This Day in 1989: June 19, 1989, Han Dongfang Turns Himself In, Liu Gang Arrested

In the morning of June 19, 1989, Han Dongfang, a workers' leader during the movement, turned himself in to the police in Beijing.

In that evening, Liu Gang was arrested in a park at Baoding City. He had been on the run under disguise but his cover was blown by local police on patrol.

Also on that day, the Party Politburo held an extended meeting to discuss policies in the aftermath of massacre.


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: Workers Autonomous Federation Protest their Members Arrests on May 30, 1989

Han Dongfang (speaking) and members of Workers Autonomous Federation protest government's arrests of their members.

Pictures of 1989

People of 1989: Li Jinjin (李进进)

On April 18, 1989, three days after the death of Hu Yaobang, Li Jinjin found himself sitting on the stairs of the Great Hall of People at Tiananmen Square among younger students trying to petition their government. He was excited but not quite ready to act himself.

At the time, Li Jinjin was a graduate student of law at Peking University. Unlike most of his classmates there, he had already acquired quite a bit of experiences outside of campus.

Born in 1955, he grew up in the midst of the Cultural Revolution when the education system was disfunctional at the best. When he was only 15, he joined the People's Liberation Army (with his age altered by a recruiting officer). Six years later, he was discharged and became a policeman at his hometown Wuhan city. That was the time when the national college entrance exam was reinstated and he became one of the hundreds of thousands youngsters fighting for a precious spot in higher education. In 1978, he became an undergraduate student of law near his hometown at the age of 23.

He then became a graduate student in Peking University in 1982 and graduated with a masters degree in 1985. After a couple of years of teaching, he returned to Peking University in 1987 to pursue a Ph.D. in law. During his second stinct there, he became active and campaigned to become the chairman of the school's Graduate Student Association in 1988. But he soon got into trouble by publicly voicing dissents and organizing controversial seminars. In early 1989, he was replaced in a reelection meeting that he himself was not aware of.

Having been cautioned to stay out of trouble, Li Jinjin had decided to focus on his academics in that spring of 1989. But when he observed the faltering sit-in at Great Hall of People, he nonetheless stepped up and took a leadership role. He led the latter stage of the day-long sit-in and achieved success: publicly and peacefully submitting students' Seven Point Petition to three People's Representatives. He left the scene immediately afterwards. But the crowd did not disperse and marched to the site of the government instead. It later led to quasi-violent confrontations with police at Xinhuamen.

That could have become the single odd apperance for him in the movement as he immediately disappeared. In early May, he even left Beijing to get back to his family in Wuhan due to their concerns of his involvement. It was not until May 18, when the hunger strike had greatly escalated the confrontation in the streets and a crackdown was immenient, that he got himself involved again. But this time, he took a different route.

On May 18, 1989, Li Jinjin was back on the streets of Beijing, delivering improptu speeches. That night, he happened upon a couple of workers who were trying to organize workers. He volunteered his service and immediately became the de-facto legal counsel of the budding Workers Autonomous Federation. Along with Han Dongfang and Zhou Yongjun, etc., he helped to launch the organization and drafted many of its documents and public statements.

When several members of the federation were detained on May 31 as a precursor of the coming crackdown, Li Jinjin and Han Dongfang led a group of workers and students in another day-long sit-in at Beijing police headquarters. They eventually won the release of their detained members.

Quite amazingly, Li Jinjin then left Tiananmen Square on June 2 and returned to Peking University for his Ph.D. qualification exam. In the morning of June 3, he successfully passed the exam and was spending the rest of day preparing documents to formally register the federation when news of massacre altered all his planning. He tried to return to the Square that night but didn't get past Muxudi, scene of the bloodiest battle that night.

After the massacre, Li Jinjin left Beijing and returned to his home in Wuhan, where he was arrested on June 10, 1989. He was released without a formal indictment on April 24, 1991. He travelled to US in 1993 and earned his US law degrees. He is now practicing law in the state of New York and active in the oversea Chinese democracy movement.

In June, 2011, Li Jinjin published his memoir, documenting his experience in 1989 and the subsequent prison life in China.

People of 1989

This Day in 1989: May 30, Goddess of Democracy Unveiled

In the morning of May 30, 1989, the tenth day of martial law, the stature of Goddess of Democracy was unveiled in Tiananmen Square. The tall but lightweight structure withstood substantial wind and was cheered by thousands of students. Some remembered that it as one of the most enthusiastic scenes that came close to a stampede.

After a long standoff, there were finally signs that the government might be on the move. The official Beijing Daily reported that the motorcycle gang by the name of "Flying Tigers" had been disbanded with 11 of their leaders arrested.

In that early morning, three leaders of the Workers Autonomous Federation were also arrested. Other leaders of that organization including Han Dongfang and Li Jinjin, led hundreds of workers and students to stage a noisy sit-in in front of the Beijing Public Security Bureau. Their protest was fruitful, the three were released that night.

According to Zhang Boli, he and Li Lu had a direct contact with representatives of the martial law troops at Beijing Hotel that afternoon. The negotiation did not go anywhere and the two were informed that the troops would act soon.


Days of 1989