UCLA Center for
East Asian Studies
An Event in the East Asian Speakers Series
Wang Dan
May 22, 1998
Wang Dan was a twenty year-old student at Beijing University when he came to international
attention as one of the leaders of the pro-democracy student demonstrations in
Beijing's Tian'anmen Square in the spring of 1989. Following the violent
suppression of the demonstrations on June 4, Mr. Wang headed the Chinese
government's most-wanted list. He was arrested and sentenced to four years
in prison. Mr. Wang was released from prison in 1993, but was detained in 1995.
After holding Mr. Wang without charges for seventeen months, the Chinese government
formally arrested him in October 1996. He was then convicted of attempting
to subvert China's government and was sentenced to eleven years in prison.
On April 19, 1998, Chinese authorities released Mr. Wang from prison and placed
him on a plane to the United States.
Just one month following his release from prison, Wang Dan visited UCLA and spoke to
an audience of nearly four hundred people. The Joint Center was pleased to sponsor this
talk and a 
reception
where Mr. Wang was able to meet Center supporters, UCLA faculty, and many local human
rights activists. JEASC director James Tong served as moderator for the talk and the
question and answer session which followed. Mr. Wang was introduced by Chao-hua Wang,
another of the 1989 Tian'anmen Square Movement leaders and now a graduate student in
UCLA's East Asian Languages and Cultures Department. Leo Chen, graduate student in the
UCLA School of Film and Television, served as translator.
Wang Dan began his address by thanking those who agitated for his release and those who have supported the cause of democracy in China. He spoke of his concern for other democracy activists still incarcerated in China. Mr. Wang indicated that his long time in prison meant that in some ways members of the audience might have a fuller understanding of current trends in China than he and expressed a fervent desire to return to college to complete his education. He hopes to be accepted into an American university and to enroll in the fall.
For over ninety minutes, Mr. Wang answered questions from the audience. These
questions probed his views on continued American trade with China, the role of outsiders
in encouraging the development of 
democracy in China, whether students made mistakes during the Tian'anmen
demonstrations, whether he knew during his incarceration of efforts by human rights
activists on his behalf, how prison affected him, and his own education and career plans.
Mr. Wang indicated that he favors efforts which will continue to develop China's economy and improve the lives of its people. He argued that Chinese people continue to desire more say in their government and he urged the Chinese government to move more rapidly towards democratic reform. People outside China, including participants in the 1989 and earlier pro-democracy campaigns, can only have a limited impact on the development of democracy in China. Encouragement is always welcome, but ultimately only Chinese can build democracy in China.
Wang Dan in 1989
Mr. Wang conceded that the student movement made some mistakes in the spring of 1989, but he insisted that responsibility for the bloodshed that ended the Tian'anmen demonstrations rests solely with those who ordered the armed suppression of a peaceful movement. Among the lessons Mr. Wang said he absorbed during his two terms in prison was what political power really means. He appreciated his regular visits with his parents, who consistently reminded him that people in China and elsewhere had not forgotten him.
When a member of the audience asked if Mr. Wang had political aspirations, he replied that at present his only aspiration was to "to cultivate himself" by pursuing his education. Mr. Wang thanked the audience for their interest in him, the movement he was a part of, and the future of China.
Photographs of Wang Dan speaking at UCLA are by William Short.
