Tiananmen Square survivor pleads: Don't forget the truth

It was 20 years ago Thursday that Fang Zheng lost both of his legs near Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

Fang, then a 22-year-old senior at Beijing College of Sports, was one of more than a million people who took part in China's pro-democracy uprising of 1989, seven exhilarating weeks of protests against corruption and repression among the Communist leaders.

Suddenly, shortly after 6 a.m. June 4, People's Liberation Army tanks began running down demonstrators at Liubukou, half a mile west of Tiananmen Square. Fang tried to snatch a fellow university student away from an oncoming tank, only to fall under its tracks himself.

Fang recounted his story Sunday at a rally in Seattle to mark the anniversary of that bloody day, which ended China's largest democracy uprising of the 20th century. Even now, Fang said, many Chinese have never heard the full account of the crackdown, which killed hundreds of people and injured thousands more.

"The Chinese government always tries to cover up," Fang said in Mandarin at Hing Hay Park in the Chinatown International District. "We want to tell you the truth. Please don't forget the truth."

Fang, a gold-medal winning Paralympic discus thrower, is missing most of his right thigh and his left leg below the knee.

The rally in Seattle featured photo collages in Chinese and English. They depicted both the heady days of street demonstrations before Chinese troops launched their assault as well as graphic scenes of civilian casualties, including a French news photo taken just after Fang's legs were severed.

About 60 people, many of them older Chinese residents from the neighborhood, milled about the small park. A young girl gazed impassively at a photograph of a scarlet puddle left behind by injured or killed protesters.

Don Crevie, a spokesman for Amnesty International in Seattle, said Chinese authorities continue to persecute people for speaking out about Tiananmen Square and to deny and censor details about attacks on unarmed protesters.

Even as commemorative rallies are being held in Hong Kong, New York and elsewhere around the globe, there will be no official events to recognize the anniversary inside China.

Crevie said the real intended audience for the rallies is political leaders of foreign governments. The United States, for instance, is the biggest recipient of Chinese exports.

Even if Chinese leaders ignore their own citizens, "they will listen to us," Crevie said.

Fang, who still lives in China, does not believe its new prosperity has dimmed its people's hunger for freedom "just because they have enough food to eat."

"From their hearts, I know they want democracy," Fang said, as Jin Xiu Hong, president of Washington chapter of Federation for a Democratic China translated. Fang said Communist authorities have warned him about speaking publicly about his injuries and prevented him from competing internationally.

Shiao-Yen Wu, chief executive of Seattle-based WPI Real Estate Services, agrees. Wu, who was born in China, said freedom of religion and speech are universal desires.

"I think China will realize that communism will not work," she said. "People don't want to be controlled like that."

Kyung Song: 206-464-2423 or ksong@seattletimes.com