RED LANTERNS Bao Tong, the communist leader who became a democratic dissident, has died

He was the first collaborator of former Party General Secretary Zhao Ziyang. Both fell from grace for opposing the Tiananmen Square massacre in June 1989. After years in prison and under house arrest, he became a prolific pro-democracy debater. His daughter explained that she was still “hopeful” for China.

Beijing () – Bao Tong, a close associate of the former Secretary General of the Chinese Communist Party Zhao Ziyang, died yesterday in the capital. Both had fallen into disgrace for defending the young people who protested 33 years ago demanding freedom and democracy.

Immediately after the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing on June 4, 1989, in which thousands of people were killed by the armed forces, the authorities arrested Bao, who became the highest-ranking official of the regime to go to jail for the events of those days. Along with Zhao, he had opposed the use of force against protesters who took to the streets after the death of reformist leader Hu Yaobang, and at a time when the disintegration of the Soviet empire was taking place.

In 1992, a court sentenced him to seven years in prison for revealing state secrets and counterrevolutionary acts. Authorities released him in 1996 and placed him under house arrest. Since then, Bao has become a prolific pro-democracy debater, subjected to perpetual surveillance by the security apparatus.

Along with Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, he is one of the authors of Charter 08, a document published in 2008 asking the government for greater democracy and respect for human rights. Bao also wrote an open letter to communist leaders inviting them to explain how the appeal violated Chinese law.

In his years as an activist, Bao also worked to rehabilitate Zhao, who was purged in June 1989 by Supreme Leader Deng Xiaoping and ended up under house arrest until his death in 2005. According to Deng, Zhao was to be dismissed for his overly conciliatory positions towards the protesters.

A critic of Xi Jinping, Bao wrote that the events of Tiananmen laid the foundation for the current “one-thinking” system: a police state where the citizen is inculcated with the mantra: “Follow the Party and you will prosper; if you oppose it, you will die.” .

Posting the news of his father’s disappearance on Twitter, Bao Jian explained that the dissident was still “hopeful” for China. When he turned 90, on November 6, Bao wanted to convey words of encouragement: “Human beings live very small stories in this world. It doesn’t matter if I’m 90 years old. What matters is today and the future for which we must all fight. You have to do everything in your power. Do it today and do it well.”

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