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Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
World
RFI

Tiananmen Square at 35: top Chinese dissident looks back

Former Tiananmen Square student leader; founder of the Dialogue China Think Tank Wang Dan at the RFI studios, 23 May 2024. © RFI

Thirty-five years ago, Wang Dan was number one on China's most-wanted list. The student leader, who headed months of mass protests at Beijing's Tiananmen Square, was arrested after the army violently removed the demonstrators and spent years in jail. Now living in exile in the US, he reflects on how the crackdown proved a turning point in Chinese history.

Following the military crackdown on 4 June 1989, Wang Dan was listed among the 21 most-wanted student leaders.

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