Wang Dan - Arrest and Incarceration

Arrest and Incarceration

Following the People's Liberation Army's crackdown on the protests, Wang Dan was placed on a list of the 21 “most wanted” student leaders of the protests. Imprisoned on July 2, 1989, Wang spent nearly two years in custody before his trial in 1991. Wang was charged with spreading counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement. He was sentenced to 4 years in prison; a relatively mild sentence compared to other political prisoners in China at this time. This short sentence was thought to be caused by two things; the government was unsure of what to do with so many students, and felt pressure due to their high profile nature. While incarcerated, Wang spent two years at Qincheng Prison, known for its high number of political prisoners and harsh living conditions. Despite the usual cramped conditions, because of his high profile case, Wang was given his own cell.

Wang was released in 1993, just months before the end of his sentence. Wang Dan himself has noted this was most likely related to China’s first bid for the Olympic Games since he and 19 other political prisoners were released only a month before the International Olympic Committee was to visit. Almost immediately after his release in 1993 Wang began to promote democracy in China and contacted exiled political activists in the United States. He was arrested for a second time in May 1995; two months after an interview with the US based anti-communist periodical Beijing Spring. In this interview he states “"We should clear a new path and devote ourselves to building a civil society by focusing our efforts on social movements, not political movements, self-consciously maintaining a distance from political power and political organs.”(document 3) Wang was held in custody for 17 months before receiving the charge of “plotting to overthrow the government,” and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Instead of serving his entire sentence, he was released in ostensibly for “medical reasons” and was sent immediately to the US where he was examined in hospital, and quickly released to live in the United States as an exiled political activist. His release was not a coincidence, as his release and move to the United States followed an agreement between the United States and China. In this agreement the United States removed its support for a resolution criticizing China at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, and in return China released political prisoners such as Wang.