In the past year, Dui Hua has made a priority of asking about the status of individuals given long prison sentences for participating in the protests throughout China during the spring of 1989. Most were given suspended death sentences or life imprisonment for “counterrevolution,” “looting, smashing, and burning” or “hooliganism.” (The crimes of counterrevolution and hooliganism were removed from China’s criminal code in 1997.) Information provided in response to these inquiries has suggested that many of these long-serving prisoners have benefited from sentence reductions and parole and have, in many cases, been quietly released.
Dui Hua has obtained new information this year about a number of “June Fourth” prisoners, many of whose cases had never previously been raised with the Chinese government. Among the highlights of that information are the following sentence reductions and releases:
Wu Hepeng (吴鹤鹏), sentenced to life in prison for sabotaging transport equipment or infrastructure, was paroled in July 2002 after receiving several sentence reductions.
Wei Yingchun (韦迎春), also sentenced to life imprisonment for sabotaging transport equipment or infrastructure, was released from Shanghai’s Baoshan Prison after receiving parole in July 2006.
Shi Xuezhi (石学之), originally sentenced to life imprisonment for arson, was released from Beijing’s Yanqing Prison in February 2007 after several sentence reductions.
Wang Lianxi (王莲喜), originally sentenced to life imprisonment for arson, was released from a Beijing prison in August 2007 after receiving eight sentence reductions.
Zhang You (张幽), sentenced to life in prison for arson and hooliganism, received several sentence reductions and was released from a Sichuan prison in November 2007.
Li Zhixin (李志欣), sentenced to life in prison for arson, was released from Beijing Number Two Prison in June 2008 after numerous sentence reductions.
Peng Jiamin (彭家民), originally sentenced to life in prison for sabotaging transport equipment or infrastructure, has been granted numerous sentence reductions and is now expected to be released from Shanghai’s Baoshan Prison in May 2009.
Chang Jingqiang (常景强), originally sentenced to life imprisonment for “counterrevolutionary assault,” is due for release from a Beijing prison in July 2010 after a series of sentence reductions.
Yang Pu (杨璞), originally sentenced to a suspended death sentence for arson, is due for release from Beijing’s Yanqing Prison in October 2012 after receiving several sentence reductions.
Zhu Gengsheng (朱更生), originally sentenced to a suspended death sentence for “counterrevolutionary sabotage,” has received six sentence reductions and is now scheduled for release from Beijing Number Two Prison in April 2013.
Jiang Yaqun (姜亚群), originally sentenced to a suspended death sentence for “counterrevolutionary sabotage,” has received several sentence reductions and is scheduled for release from Beijing’s Jinzhong Prison in October 2014.
Li Yujun (李玉君), originally sentenced to a suspended death sentence for arson, is now scheduled for release in November 2014 from Beijing Number Two Prison after a series of sentence reductions.
Miao Deshun (苗德顺), originally sentenced to a suspended death sentence for arson, had his sentence commuted to 20 years’ imprisonment in 1998 and is scheduled for release from Beijing’s Yanqing Prison in September 2018.
In a speech in Hong Kong in March 2008, Dui Hua Executive Director John Kamm estimated that between 60 and 100 “June Fourth” prisoners remained imprisoned in China. This lower range, compared to previous estimates, was arrived at after learning of the early release of Zhou Yan (周彦), Li Weihong (李卫红), Xi Haoliang (郗浩梁), and other individuals imprisoned during that period. Based on the latest information obtained from the Chinese government, we see no reason yet to change our estimate. Although several releases were newly reported, it is clear that many individuals still have significant time left to serve—even after reductions to their sentences.
Based on the information recently received, however, we believe that most, if not all, of these remaining prisoners from 1989 are eligible for parole. Dui Hua believes that the government’s response to the largely peaceful protests in 1989 was an error, and that one way to begin the rectification process would be to make more extensive use of parole and release those who were caught up in violent demonstrations. When the 20th anniversary of the crackdown in Tiananmen Square arrives next June 4, we hope that the last individuals arrested during that period will have rejoined Chinese society.