Wang Dan calls for 'White Clothes Day' on June 4
(05-21 18:15)
Wang Dan, a key figure in the 1989 pro-democracy protests in China, hopes the nation will be ''covered in white'' to mark the anniversary of the bloody Tiananmen crackdown.
''We are promoting a campaign called 'White Clothes Day,''' Wang, who was jailed for years in the mainland before being exiled, said in Taiwan, where he is staying temporarily to continue his fight for democracy.
''That means we appeal to Chinese to wear white clothes [the color of mourning] on June 4, and we hope that on that day, we can witness a China covered in white,'' he said.
Studying at Peking University in 1989, Wang was first on a list of 21 most wanted students in the mainland after the army cracked down on the Tiananmen demonstrations, killing hundreds, and possibly thousands.
After being arrested, Wang was sentenced to four years in prison in 1991 and freed in 1993. He was rearrested in 1995 after continuing to campaign for human rights and democracy and sentenced the following year to a further 11 years in jail.
But in 1998, he was exiled to the United States where he continued his fight for democracy in his country.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE |
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