Li Wangyang 李旺阳 | |
|---|---|
 Still from a TV interview of Li Wangyang in June 2012 | |
| Born | 12 November 1950 |
| Died | 6 June 2012 (aged 61) Shaoyang, Hunan, PRC |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Occupation(s) | glass worker; political activist |
Li Wangyang (Chinese: 李旺阳; pinyin: Lǐ Wàngyáng, 12 November 1950 – 6 June 2012) was a Chinese dissident labor rights activist, member of the Workers Autonomous Federation and chairman of the Shaoyang WAF branch. Following his role in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, he served twenty-one years in prison on charges of counterrevolutionary propaganda, incitement, and subversion. Of all Chinese pro-democracy activists from 1989, Li spent the longest time in prison.[1] On 6 June 2012, one year after his release from prison, and a few days after a television interview in which he continued to call for vindication of the Tiananmen Square protests, Li was found hanged in a hospital room. Shaoyang city authorities initially claimed suicide was the cause of death, but it was revised to 'accidental death' after the autopsy.
Following a protest march attended by up to 25,000 people, Pan Democrats and senior establishment figures in Hong Kong publicly commented on the suspicious nature of the death, and said they had escalated the demands of citizens to politicians or "relevant departments" at national level for an independent investigation. The uproar in Hong Kong is said by commentators to have put pressure on mainland authorities to order a criminal investigation so as not to overshadow the impending visit of Chinese Communist Party general secretary Hu Jintao for the 15th anniversary celebrations of the handover of Hong Kong.
- ^ Chan, Kaiyee (7 June 2012). "Bizarre 'suicide' in Hunan of June 4 leader is suspected murder". China Daily Mail. Retrieved 10 June 2012.