Tiananmen Exiles: Voices of the Struggle for Democracy in China
Rowena He, Lecturer, Government Department, Harvard University
Twenty-five years ago, in the spring of 1989, millions of citizens across China took to the streets in a nationwide movement against government corruption and authoritarian rule. What began with widespread hope for political reform ended with the People's Liberation Army firing on unarmed citizens in Beijing, with the movement's leaders becoming wanted criminals overnight. This presentation is based on Dr. He's newly published book, which interweaves her own experiences with the accounts of three student leaders exiled from China in the aftermath of the military crackdown in June 1989. In their own words, they describe their childhoods during the Cultural Revolution, their political activism, the bitter disappointments of 1989, and the profound contradictions and challenges they face as exiles. Their stories shed light on broader political developments within China and China's relations with the world.
Rowena He received her PhD from the University of Toronto in 2008 and afterward was a visiting scholar at the Fairbank Center. Her research interests focus on political socialization, citizenship, human rights, and democratization in China. Her book, Tiananmen Exiles: Voices of Struggle for Democracy in China, was published simultaneously in paperback and hardcover in April 2014. Her writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, and she has been interviewed by The Boston Globe, NBC, CBC, BBC, and various other international media.
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