Wang Dan

Profession: Student and Human Rights Activist

Wang Dan, a history student in China, was among the leaders of the 1989 democracy movement in China. Wang was Number One on the government's "most wanted" list for his leadership role in the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations, for which he spent four years in prison. Upon his release, he resumed his pro-democracy activities and was arrested again in May 1995. After being held for seventeen months incommunicado, Wang was sentenced in a closed trial to eleven years in prison for "conspiring to subvert the government." The charges were based on articles published in the overseas press, the receipt of donations from abroad, financial assistance received from two US-based organizations, and participation in a correspondence course offered by the University of California-Berkeley. Wang Dan was released from prison on medical parole and went to the U.S. in April 1998.