Wang Dan

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Wang Dan (2009)

Wang Dan ( Chinese  王丹 , Pinyin Wáng Dān , IPA ( standard Chinese) [ wǎŋ tán ]; born February 26, 1969 in Beijing , People's Republic of China ) became known in 1989 as the student leader of the protest movement leading to the Tian'anmen massacre . After two sentences of several years in prison for political activities, he was allowed to travel to the United States in 1998.

Life

Wang Dan grew up in Beijing. His father was a professor of geology and his mother was a scientist at the Chinese Revolution Museum . In the fall of 1987, he began studying modern history at Beijing University. He soon became interested in democratic theories and founded the Beijing Students Autonomous Federation, which was later banned. During the mass protests from April to June 1989, he rose to become the most important leader of the student movement. After the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen massacre, Wang was at the top of the list of the 21 most wanted people in the protest movements. He was able to hide in various cities in China for a month, but then voluntarily returned to Beijing and was arrested on July 2nd. He was sentenced to four years of imprisonment, including nearly two years in Qincheng Prison , where other known political prisoners were held.

In 1993, Wang was released early from custody. He then remained politically active despite constant surveillance and was arrested for the second time in May 1995. On October 30, 1996, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison by a Beijing People's Court for "conspiracy to overthrow the Chinese government." The trial and conviction were heavily criticized by his mother and Western governments.

Wang was transferred to a prison in Jinzhou City , Liaoning Province to serve his sentence . His health deteriorated while he was in prison. In April 1998, the Department of Justice allowed him to travel to the United States "for medical treatment on health grounds ." This happened around two months before then US President Bill Clinton 's visit to China .

In the USA, Wang Dan continued his studies at Harvard University , which he completed in 2001 with a Masters in East Asian History and in 2008 with a PhD.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Wang Xianzeng; Wang LIngyun: Letter to Jiang Zemin form the parents of imprisoned dissident Wang Dan. Human Rights in China, February 24, 1998, accessed October 27, 2015 .
  2. ^ A b Profile of Wang Dan. Retrieved October 27, 2015 .
  3. ↑ Wang Dan: Prison memoirs. Words without Borders, accessed October 27, 2015 .
  4. ↑ a b Wang Dan: Long prison sentence for Wang Dan. Die Welt, October 31, 1998, accessed October 27, 2015 .
  5. ↑ a b China lets dissidents leave the country. Berliner Zeitung, April 20, 1998, accessed on October 27, 2015 .
Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Chinese. Wang is the family name here, Dan is the first name.
personal data
SURNAME Wang Dan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Chinese student leader and dissident
DATE OF BIRTH 26th February 1969
PLACE OF BIRTH Beijing , People's Republic of China