Heroes of Tiananmen Square, Where Are They Now?

Twenty-four years ago, on June 4, 1989, hundreds possibly thousands of China’s most idealistic young people were massacred on Tiananmen Square by the People’s Liberation Army.  

Listed here are brief biographies of nine who are recognized as leaders of the student democracy movement.

Fang Lizhi

Fang Lizhi, former vice president of the University of Science and Technology of China, and his wife Li Shuxian, supported the students during the protests. They entered the U.S. Embassy in Beijing the day after the June 4 massacre.

Beijing police issued warrants for the couple for “inciting Wang Dan and other students to riot.” The Fangs stayed at the U.S. Embassy for one year before flying on a U.S. military plane to Britain. They arrived in the United States half a year later, and Fang received an appointment as professor of physics at the University of Arizona.

Fang passed away on April 6, 2012, at the age of 76.

Chai Ling

Chai Ling was the student leader who initiated the hunger strike and was in charge of protecting Tiananmen Square Headquarters.

After the massacre she was on the Chinese regime’s wanted list. She left mainland China through Hong Kong in April 1990, and arrived in Paris 10 months later. She later went to the United States to continue her studies.

In December 2009, Chai converted to Christianity and as an expression of her faith founded the organization All Girls Allowed on June 1, 2010. The organization aims to expose the injustice of the one-child policy, end gendercide in China, and celebrate women as created in God’s image.

On June 4, 2012, Chai published an open letter saying she forgave those responsible for the massacre, which immediately received harsh criticism from other Tiananmen Square survivors.

Ding Zilin, the spokeswoman for the Tiananmen Square mothers, published an open letter in which she asked why Chai did not take responsibility for the mistakes she had made during the Tiananmen Square event.

Ding ended her letter by saying Chai’s open letter “betrays the spirit of the 1989 Tiananmen movement that Chinese people take pride in, and greatly profanes the brave souls of June Fourth. As one who mourns beside the coffin of a June Fourth victim, I cannot keep silent.”

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