Tiananmen dissident lambasts China on massacre anniversary
Key takeaways
- On the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, Wu'er Kaixi, who played a leading role during the 1989 protests, spoke to DW about his personal loss and nearly four decades in exile.
- He is, for instance, still on the list of student dissidents that the Chinese government identified as the ringleaders of the Tiananmen Square protests in those heady days when democracy seemed a possibility for China.
- Now, 58 and living in Taipei, Kaixi is just as outspoken about the Chinese government, which has made it plain that he will never be granted amnesty and that he can never return home.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
On the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, Wu'er Kaixi, who played a leading role during the 1989 protests, spoke to DW about his personal loss and nearly four decades in exile.
https://p.dw.com/p/5Eq Z8On June 4, 1989, the Chinese government sent troops and tanks to crush protests calling for political reform in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square [FILE: June 4, 1989]Image: Catherine Henriette/dpa/picture alliance Advertisement Wu'er Kaixi has put on weight in the last 37 years and his greying hair no longer flops over his eyes in the style he affected as a student at Beijing Normal University in 1989, but some things have not changed.
He is, for instance, still on the list of student dissidents that the Chinese government identified as the ringleaders of the Tiananmen Square protests in those heady days when democracy seemed a possibility for China.