tape during the session, it would be broadcast nationwide and recorded permanently in history.

The large conference room on the second-floor was now set up like a diplomatic meeting with a long oval table. Yan Mingfu was not at the head of the table this time. Rather, he sat in the middle on the government side, flanked by the State Education Commissioner Li Tieying and ten other minister-level officials. Across the table, Shen Tong sat down directly facing Yan Mingfu. Xiang Xiaoji sat opposite Li Tieying. They were flanked by the assigned speakers from the Dialogue Delegation. Xiang Xiaoji had made sure that the arrangement demonstrated the equality of the two sides in the dialogue.

Wang Juntao was sitting in another room in the same compound. He and other young intellectuals were not invited to this formal dialogue. Perhaps in Yan Mingfu's mind, they had already served his purpose.

In the conference room, the formal, diplomatic atmosphere was broken by a group of hunger strikers standing right behind the Dialogue Delegation. They wore signatory headbands and solemn expressions. Xiang Xiaoji had made a compromise to allow a limited number of them in the room, presumably only to listen in. Many tape recorders were scattered about on the conference table. They were already running. In one corner of the room was a video camera with a CCTV logo. Shen Tong made sure that he saw a little red light blinking on the camera as he opened the meeting.

Initially, the dialogue was cordial and gracious. Speakers from the Dialogue Delegation presented their prepared cases. Yan Mingfu and Li Tieying listened intently and answered most questions with sincerity. But pretty soon Xiang Xiaoji and Shen Tong were flooded with little paper notes passed in from the hunger strikers behind them, who were getting impatient and wanted to raise their own concerns instead. It did not take long for the session to deviate from a focused theme. Both sides at the table tried to be patient but the discussion was getting more and more scattered.

Soon the hunger strikers were dissatisfied with simply passing the notes. Someone spoke up and suggested that the meeting hear them directly. Wuer Kaixi volunteered that he had a letter from a hunger striker with him. Without asking for permission, Cheng Zhen, a female student from Beijing Normal University and one of the initiators of the hunger strike, read the letter aloud.

Chai Ling had been quiet as usual. But she was upset about Wuer Kaixi's unilateral move. The letter was moving but lacked substance. She thought that Wuer Kaixi had wasted a golden opportunity. As the session moved on, Chai Ling could not wait any longer. Jumping on an opening, she asked Yan Mingfu pointedly: "What do you really think of the student movement?" Being put on the spot, Yan Mingfu struggled with being honest but not crossing the party line: "Personally, I would very much like to say that you are patriotic. But I can't say that."

Some more heated arguments erupted. A finger finally pressed down the play button on a tape recorder. All of sudden, Chai Ling's emotional voice, reading the Hunger Strike Manifesto, filled up the room:

We would like to ask all upright citizens of this country, ask every worker, peasant, soldier, resident, intellectual, celebrity, official, police, and those who made up the labels for us, place your hand over your heart and ask your conscience: what crimes had we commit? Did we cause turmoil? We boycott classes. We march and protest. We go on hunger strike. We give our lives. For what? But our emotions have been repeatedly played by others. We suffer through hunger to pursue the truth but only get beaten by soldiers and police. Our representatives knelt down to appeal for democracy but were ignored. Our requests for an equal dialogue are being delayed again and again. Our student leaders are facing grave danger.

As if another button had also been pushed, the rowdy room fell silent. For ten mesmerizing minutes, nobody made any sound or move. Everyone in the room, including Yan Mingfu himself, was in tears. At the table, Xiang Xiaoji and Shen Tong held hands.

We do not want to die. We want to live nicely because we are at the most beautiful age of our lifetime. We do not want to die. We want to study hard because our motherland is still so poor and we can't just die like this and leave her behind. Death is definitely not our desire. But if the death of one or a few could make the lives of many better, make the motherland rich and prosper, then we have no right to live shamelessly.

As soon as the recording was finished, a voice came from the hunger strikers: "The only thing we ask for is that the government stop calling us instigators of turmoil."


It had been more than an hour into the dialogue session. Students at Tiananmen Square were becoming restless. They had been told of the compromise that they would hear the proceedings with an hour delay. But there was no sign of any broadcast.

Feng Congde had completed a new broadcasting station in the Square with their own loudspeakers rigged up on flag poles. With others at the dialogue session, he became the de facto leader there. Anxious, he dispatched runner after runner to the United Front Department for updates. None of them had come back.

Another hour passed. It was now seven o'clock, time for the regular evening news broadcast on CCTV. There was no mention of the dialogue in the news. That was the last straw. Spontaneously, all hunger strikers in the Square gathered up and marched toward the United Front Department, which was only two to three miles away. They chanted "Stop the dialogue," "Direct Broadcast!" along the way.

Wang Chaohua arrived at the United Front Department and immediately found her car blocked by the raging hunger strikers on the street. She ran inside and saw Xiang Xiaoji stepping out of the conference room. They were separated by a throng of hunger strikers, some of whom were runners dispatched by Feng Congde. More and more of them were pouring in. It was at the verge of a disaster. Xiang Xiaoji was doing everything he could to dissuade the crowd from storming the conference room. He was obviously fighting a losing battle. In desperation, he proposed to have Wang Chaohua, who he had known as a mature and rational leader, into the room as a representative for everyone outside. The crowd did not really know or trust Wang Chaohua either. They demanded to have two of their own to accompany her.

Xiang Xiaoji was not aware that Wang Chaohua was already in a daze herself. After an exhausting day, she could no longer comprehend what was going on. In a rush, the three of them burst through the door and startled everyone inside. Without missing a beat, Wang Chaohua declared, "Stop the dialogue! There is no Broadcast!" We students must stay together as a whole, she explained, the dialogue could not go on without the approval of the hunger strikers.

It was the second time the room fell into a dead silence. Shen Tong lost his cool. He stood up, slammed his palm on the table, and pointed his finger directly to Yan Mingfu's face: "Why aren't you broadcasting this? You knew full well that we can't continue if there is no broadcast!"

Yan Mingfu's face turned ashy pale. He appeared to be genuinely puzzled. Surveying the ministers on his side, he got no answers. After a painful while, he muttered: "If we can't continue, then we can't."

He stood up and slowly walked out of the room.

This Day in 1989: May 10, Students Launch Bicycle Rally

The public petition and protest by young journalists continued to receive attention just as the student movement itself was in a somewhat hiatus. On May 10, 1989, several official newspapers, including the flagship People's Daily, reported the news of petition. In this morning, tens of thousands of college students rode through the city in their bicycles in an unusual form of demonstration to show their support and solidarity with the journalists.

Many famous authors in Beijing also participated in the demonstration on this day, a first for the normally dormant community. Zheng Yi was busy organizing his fellow intellectuals. At People's University that evening, Dai Qing and Bao Zunxin delivered rousing speeches in praise of the students demonstration on April 27.

Within the government, the Chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee Wan Li announced that a regular meeting of his committee will commerce on June 20. The agenda of that meeting would include a hearing on the student demonstration and class strike as well as an evaluation of a draft demonstration law.


Days of 1989

This Day in 1989: April 15, Hu Yaobang is Dead

Former General Secretary Hu Yaobang passed away at 7:53 in the morning of April 15, 1989. The news was officially broadcast to the nation in the evening news hour, accompanied by the usual funeral music and superlative praises for his life's work. Although he had been disposed a couple of years earlier, the official obituary still referred to him as "a loyal Communist soldier who had withstood many tests, a great proletarian revolutionary and politician, an outstanding political worker in the Chinese army, a marvelous leader who had held important Party leadership positions for many years." -- although it did omit the highest praise of "a great Marxist."

The news had already been leaked out throughout the day. There were immediate, but tentative, reactions in some of the college campuses. In the afternoon, Big Posters and banners started to show up in public places in, at least, Peking University, People's University, and Tsinghua University. Some people were observed as delivering wreaths to the residence of Hu Yaobang.

In that evening, as the news was officially confirmed, the first sign of memorial at Tiananmen Square appeared. It was a small white flower at the base of the Monument to People's Heroes, reportedly placed by a soldier. The number of Big Posters at the Triangle of Peking University ballooned to close to 100. Hundreds of students started to gather there in their usual mode of discussion when there was a significant news.


April 15 was also the birthday of Chai Ling. Her husband Feng Congde bought a cake for the occasion. They watched the news but did not think too much of it other than, like most students, feeling sorry for Hu Yaobang who was known for losing his job trying to protect students involved in previous student movements.

Wang Dan was at home when he got the news around noon. Anticipating something was going to happen, he rode his bike to Peking University in the afternoon. That evening, he was interviewed by the New York Times at the Triangle in the school.


The U. S. Ambassador Winston Lord was scheduled to finish his tour in China. His wife Bettie Bao Lord invited many prominent intellectuals for a farewell party in their residence that night. News of Hu Yaobang's death was whispered from person to person. The author Lao Gui and Dai Qing briefly exchanged views. Both of them were thinking of the possibility of a repeat of April 5, 1976.


Days of 1989

An Open Letter Appealing for a Convicted Murderer

Three months ago, a 28-year old was arrested in Shanghai for suspicion of possessing a stolen bicycle. The suspect, Yang Jia (杨佳), received no official sympathy when he sued for police brutality during his detention. So, the young man took the matter into his own hand and attacked a police office with a knife, killing six unarmed policeman.

On his trial, Yang Jia did neither deny nor repent on his murdering act. He made it clear that his action was a revenge of the injustice he had received. The case has received much public coverage in Chinese media and internet, where Yang Jia was often hailed as a hero for standing up to the inhuman police force in China. Yang Jia, on the other hand, was sentenced to death as expected.

During the last couple of days, an open letter has been circulating on Chinese internet appealing for a special amnesty for Yang Jia. The letter was initially cosigned by fourty six scholars, artists, lawyers, and other citizens. The letter argued on Yang Jia's behalf alternately from criticizing police brutality to denouncing death penalty as an act of cruelty itself.

This open letter appealing for amnesty is a faint echo of the letters in the early spring of 1989, when scholars cosigned open letters appealing for amensty for Wei Jingsheng and other political prisoners. Indeed, it has been rare, if ever, to see a citizen action such as this since the days of 1989.

Among the original sigatures of the current open letter are at least two names who had deep involvements in the 1989 movement: journalist Dai Qing and scholar Zhang Lun (张伦). Other signataries include the famous legal scholar Yu Haocheng (于浩成) and outspoken artist Ai Weiwei (艾未未).

More signatures are still being collected for the letter.

NYT Archive 1989: The Banning of The World Economic Herald

While "it appeared that almost all students at Beijing's universities were honoring the boycott [of classes]", New York Times on April 15, 1989, reported a more startling development in the southern city of Shanghai:

In its firmest action so far to stem the growing student campaign for more democracy, the Communist Party today banned an issue of a popular newspaper that published comments openly supporting the demonstrators.

The latest issue of the banned weekly newspaper, The World Economic Herald, had already been printed and contained some of the boldest criticisms of the Communist Party ever published in a major Chinese newspaper. But the party today prohibited the distribution of the newspaper, according to Chinese familiar with the order.

Qin Benli, the editor in chief of the Shanghai-based newspaper, which has a circulation of 300,000, was not in the office this afternoon. The deputy editor in chief, Zhu Xinqun, confirmed in a telephone interview that the newspaper was not distributed today as it normally is on Mondays. Mr. Zhu declined to say why it did not appear.

Several people familiar with the banning said that a Politburo member, Jiang Zemin, who is also party leader in Shanghai, gave the order that The Herald could not be distributed. It was not clear if the order originated with him or someone higher.

The banned issue of the World Economic Herald contained a six-page long proceedings of a symposium of prominent intellectuals commemorating Hu Yaobang. The speakers have included Yan Jiaqi and Dai Qing. Yan was quoted in NYT as saying, "the main problem China has had, up to today, is the lack of democracy." and "Some people who were in charge of ideology have no right to mourn Hu. They stabbed him in the back. They should be tried by history."

This sweep action by Jiang Zemin appeared to have served himself well. Coupled with a "swift management" of the student movement in Shanghai during the period, Jiang ended up becoming the chosen successor of Deng Xiaoping.

NYT Archive 1989: Memorial Turns Into Protest

The April 18, 1989, edition of the New York Times has a lengthy report in its Science section on the delay of building the Three Gorges Dam. In a sign of growing democracy, the government decided to delay the project so that more debates on its environmental impact could be conducted. Curiously enough, public opposition of the Dam, led by famous journalist Dai Qing (戴晴), has been long tolerated. Eventually, of course, the Dam has been built.

But certainly the attention should be shifted to Tiananmen Square from now on. Beida's students had reached the Square, following those from the University of Political Sciences and Law. And they had come up with their demands:

Several thousand students marched through the capital in predawn hours today, chanting democratic slogans and singing revolutionary songs as they mourned the ousted Communist Party leader Hu Yaobang and called for a more democratic government.

The demonstration was the most significant sign of unrest in China since student demonstrations for democracy were crushed more than two years ago.

One student leader announced to a cheering crowd that the students had three demands: an official reappraisal of Mr. Hu, an apology from the Government for various unspecified mistakes, and a ''collective resignation,'' apparently of all the country's leaders.

Later, other student leaders added further demands, such as democratic elections, the release of China's political prisoners, and freedom of the press.

The students were ostensibly mourning the death Saturday of Mr. Hu, whom they regarded as a protector of intellectuals. But the mourning seemed overshadowed by displays of protest.

''We want democracy,'' explained a radio electronics student from Beijing University as he walked his bicycle with the other marchers. ''Hu Yaobang's death is not the reason for this demonstration. It is the excuse.''

The NYT report did not identify any leaders at this stage, nor the details of the student demands. Wang Dan, who would eventually become one of the faces of this movement, played a significant role in this early march. He also helped, with feedbacks from the crowd, to formulate the demands into a 7-point petition. This petition became the rally cry in the early phase of the movement.

The report did include some vivid details of how the protest was formed in Beida (Beijing University):

The demonstration was organized shortly after midnight today at Beijing University, the most important educational institution in the nation and the one that the children of many high officials attend. A snowballing crowd of students marched from building to building, calling for reinforcements.

At one point the crowd broke down the door of a women's dormitory that had been locked to keep the residents inside after the curfew.

The demonstration was a clear challenge to the Government, but even the students say they have no idea if there will be further protests.
... ...

In the predawn demonstration, the Beijing University students decided to march for 10 miles to Tiananmen Square, bypassing People's University, where they summoned their friends to join the march. At that point there were probably more than 4,000 people gathered, but nearly half dropped out along the route.

The authorities did not interfere, except to divert traffic away from key intersections. While such demonstrations normally are illegal, the police appeared eager to avoid a confrontation. They declined to say whether the march was legal or illegal, although one said that an expression of mourning was permitted.

Once the police appeared particularly nervous: when the marchers paused at the entrance to Zhongnanhai, the walled compound where many of Chinese leaders work and live. Several police cars rushed up, and the marchers sang the ''Internationale,'' the anthem of revolutionary workers, as they walked on.

At Tiananmen Square, the students erected a huge white banner that honored Mr. Hu and proclaimed him the ''soul of China.''

After that, Wang Dan and his friends decided to hand in their 7-point petition to the officials in the Great Hall of People, on the west side of the Square. He was not very successful at that. But his efforts led to a dramatic sit-in on the stairs of the Great Hall. Meanwhile, Xinhuamen, the entrance of Zhongnanhai, would become a battleground.