Dissident political scientist Yan Jiaqi believes only vindication for Tiananmen Square democracy movement will bring China justice
- Self-exiled political scientist has no faith that foreign powers will nudge China towards democracy: ‘We can only count on ourselves’.
- Now 77, Yan still wants Beijing to reverse stance on June 4 crackdown
Yan Jiaqi was part of a mission in 1986 that once seemed likely to bring about major changes to modern China.
A prominent political scientist, he had been invited to join a task force on political reform that was led by Zhao Ziyang, then the head of the Chinese Communist Party. The mission’s objective was no small task: to push for the introduction of democracy in the mainland.
The members of the task force were motivated by a deep concern that power had become too concentrated at the top tiers of government, and it wanted the party’s role in daily work of the state to be reduced.
After just three years, however, the liberal Zhao was purged from the party for opposing the June 4, 1989, military crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement.
As for Yan, who had been an adviser to Zhao, he signed petitions condemning the government’s handling of the crackdown and was named honorary president of the “Democracy University” founded by student protesters in Tiananmen.
