On April 3, 1989, Wang Dan published an open letter, co-signed by 57 students at Peking University, protesting the school's interference to their Democracy Salon activities. The open letter was delivered to the school office and posted at The Triangle on campus.
Days of 1989
Showing posts with label The Triangle (三角地). Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Triangle (三角地). Show all posts
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Saturday, January 31, 2015
People of 1989: Shen Tong (沈彤)
When Shen Tong was still a high school kid in 1985, he was already doing his own business on the campus of Peking University, selling books of poems printed underground. He happened upon a student movement that year which left an impression on him. These two experiences seem to foreshadow his later life: participating social movements and conducting business in the arts market.
Shen Tong became a freshman in biology at Peking University in 1986 and quickly became an active student. On the New Year's Day on 1987, he witnessed another student protest at Tiananmen Square. Later, he got himself in trouble in a round of campus protest following a student's death and was stripped his position in the official student union. He ended up organizing his own club "Olympia" to study social issues and cooperating with the "Democracy Salon" organized by his fellow student Wang Dan.
As the death of Hu Yaobang ignited the 1989 student movement, Shen Tong joined the newly founded Preparatory Committee to lead the movement. But he was never able to find his position there and was always at the bubble of being voted out of it. On April 22, when most students were at Tiananmen Square participating Hu Yaobang's funeral, he set up a new broadcasting station at his dorm room overlooking at The Triangle, the center of the campus. This station became the media center at Peking University throughout the entire movement.
After the publication of April 26 People's Daily Editorial, Shen Tong was one of the Preparatory Committee members against of a planned protest march. But with the persistence of Wang Dan and others, he joined them at the front of the formation and launched the most glorious demonstration of the entire movement.
Later after once again being voted off the Preparatory Committee, Shen Tong took Feng Congde's advice and moved on to form a new Dialogue Delegation and became the co-chairman with Xiang Xiaoji. Under their leadership, the delegation adopted a relatively independent and moderate stance and kept its distance from the movement while seeking and preparing for a dialogue with government. On May 6, they submitted their first petition for dialog and was warmly received. However, they never received a positive response, until after students launched a hunger strike.
With hunger strike underway, Shen Tong and his Dialogue Delegation finally had a series of contacts with government officials such as Yan Mingfu which culminated into a formal dialogue. Yet the session failed due to the unyielding stands of the government side and the disruption from the hunger strikers. The Dialogue Delegation dissolved after that and Shen Tong left the movement with deep disappointments. By then he had already received an acceptance letter from the Brandeis University in the US. He applied for and got an approval for visa.
When the army shot their way toward Tiananmen Square on the night of massacre of June 3, Shen Tong was at his home near Xidan. He rushed onto the street and witnessed a girl being shot dead standing next to him and a young man being executed by a band of soldiers.
After the massacre, Shen Tong quickly left China and arrived in the US with his student visa. He was the first student leader reaching the west and received tremendous attention from the American society and media. Soon, he published his memoir Almost a Revolution, recounting his young life and his experience during the movement. He also founded a foundation to support Chinese democracy and participated in oversea movements while attending school. In the Fall of 1992, he made a trip back to China to visit dissidents there but was arrested by the Chinese government. He was expelled out of the country after two months' detention. (Some of the dissidents he met were jailed for more than a year.)
By 2000, Shen Tong had finished his school and left the oversea democracy movement. He founded the VFinity company and became a media entrepreneur. His products, including image technologies and TV programs, had reached markets inside China. He made a few low-profile trips to China under government surveillance and with a promise of never involving in political matters. Later he decided to abandon that market.
His success in business did not fully wipe out his passion for social movement. In 2011, he plunged into the "Occupy Wall Street" movement in America.
At present, Shen Tong is an angle venture capitalist. In late 2014, as a partner in SOSventures, he co-founded the FOOD-X project, aiming to "Feeding a Food Movement."
People of 1989
Shen Tong became a freshman in biology at Peking University in 1986 and quickly became an active student. On the New Year's Day on 1987, he witnessed another student protest at Tiananmen Square. Later, he got himself in trouble in a round of campus protest following a student's death and was stripped his position in the official student union. He ended up organizing his own club "Olympia" to study social issues and cooperating with the "Democracy Salon" organized by his fellow student Wang Dan.
As the death of Hu Yaobang ignited the 1989 student movement, Shen Tong joined the newly founded Preparatory Committee to lead the movement. But he was never able to find his position there and was always at the bubble of being voted out of it. On April 22, when most students were at Tiananmen Square participating Hu Yaobang's funeral, he set up a new broadcasting station at his dorm room overlooking at The Triangle, the center of the campus. This station became the media center at Peking University throughout the entire movement.
After the publication of April 26 People's Daily Editorial, Shen Tong was one of the Preparatory Committee members against of a planned protest march. But with the persistence of Wang Dan and others, he joined them at the front of the formation and launched the most glorious demonstration of the entire movement.
Later after once again being voted off the Preparatory Committee, Shen Tong took Feng Congde's advice and moved on to form a new Dialogue Delegation and became the co-chairman with Xiang Xiaoji. Under their leadership, the delegation adopted a relatively independent and moderate stance and kept its distance from the movement while seeking and preparing for a dialogue with government. On May 6, they submitted their first petition for dialog and was warmly received. However, they never received a positive response, until after students launched a hunger strike.
 |
| On May 6, 1989, Shen Tong (left) and Xiang Xiaoji submitted petition to Chinese government |
With hunger strike underway, Shen Tong and his Dialogue Delegation finally had a series of contacts with government officials such as Yan Mingfu which culminated into a formal dialogue. Yet the session failed due to the unyielding stands of the government side and the disruption from the hunger strikers. The Dialogue Delegation dissolved after that and Shen Tong left the movement with deep disappointments. By then he had already received an acceptance letter from the Brandeis University in the US. He applied for and got an approval for visa.
When the army shot their way toward Tiananmen Square on the night of massacre of June 3, Shen Tong was at his home near Xidan. He rushed onto the street and witnessed a girl being shot dead standing next to him and a young man being executed by a band of soldiers.
After the massacre, Shen Tong quickly left China and arrived in the US with his student visa. He was the first student leader reaching the west and received tremendous attention from the American society and media. Soon, he published his memoir Almost a Revolution, recounting his young life and his experience during the movement. He also founded a foundation to support Chinese democracy and participated in oversea movements while attending school. In the Fall of 1992, he made a trip back to China to visit dissidents there but was arrested by the Chinese government. He was expelled out of the country after two months' detention. (Some of the dissidents he met were jailed for more than a year.)
By 2000, Shen Tong had finished his school and left the oversea democracy movement. He founded the VFinity company and became a media entrepreneur. His products, including image technologies and TV programs, had reached markets inside China. He made a few low-profile trips to China under government surveillance and with a promise of never involving in political matters. Later he decided to abandon that market.
His success in business did not fully wipe out his passion for social movement. In 2011, he plunged into the "Occupy Wall Street" movement in America.
 |
| In 2011, Shen Tong in Occupy Wall Street movement |
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| Shen Tong in 2015 |
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Document of 1989: Chen Mingyuan's Speech at Peking University
On April 23, 1989, the day after Hu Yaobang's funeral, Professor Chen Mingyuan delivered an emotional and inspiring speech at the Triangle in Peking University. The following is an abbreviated translation from the book Children of the Dragon. For a more complete transcript, please read this version in Chinese.
A Speech given by Prof. Chen Mingyuan at Peking University on April 23, 1989
My name is Chen Mingyuan.
[Applause]
If someone wants to inform on me, he can give my name to the Public Security Bureau.
[More Applause]
I know that whenever students make reasonable requests to demands, whenever people become excluded, there will always be a few who would like to betray their comrades, their friends, and even their own souls, in order to climb a few more rungs up the ladder.
[Applause]
I am forty-eight years old. I am not afraid.
The first thing I want to say is that I attended Hu Yaobang's funeral yesterday. Throughout the service, I was very sad indeed. Hu Yaobang spoke a great deal about education, price control, intellectuals, and reform...
[Applause]
At the end of the memorial service, several other comrades and I suggested that the hearse carrying Hu's body should circle Tiananmen Square, in keeping with convention. We should let Comrade Yaobang take one last look at the Monument to the People's Heroes and Tiananmen Gate. But the government refused. I was profoundly disappointed. I know that many comrades, many Chinese, were very disappointed. If Comrade Yaobang were still alive, he would feel very disappointed, too. We demand an official explanation for this unpopular decision...
[Applause]
I have no wish to instigate trouble, and I have no ulterior motives. But our government, and our news media, have prepared a hat for me nonetheless.
[Applause]
Under the present circumstances, people are terrified to stand up. Anyone who does stand up has to consider the safety of his parents, his children, and his job. Every month, he collects only a small salary. If he goes to jail, what will happen to his family? I have never stood up before so many people, but today I felt that I just could not stay silent. I have to speak out!
[Applause]
I want to protest strongly against official television. I have already called them and told them - through many different channels - that their reports on April 19 and April 20 were totally irresponsible. Did everyone here hear what was reported on CCTV?
["Yes, we heard!"]
Did anyone in the demonstration shout anti-government slogans?
["No!"]
Did CCTV say they did?
["Yes!"]
Did anyone put up anti-government posters?
["No!"]
CCTV said that many unidentified bystanders were there inciting the crowds. I was one of them, but I am not "unidentified," because at the beginning of this speech I told you my name. I think the one who incited the crowds was CCTV. And where is the person who wrote those broadcasts? He should stand up here!
["Yes!"]
He is the one who cannot be identified! He is the one who incited us!
[Laughter]
I think these recent student demonstrations were totally spontaneous. Nobody was behind them.
[Applause]
The demonstration was spontaneous, the petition peaceful, and the mourning of Comrade Yaobang very orderly. I think the students from Peking University should feel very proud of themselves.
["Long live the students! Long live democracy! Long live freedom!" Applause]
When I pronounced the word "freedom," some people became nervous. Some would say, "Freedom is a bad word." Some would say, "We should try to avoid using that word." But I feel that freedom is the most beautiful word in the world. Why should only other people be allowed to use it? Why is it that this beautiful word is not in the vocabulary of our great motherland and our great people?
[Applause]
Yes, we are poor. We are backward. We are undereducated. We are living a bitter life. But we do have this ideal of freedom and democracy...
[Applause]
Many of us are afraid of press freedom. Whenever we talk about the freedom of the press, someone says that "something will go wrong"; they say that we shouldn't publicize our "family scandals." But I believe that truth is the soul of the media...
[Cheers and Applause]
Those who ignored the students' demands - which came from the bottom of their hearts - should ask themselves why they are afraid of students...
[Long Applause]
If you ask all our comrades, "What is the most severe problems in our reforms?" they will say, "inflation." What is the real inflation rate? The government told us it was 18%. I work every day. I do household chores. I shop and buy groceries. But I can't even afford to buy new clothes! Pork used to cost 80 cents a pound. Now it's up to 4 or 5 yuan. In Guangzhou, it has even reached 10 yuan...
When we come to the problem of education, every one of us has spoken about it until our lips have cracked. Why can't we make education a top priority on the list of government expenditures?
["Yes!" Applause]
The government has always told us that this is too difficult, that there's a shortage of funds in industry, that there's a shortage of money in agriculture. It's even very difficult to build houses for all those mayors and governors. But I think that there's one thing that should not be so difficult. That is to confiscate the illegal income from the racketeers and spend that on education!
[Applause]
Students, I'm very troubled these days. There are so many problems in our country today. But the issues we raised here are the most basic ones...
We are the masters of our country.
["Yes!" Long applause]
Meanwhile we have to report truthfully on those corrupt government officials, no matter how high up they may be, and punish them according to law.
["Yes! Well Said!"]
Maybe someone will say, "You students should return and study quietly. You professors should simply teach your courses." But all these problems constantly wear us down. We can't accept this. We shall never accept it!
Documents of 1989
A Speech given by Prof. Chen Mingyuan at Peking University on April 23, 1989
My name is Chen Mingyuan.
[Applause]
If someone wants to inform on me, he can give my name to the Public Security Bureau.
[More Applause]
I know that whenever students make reasonable requests to demands, whenever people become excluded, there will always be a few who would like to betray their comrades, their friends, and even their own souls, in order to climb a few more rungs up the ladder.
[Applause]
I am forty-eight years old. I am not afraid.
The first thing I want to say is that I attended Hu Yaobang's funeral yesterday. Throughout the service, I was very sad indeed. Hu Yaobang spoke a great deal about education, price control, intellectuals, and reform...
[Applause]
At the end of the memorial service, several other comrades and I suggested that the hearse carrying Hu's body should circle Tiananmen Square, in keeping with convention. We should let Comrade Yaobang take one last look at the Monument to the People's Heroes and Tiananmen Gate. But the government refused. I was profoundly disappointed. I know that many comrades, many Chinese, were very disappointed. If Comrade Yaobang were still alive, he would feel very disappointed, too. We demand an official explanation for this unpopular decision...
[Applause]
I have no wish to instigate trouble, and I have no ulterior motives. But our government, and our news media, have prepared a hat for me nonetheless.
[Applause]
Under the present circumstances, people are terrified to stand up. Anyone who does stand up has to consider the safety of his parents, his children, and his job. Every month, he collects only a small salary. If he goes to jail, what will happen to his family? I have never stood up before so many people, but today I felt that I just could not stay silent. I have to speak out!
[Applause]
I want to protest strongly against official television. I have already called them and told them - through many different channels - that their reports on April 19 and April 20 were totally irresponsible. Did everyone here hear what was reported on CCTV?
["Yes, we heard!"]
Did anyone in the demonstration shout anti-government slogans?
["No!"]
Did CCTV say they did?
["Yes!"]
Did anyone put up anti-government posters?
["No!"]
CCTV said that many unidentified bystanders were there inciting the crowds. I was one of them, but I am not "unidentified," because at the beginning of this speech I told you my name. I think the one who incited the crowds was CCTV. And where is the person who wrote those broadcasts? He should stand up here!
["Yes!"]
He is the one who cannot be identified! He is the one who incited us!
[Laughter]
I think these recent student demonstrations were totally spontaneous. Nobody was behind them.
[Applause]
The demonstration was spontaneous, the petition peaceful, and the mourning of Comrade Yaobang very orderly. I think the students from Peking University should feel very proud of themselves.
["Long live the students! Long live democracy! Long live freedom!" Applause]
When I pronounced the word "freedom," some people became nervous. Some would say, "Freedom is a bad word." Some would say, "We should try to avoid using that word." But I feel that freedom is the most beautiful word in the world. Why should only other people be allowed to use it? Why is it that this beautiful word is not in the vocabulary of our great motherland and our great people?
[Applause]
Yes, we are poor. We are backward. We are undereducated. We are living a bitter life. But we do have this ideal of freedom and democracy...
[Applause]
Many of us are afraid of press freedom. Whenever we talk about the freedom of the press, someone says that "something will go wrong"; they say that we shouldn't publicize our "family scandals." But I believe that truth is the soul of the media...
[Cheers and Applause]
Those who ignored the students' demands - which came from the bottom of their hearts - should ask themselves why they are afraid of students...
[Long Applause]
If you ask all our comrades, "What is the most severe problems in our reforms?" they will say, "inflation." What is the real inflation rate? The government told us it was 18%. I work every day. I do household chores. I shop and buy groceries. But I can't even afford to buy new clothes! Pork used to cost 80 cents a pound. Now it's up to 4 or 5 yuan. In Guangzhou, it has even reached 10 yuan...
When we come to the problem of education, every one of us has spoken about it until our lips have cracked. Why can't we make education a top priority on the list of government expenditures?
["Yes!" Applause]
The government has always told us that this is too difficult, that there's a shortage of funds in industry, that there's a shortage of money in agriculture. It's even very difficult to build houses for all those mayors and governors. But I think that there's one thing that should not be so difficult. That is to confiscate the illegal income from the racketeers and spend that on education!
[Applause]
Students, I'm very troubled these days. There are so many problems in our country today. But the issues we raised here are the most basic ones...
We are the masters of our country.
["Yes!" Long applause]
Meanwhile we have to report truthfully on those corrupt government officials, no matter how high up they may be, and punish them according to law.
["Yes! Well Said!"]
Maybe someone will say, "You students should return and study quietly. You professors should simply teach your courses." But all these problems constantly wear us down. We can't accept this. We shall never accept it!
Documents of 1989
Sunday, April 19, 2009
This Day in 1989: April 19, Preparatory Committee Formed at Peking University; More Confrontation at Xinhuamen
In retrospect, April 19, 1989, was the first significant date during the 1989 student movement.
It was a Wednesday, a regular meeting date of the Democracy Salon at Peking University. As the situation escalated, Wang Dan decided to hold the session right at The Triangle at the center of the campus. In that evening, about three thousand students gathered in the darkness to listen to a few speakers taking their turns on a stool. With a voice vote, the crowd "disbanded" the official student union and decided to establish a Preparatory Committee for their own student solidarity. Xiong Yan, Wang Dan, Feng Congde, and later Shen Tong, joined the committee. It marked the first time in any student movement that a formal and non-anonymous organization structure was put in place.
The Preparatory Committee at Peking University would, with its temporary name intact, last through the entire length of the movement and play an extremely significant role.
Meanwhile, students from other campuses returned to Xinhuamen for another round of push-and-shove match with the guards there. Wuer Kaixi made his first public appearance of the movement. He stood up in front of students and police to give his real name and address, and then took the leadership role at the scene. In a side corner, Zheng Yi, Zhang Boli, and a few of their friends displayed a makeshift banner calling for a hunger strike, but were ignored.
The protest at Xinhuamen did not last long this time before it deteriorated into a violent mess. Hundreds of police charged the crowd and used belts and boots to disperse and force students into waiting buses along the Chang'an Avenue. Many students suffered minor injuries either at the hands of the police or by smashing the bus windows. In the chaos, a young girl screamed "Down with the Communist Party!" She was promptly shut up and whiskered away by fellow students before more damage could be done.
There was little evidence of significant police brutality in this early morning scuffle. Students forced into buses were driven to campus areas and released without questioning. Nonetheless, it was termed as the "April 20 Tragedy" and "Blood at Xinhuamen" in many campus posters. Students were all angry and started to plan for more protests.
Also on this day, the government announced that the state funeral for Hu Yaobang was scheduled for April 22.
Days of 1989
It was a Wednesday, a regular meeting date of the Democracy Salon at Peking University. As the situation escalated, Wang Dan decided to hold the session right at The Triangle at the center of the campus. In that evening, about three thousand students gathered in the darkness to listen to a few speakers taking their turns on a stool. With a voice vote, the crowd "disbanded" the official student union and decided to establish a Preparatory Committee for their own student solidarity. Xiong Yan, Wang Dan, Feng Congde, and later Shen Tong, joined the committee. It marked the first time in any student movement that a formal and non-anonymous organization structure was put in place.
The Preparatory Committee at Peking University would, with its temporary name intact, last through the entire length of the movement and play an extremely significant role.
Meanwhile, students from other campuses returned to Xinhuamen for another round of push-and-shove match with the guards there. Wuer Kaixi made his first public appearance of the movement. He stood up in front of students and police to give his real name and address, and then took the leadership role at the scene. In a side corner, Zheng Yi, Zhang Boli, and a few of their friends displayed a makeshift banner calling for a hunger strike, but were ignored.
The protest at Xinhuamen did not last long this time before it deteriorated into a violent mess. Hundreds of police charged the crowd and used belts and boots to disperse and force students into waiting buses along the Chang'an Avenue. Many students suffered minor injuries either at the hands of the police or by smashing the bus windows. In the chaos, a young girl screamed "Down with the Communist Party!" She was promptly shut up and whiskered away by fellow students before more damage could be done.
There was little evidence of significant police brutality in this early morning scuffle. Students forced into buses were driven to campus areas and released without questioning. Nonetheless, it was termed as the "April 20 Tragedy" and "Blood at Xinhuamen" in many campus posters. Students were all angry and started to plan for more protests.
Also on this day, the government announced that the state funeral for Hu Yaobang was scheduled for April 22.
Days of 1989
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