Chinese dissident escapes to U.S.
May 3, 1996
Web posted at: 11:30 a.m. EDTBEIJING, China (CNN) -- After years of imprisonment followed by reported surveillance by authorities, Chinese dissident Liu Gang has slipped out of the country for a new life in the United States. (1MB QuickTime movie)
The 35-year-old Liu played a leading role in the 1989 pro-democracy student protests in Tiananmen Square -- demonstrations that were violently crushed by Chinese troops. His participation in those protest made him third on China's most wanted list.
In 1991, China found Liu guilty of "conspiracy to subvert the government," and sentenced him to six years in jail. After his release last June, Liu repeatedly went on record complaining that police were harassing both him and his family.
Two months later, he was sent back to jail for 10 days for refusing to "report his thoughts" to authorities -- part of the terms of his release. Liu even attempted to sue the police over that part of the release agreement.
According to a statement from the New York-based Human Rights in China, Liu left China last Saturday, arriving in Hong Kong where he was granted political asylum from the United States. The group said that Liu arrived on the U.S. West Coast on Wednesday, and is now in Boston.
White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry said in Washington that the Justice Department had granted Liu a waiver allowing him into the U.S. on an emergency or national interest basis. The incident, he said, should do no damage to U.S.-China relations.
"We are confident that we can maintain the broad constructive relationship with China," he said.
Human Rights in China's statement said that police in Liu's hometown of Liaoyuan followed the former physics student and his family brandishing guns, and warned businesses not to hire him. Authorities also refused to assign him to a job, and would not grant him a license for a small business.
"The police ... treated me very badly," Liu said in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation Friday. "I couldn't take it anymore."
Most of Liu's friends -- the major players in the 1989 student movement -- are either in jail or in forced exile. Chai Ling and Wu'er Kaixi both escaped to the U.S. shortly after the government crushed the movement, and Wang Dan, a student leader who was convicted and later released from prison, has since been taken back into police custody.
Last week in Geneva, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights defeated attempts for the sixth straight year to pass a resolution critical of China's human rights record.
In its statement announcing Liu's escape, Human Rights in China said that the failure of the West to put pressure on China can only lead to more human rights violations.
CNN Correspondent Maria Ressa, the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related sites
FeedbackSend us your comments.Selected responses are posted daily. |
|
![[Imagemap]](/WORLD/images/9601/navbar2.gif){kind=small}
Copyright © 1996 Cable News Network, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.