Fang Zheng

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Fang Zheng on the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre

Fang Zheng (born October 14, 1966 in Hefei , Anhui ) is a former student protester who was seriously injured during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. During the evacuation of the square in the early hours of June 4, Fang was run over by a People's Liberation Army tank , which resulted in the amputation of both of his legs. Fang is currently the president of the Chinese Education Foundation for Democracy.

Youth and education

During his childhood, Fang Zheng was a sports enthusiast and was inspired by China's return to the 1984 Olympics to register at Beijing Sports University . In 1989, Fang was a senior at Beijing Sports University, majoring in Biodynamics in Sports, planning to become a teacher in the Sports Department of the South China Teachers' College in Guangzhou . Fang was a member of the Chinese Communist Party .

Participation in the crackdown on June 4th

Fang Zheng went to Tiananmen Square (also called Tiananmen Square) on the night of June 3 and the early hours of June 4, taking part in a sit-in with fellow students at the Monument to the People's Heroes . At 4:00 a.m. on June 4th, Fang and his fellow students decided to leave the field peacefully. As they walked away, Fang saw a pool of blood, broken glass, damaged vehicles and road blocks on the floor. When the students reached Chang'an Avenue in Liubukou, they were bombarded with gas, causing a student to pass out in shock next to Fang. Fang picked the student up, pushed her over a guardrail on the sidewalk, and brought her to safety. While Fang helped the student, out of the corner of his eye he saw an approaching tank. He couldn't save himself in time, the tank drove over Fang's legs and dragged him along for a short distance. At that moment, Fang lost consciousness and was taken to Jishuitan Hospital in Beijing , where he was subjected to a double amputation. Fang's right leg was amputated at the thigh and his left leg below the knee.

While he was in the hospital, the Public Security Bureau investigated him in an attempt to hide the fact that students were attacked while they were leaving the site. For example, public security officers prevented Fang from speaking about the incident at the hospital. After Fang returned to school, he faced further scrutiny by school officials who attempted to suppress the incident by accusing Fang of violent behavior and provoking the attack.

While Fang was in the hospital, the student who brought Fang to safety visited him. She thanked him for saving her life. While school authorities were investigating the facts leading up to Fang's incident, he asked the student to witness on his behalf. But she refused, saying that she couldn't remember what had happened and would later claim that she was not with him at the time of the incident.

Post Tiananmen Square Protests 1989

After the protest in Tiananmen Square in 1989, Fang was pressured by the Chinese government to admit that his injuries were from a traffic accident. Fang refused, which resulted in Beijing Sports University withholding his university degree and denying him a job assignment. Fang's involvement in the protests created legal complications that prevented him from registering his household and marriage. Fang withdrew his membership in the Chinese Communist Party. Mr. Fang lived in Hainan Province from 1992 to 2000 , where he continued to be monitored, interrogated, and harassed. For example, family and friends who visited Fang in 1995 were arrested by the police, and his phone line was monitored and turned off on the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

Sports competition

Fang, unfazed by his disability and political persecution, continued his passion for the sport. In 1992, Fang represented Beijing in the Third All-China Disabled Sports Competitions in Guangzhou , in which he won two gold medals and broke two records for the Far East and South Pacific regions.

As China's national master discus thrower among disabled athletes, Fang was banned from the 1994 Far East and South Pacific Disabled Games in Beijing. Fang did not participate in the competition and was sent home after Chinese Communist Party officials discovered that his disability was the result of the military crackdown on protests in Tiananmen Square. In response to his lockdown, Fang said, "Although I was injured on June 4th, I should be treated the same as any other disabled man. In reality, however, the situation turned out to be different ”and“ there should be no connection between my injury and the cause of my injury. ”During pre-match training, Fang was told by Communist Party officials who oversaw the matches, that he should not speak to foreign journalists . In the event that he should win a medal, he should avoid answering any questions about the cause of his injury at press conferences . Although Fang had agreed to the terms, he was later suspended from the competition. The official explanation for the suspension of Fang was that the discus event had to be canceled due to a lack of participants from other countries. The competition was later won by the only competitor, Martin Peter from New Zealand .

In an interview with Sky News while preparing for the Beijing 2008 Olympics, Fang was prevented by government officials from explaining his report on the tank incident. The guards said it was something related to a sensitive topic about the history of China and it would be great if the topic could be skipped.

Immigration to the United States and Wake Up Service

In August 2008, before the Beijing Olympics, Fang was issued a passport by the Chinese government. Fang, his wife Zhu Jin, and daughter Grace traveled to the United States in February 2009 .

By 2009, Fang had used a wheelchair for twenty years. A few months after arriving in the United States and with the help of specialists like Dr. Terrance Sheehan and the donation of prosthetic legs by Medical Center Orthotics and Prothetics , Fang was able to walk again.

In 2009, an event was held in Washington, DC to celebrate Fang Zheng's "getting up." Fang and his family, members of Congress, the media, and Chinese dissidents including Yang Jianli , Feng Congde, and Chai Ling attended. Chai Ling, a student leader of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, described her experience at the celebration: “When the music started playing and Fang started dancing with his wife, I began to cry. I envisioned the day when all Tiananmen survivors like Fang Zheng could stand up with loved ones to celebrate, love, and triumph over adversity. ”Yang Jianli, also a student leader, shared the story of Fang : “For the past 20 years, Fang Zheng has stood up in his mind - even without legs ... but today he really does stand up. It is my sincere hope that we Chinese will stand up with Fang Zheng. "After dancing with his wife, Fang said," This is a feeling of new hope for me, "and" at the same time, it is also a feeling of new hope Hope for China. "

activism

On the twentieth anniversary of the June 4th crackdown, Fang testified before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the United States Congress about the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and his experience. He testified that since the crackdown on June 4th, the government refused to admit any wrongdoing, had not taken responsibility for their actions and had mistreated and persecuted victims in the decades following the massacre . Fang called on China to set up a committee to find out the truth about who ordered the massacre. He did this to achieve justice for the victims and true freedom for all of China.

On the 23rd anniversary of the June 4th crackdown, Fang attended an annual rally and candlelight vigil in Victoria Park, Hong Kong . At the memorial, Fang gave a speech in which he said, "I have come to talk to people, especially young people, so that they can learn the truth about the June 4th killings ..." He also said: " The most effective weapon to fight the communist regime is not to forget what the government wants us to forget and to refuse to forget what the government has done. ”During his trip to Hong Kong, he also visited activists from the organization Hong Kong Federation of Students who participated in a 64-hour hunger strike in Times Square, Hong Kong, on Causeway Bay .

Fang is president of the Chinese Education Foundation for Democracy, an organization that promotes common principles and general ideas for the prosperity and advancement of Chinese society, and for democracy, freedom, human rights and constitutional reform.

Private

Fang Zheng lives in the Bay Area with his three daughters.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Fang Zheng, Testimony of Fang Zheng, wounded , Human Rights In China, January 31, 1999, accessed August 24, 2017
  2. ↑ a b Chinese Democracy Education Foundation, About Us ( September 23, 2015 memento in the Internet Archive ), September 23, 2015, accessed on August 24, 2017
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Fang Chengle, How an Army Tank Crushed My Legs - Special Interview with Fang Zheng ( Memento from November 20, 2005 in the Internet Archive ), The Epoch Times, 3 June 2005, accessed August 24, 2017
  4. ^ Tiananmen Square Massacre Victim Allowed into Hong Kong to Attend Memorial Service ( July 5, 2012 memento on the Internet Archive ), The Epoch Times, June 1, 2012, The Epoch Times, accessed August 24, 2017
  5. ↑ a b c d e f Faith JH McDonnell, A Chinese Dissident's Triumph , Frontpage Mag, November 11, 2009, accessed August 24, 2017
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Patrick E. Tyler, China's Discus Champ: Alone, Disabled and Barred , The New York Times, September 8, 1994, accessed August 24, 2017
  7. ↑ Fang Zheng, Tiananmen Square , George W. Bush Institute, July 2010, accessed August 24, 2017
  8. ↑ Russell Wyllie, China-Tiananmen Square 1989 Massacre & Government Denial ( August 23, 2013 memento in the Internet Archive ), Daily Motion, August 23, 2013, accessed August 24, 2017
  9. ↑ a b John Donvan and Katie Hinman, Fang Zheng dances in the Name of Democracy , October 7th 2009, ABC News retrieved on August 24, 2017
  10. ^ A b c Shaun Tandon, From Tiananmen to Democracy Dance ( April 7, 2014 memento in the Internet Archive ), The Brunei Times, October 9, 2009, accessed August 24, 2017
  11. ↑ Chai Ling, A Heart for Freedom: The Remarkable Journey of a Young Dissident, Her Daring Escape, and Her Quest to Free China's Daughters , Tyndale Momentum, October 1, 2012, ISBN 978-1414362472 , accessed August 24, 2017
  12. ↑ a b c Fang Zheng, Tiananmen Square and Human Rights in China , June 2, 2009, C-Span, accessed August 24, 2017
  13. ↑ a b Ng Kang-chung, Tiananmen Victim 'surprised' to be allowed into HK , June 2, 2012, South China Morning Post, accessed August 24, 2017
  14. ↑ Helene Franchineau, Fang Zheng: three years on ( memento from October 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), October 8, 2012, accessed on August 23, 2017
personal data
SURNAME Fang, Zheng
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Chinese dissident
DATE OF BIRTH October 14, 1966
PLACE OF BIRTH Hefei , Anhui