Tiananmen- era China dissident dies in US
Beijing, April 7: One of China’s most famousdissidents at the time of Beijing’s June 4, 1989, crackdown onpro- democracy activists has died in the United States, exileddissidents said on Saturday. Fang Lizhi, 76, lived in Tucson where he was a physics professor at the University of Arizona. He died of naturalcauses, according to the Twitter feed of Wu Renhua, a dissidentliving in exile in the United States. Exiled dissident Wang Dan, who topped a list of 21 most- wanted student leaders in 1989, confirmed the news on his Twitter feed after speaking to Fang’s wife, Li Shuxian. “At this moment, no words can express my grief,” Wang wrote. “Fang Lizhi has inspired the ‘ 89 generation and has awakened the people’s yearning for human rights and democracy.”
Fang and his wife sought refuge in the US embassy in Beijing for over a year after the Chinese army crushed pro- democracy demonstrations centred on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. China then accused them of c o unter- r e v o l ut i o nary crimes, tantamount to treason.
Fang had no public role in the protests, but decided to seek shelter after pro- government supporters burned effigies of him. In June 1990, in a concession to Washington, Beijing allowed Fang to leave China to seek medical treat- ment abroad. China said the couple had shown “signs of repentance”. Fang never returned.
Fang campaigned vigorously in the West for countries to maintain pressure on the Chinese government to respect human rights and permit dissent. In 1986, he emerged as an eloquent advocate of radical political change in China, declaring science should not be determined by Marxist theory.