USA: Wang Dan, a Chinese dissident in exile now living in the United States, recalls the Tiananmen crackdown and remains optimistic about the future of China

Record ID: 1958753

  • Title: USA: Wang Dan, a Chinese dissident in exile now living in the United States, recalls the Tiananmen crackdown and remains optimistic about the future of China
  • Date: 3rd June 2009
  • Summary: UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION (FILE) (CCTV) WANG DAN IN DETENTION
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  • Location: Usa
  • Country: Usa
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA8GOWSWMVGRV6JKNTJXLOBWKTZ
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: June 4, 1989 -- the Chinese army cracks down on a student-led pro-democracy demonstration. Hundreds are killed, though authorities have never issued an official count of the dead.
    Former student activist Wang Dan was there, and spent years in a Chinese jail, now living in exile in the United States. "As a Chinese citizen, it was a very glorious moment. I am very proud of that," he told Reuters.
    Some two decades later the Communist Party is still in power, but there have been major changes.
    China is now an economic heavyweight visited by US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner - seeking Beijing's help in a global financial crisis.
    China's relationship with North Korea makes it a first among equals at six party nuclear talks, and when US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a vocal critic of China's human rights policy, went to Beijing it was to talk about climate issues, not human rights.
    Wang Dan says the change is about China's rising wealth. "I think China has become very influential now, but only because they have money. As a Chinese fellow I don't feel proud about it. I hope that my country can attract attention from the international community not just because of money, but spiritual power," he said.
    China's political reform may lag behind its economic development, in the view of many analysts, but Wang Dan has not given up hope that democracy will come to China. "I am still optimistic about the future of China, about democracy," he said.
    Some twenty years after the crackdown technology has also made a difference. Wang Dan says the internet, even with restrictions in China, may be able to carry the message of the pro-democracy protests.
    But just ahead of the anniversary, Chinese censors on Tuesday blocked the social networking service Twitter and email service Hotmail across mainland China.
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