Podcasts

HRIC June Fourth Podcast Series

In 2006-2007, we produced a podcast series featuring interviews with participants of the 1989 Democracy Movement, including student and labor leaders, family members of victims, and other participants. These oral histories document the June Fourth crackdown and explore the significance of the democracy and independent labor movements.

(except where noted, all podcasts are in Chinese)

Introduction: Voices from June Fourth (in English)

A brief overview of the events surrounding June 4th, 1989, including translated clips from the full interviews of Cheng Zhen, Chang Jing, Wang Zhixin, Zhai Weimin, and Han Dongfang.

Anonymous: Hong Kong Student

A Hong Kong researcher recounts her 1989 trip as a high school student to Beijing in support of the Democracy Movement.

Chang Jing (常勁)

A vice president of the Preparatory Committee of the Peking University Independent Student Union in 1989, Chang describes surveys conducted by students, with help from the Red Cross, of the wounded and dead in Beijing’s hospitals following the June Fourth crackdown.

Cheng Zhen (程真)

One of the organizers of the hunger strike in Tiananmen Square, Cheng provides a rare eyewitness account of two deaths in the Square during the early hours of June 4, 1989.

Ding Zilin (丁子霖)

Ding is a former spokesperson for the Tiananmen Mothers, a group of more than 100 victims and family members of the victims of the June Fourth crackdown. She reads sections of the group’s 2006 letter to President Hu Jingtao seeking reassessment of the 1989 Democracy Movement and lawful compensation to the families of the crackdown victims, and describes the surveillance and harassment to which she and her husband were subjected.

Han Dongfang (韩东方)

A key organizer of the 1989 Beijing Autonomous Workers’ Federation, Han reflects on the significance of 1989 Democracy Movement as a social movement and its continued impacts on Chinese society.

Li Hai (李海)

A leader of the Beijing Students Autonomous Federation during the 1989 Democracy Movement, Li was imprisoned for one and a half years for organizing activities to mark the first anniversary of June Fourth. In 1995, he was sentenced to nine years for “prying into and gathering state secrets” after he collected names of those punished in connection with the 1989 movement. Li recalls his personal experience during the night of June 3-4, 1989.

Lu Decheng (鲁德成)

One of the individuals who, in May 1989, splattered ink on the portrait of Mao Zedong that hangs over Tiananmen Square, Lu was convicted of “counterrevolutionary incitement and sabotage” and was sentenced to 16 years. Lu talks about the reason why he defaced Mao’s portrait and shares his thoughts on the ominous symbolism of the continued presence of Mao’s portrait in Tiananmen Square.

Ma Shaofang (马少方)

A student at the Beijing Film Academy in 1989, Ma was one of the organizers of the hunger strike in Tiananmen Square. He was convicted of counterrevolutionary incitement and imprisoned for three years. Ma describes the retreat of students from Tiananmen Square as the crackdown began and the dead and wounded he saw there the night of June 3-4 and the following day.

Meng Lang (孟浪)

A poet and writer, Meng is the former editor of the Shenzhen University Journal. He describes the participation of the students in the 1989 Democracy Movement and the ongoing persecution he suffered because of his writing.

Peng Rong (彭嵘)

An organizer at Peking University, Peng was imprisoned for two years after organizing activities to mark the first anniversary of June Fourth at Peking University. He gives an account of his experience before and during his participation in the 1989 Democracy Movement.

Wang Lei (王磊)

A student at Northwest University in Xi'an in 1989, Wang describes his participation in organizing a truth committee to investigate the violence that erupted in Xi'an on April 22, 1989, shortly after Hu Yaobang's death. Wang was arrested in Xi'an on March 23, 1990, and was imprisoned for 21 months.

Wang Youcai (王有才)

A student at Peking University, Wang was an organizer of the 1989 Democracy Movement, for which activity he was imprisoned for four years. He was sentenced to 11 years in 1998 for helping to organize the China Democracy Party, and was forced into exile in 2004. He recounts his thoughts about the 1989 movement, his participation in it, and his subsequent arrest.

Wang Zhixin (王志新)

A student organizer at the China University of Political Science and Law in 1989, Wang was detained in December 1990 and held for more than two years. He talks about his flight following the June Fourth crackdown, and subsequent arrest and imprisonment.

Xiong Yan (熊焱)

A graduate student of law at Peking University and a member of the Students' Dialogue Group, Xiong was arrested on June 13, 1989 and held for 19 months without due process. He describes the events preceding and the early period of the 1989 Democracy Movement, as well as his participation in the movement.

Zhai Weimin (翟伟民)

A student at the Beijing Institute of Economics in 1989, Zhai recounts his experience and escape from Beijing after June Fourth. Zhai was detained in May 1990 while preparing to mark the first anniversary of June Fourth.

Zhang Bin (张斌)

Zhang, a participant in the 1989 Democracy Movement who was wounded, remembers his experience and the difficulties he faced during his subsequent hospitalization.

Zhou Fengsuo (周锋锁)

A physics student at Tsinghua University and a member of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Students Autonomous Federation, Zhou was arrested in Xi'an on June 13, 1989, and was imprisoned for one year. He describes his experience in the 1989 Democracy Movement, including his participation in the hunger strike.