Escape from China

Last updated

Escape From China: The Long Journey from Tiananmen to Freedom is a book by Zhang Boli. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Zhang Boli was present in 1989 when pro-democratic students and rights-activists staged a massive protest in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. This is his story of how he was able to escape authorities who were seeking to imprison him.

It was published originally in the Chinese Mandarin language in 1998 by Zhang Boli. The English translation was done by Kwee Kian Low and published in 2002 by Washington Square Press.

Mr. Zhang is currently a Christian pastor at the Harvest Chinese Christian Church near Washington, D.C.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre</span> Chinese pro-democracy movement and subsequent massacre

The Tiananmen Square protests, known in China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts between the demonstrators and the Chinese government to find a peaceful resolution, the Chinese government declared martial law on the night of 3 June and deployed troops to occupy the square in what is referred to as the Tiananmen Square massacre. The events are sometimes called the '89 Democracy Movement, the Tiananmen Square Incident, or the Tiananmen uprising.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chai Ling</span> Chinese psychologist (born 1966)

Chai Ling is a Chinese psychologist who was one of the student leaders in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. According in the documentary Gate of Heavenly Peace, she had indicated that the strategy of the leadership group she dominated was to provoke the Government to use violence against the unarmed students. She had also claimed to have witnessed soldiers killing student protesters inside Tiananmen Square.

<i>Goddess of Democracy</i> Statue created during the Tiananmen Square protests

The Goddess of Democracy, also known as the Goddess of Democracy and Freedom, the Spirit of Democracy, and the Goddess of Liberty, was a 10-metre-tall (33 ft) statue created during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. The statue was constructed over four days out of foam and papier-mâché over a metal armature and was unveiled and erected on Tiananmen Square on May 30, 1989. The constructors decided to make the statue as large as possible to try to dissuade the government from dismantling it: the government would either have to destroy the statue—an action which would potentially fuel further criticism of its policies—or leave it standing. Nevertheless, the statue was destroyed on June 4, 1989, by soldiers clearing the protesters from Tiananmen square. Since its destruction, numerous replicas and memorials have been erected around the world, including in Hong Kong, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Vancouver.

The Tiananmen Papers was first published in English in January 2001 by PublicAffairs. The extended Chinese version of this book was published in April that same year under the title 中國六四真相 by Mirror Books in Hong Kong. The book is presented as a compilation of selected secret Chinese official documents relating to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. The documents used in both books are said to have been made available by a Chinese compiler under the pseudonym Zhang Liang, whose identity is hidden to protect the individual from potential persecution. The English version of the book was edited and translated by Andrew J. Nathan, Perry Link, and Orville Schell, who claim to place full trust in the compiler. Speculations about the authenticity of the book have nevertheless been fervent, as the editors were never given the actual physical documents, but rather a reformatted version of the material.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zhang Yuan (director)</span> Chinese film director (born 1963)

Zhang Yuan is a Chinese film director who has been described by film scholars as a pioneering member of China's Sixth Generation of filmmakers. He and his films have won ten awards out of seventeen nominations received at international film festivals.

Zhang Boli is a Chinese dissident.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xiong Yan (dissident)</span> Chinese-American human rights activist, military officer and Protestant chaplain

Xiong Yan is a Chinese-American human rights activist, military officer, and Protestant chaplain. He was a dissident involved in 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Xiong Yan studied at Peking University Law School from 1986 to 1989. He came to the United States of America as a political refugee in 1992, and later became a chaplain in U.S. Army, serving in Iraq. Xiong Yan is the author of three books, and has earned six degrees. He ran for Congress in New York's 10th congressional district in 2022, and his campaign was reportedly attacked by agents of China's Ministry of State Security.

Collection of June Fourth Poems: Commemorating the Tiananmen Square Protest is an anthology of poems commemorating the June Fourth protests in China and published in 2007. The poems were written by victims, exiled activists and international supporters. It documents the history and cultural impact of the June Fourth movement.

The Square is a 1994 Chinese documentary film directed by Zhang Yuan. It is Zhang's first true documentary film, after two documentary-influenced fiction films: Mama and Beijing Bastards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feng Congde</span> Chinese dissident and Republic of China Restoration activist

Feng Congde is a Chinese dissident and Republic of China Restoration activist. He was a student leader from Peking University during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, which placed him onto the Chinese government's 21 Most Wanted list. He spent 10 months hiding in various locations in mainland China, until he was smuggled out to Hong Kong on a shipping vessel.

Zhang Liang is the pseudonym of the compiler of the controversial book The Tiananmen Papers. Zhang has refused to reveal his true identity for fear of repression and retaliation by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) against him, his family, and his friends. Moreover, Zhang contends that he wants to remain anonymous to avoid being seen as a figurehead or a savior. He believes that the Chinese government is the only entity which can reverse the damaged system One of the only known facts about Zhang is that he is a former high-ranking cadre within the CCP. Some people within China and abroad believe that his unwillingness to reveal his identity immediately discredits the documents and accusations presented in The Tiananmen Papers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yan Mingfu</span> Chinese politician (1931–2023)

Yan Mingfu was a Chinese politician. His first prominent role in government began in 1985, when he was made leader of the United Front Work Department for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He held the position until the Politburo expelled him for his sympathies with the 1989 Tiananmen Square protestors. Yan returned to government work in 1991 when he became a vice minister of Civil Affairs.

<i>A Heart for Freedom</i> 2011 autobiography

A Heart for Freedom: The Remarkable Journey of A Young Dissident, Her Daring Escape, And Her Quest to Free China's Daughters is an autobiography by Chai Ling (柴玲), one of the student leaders in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 in Beijing, China. The book was published in 2011 by Tyndale House, a Christian press based in Illinois.

The April 27 demonstrations were massive student protest marches throughout major cities in China during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. The students were protesting in response to the April 26 Editorial published by the People's Daily the previous day. The editorial asserted that the student movement was anti-party and contributed to a sense of chaos and destabilization. The content of the editorial incited the largest student protest of the movement thus far in Beijing: 50,000–200,000 students marched through the streets of Beijing before finally breaking through police lines into Tiananmen Square.

Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters was formed on May 24, 1989. The purpose of this organization was to create a strong leadership to lead the student movement.

CHINA AID ASSOCIATION, INC., also known as ChinaAid.org is a registered entity in Midland, Texas. It was described as focusing on raising awareness of human rights abuses, providing support and legal aid to Chinese prisoners of conscience and their families, and promoting the rule of law and religious freedom throughout China.

Many women participated in the Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989 for democratic reform in China. Lee Feigon states "women [during the Tiananmen Square Protests] were relegated for the most part to traditional support roles." Chai Ling and Wang Chaohua, however, were female student leaders taking part in leadership activities during the pro-democracy movement. Ranging from student leaders to intellectuals, many women contributed their opinions and leadership skills to the movement. Although women had substantial roles, they had different standpoints regarding the hunger strike movement on May 13.

The first of two student hunger strikes during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre began on May 13, 1989, in Beijing. The students said that they were willing to risk their lives to gain the government's attention. They believed that because plans were in place for the grand welcoming of Mikhail Gorbachev, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, on May 15, at Tiananmen Square, the government would respond. Although the students gained a dialogue session with the government on May 14, no rewards materialized. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) did not heed the students' demands and moved the welcome ceremony to the airport.

<i>Tiananmen Exiles</i>

Tiananmen Exiles: Voices of the Struggle for Democracy in China is a scholarly book by Rowena Xiaoqing He, published by Palgrave Macmillan in April 2014. The book has been named one of the Top five China Books by the Asia Society. It is primarily an oral history of Yi Danxuan, Shen Tong, and Wang Dan, all exiled student leaders from the 1989 Tiananmen Movement in China. "Tracing the life trajectories of these exiles, from childhood during Mao's Cultural Revolution, adolescence growing up during the reform era, and betrayal and punishment in the aftermath of June 1989, to ongoing struggles in exile", the author explores, "how their idealism was fostered by the very powers that ultimately crushed it, and how such idealism evolved facing the conflicts that historical amnesia, political commitment, ethical action, and personal happiness presented to them in exile." Dan Southerland notes in Christian Science Monitor that the book provides "fresh insights and an appreciation for the challenges that exiled Chinese student leaders faced after they escaped from China." Paul Levine from American Diplomacy states that there was "a fourth major character: the author herself." Tiananmen Exiles is a part of the Palgrave Studies in Oral History and contains a foreword by Perry Link.

The 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, commonly known in mainland China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led demonstrations in Beijing in 1989. More broadly, it refers to the popular national movement inspired by the Beijing protests during that period, sometimes called the '89 Democracy Movement. The protests were forcibly suppressed after Chinese Premier Li Peng declared martial law. In what became known in the West as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, troops with assault rifles and tanks fired at the demonstrators trying to block the military's advance towards Tiananmen Square. The number of civilian deaths was internally estimated by the Chinese government to be near or above 10,000.

References

  1. Gold, Sarah F.; Rotella, Mark; Andriani, Lynn; Scharf, Michael; Zaleski, Jeff (2002-04-15). "ESCAPE FROM CHINA (Book)". Publishers Weekly. 249 (15): 48.
  2. Hayford, Charles W. (2002-07-15). "Escape from China (Book)". Library Journal. 127 (12): 92.
  3. Gaztambide, Elsa (2002-05-15). "Escape from China (Book)". Booklist. 98 (18): 1569.
  4. Shapiro, Judith (2002-06-09). "Taking Flight". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C., United States. pp. –05. ISSN   0190-8286.