CHINA Former student leader of the 1989 movement on hunger strike in prison

Xu Guang was detained by the police on the eve of June 4, the date on which the Tiananmen massacre is commemorated. He was jailed for demanding the return of his mobile phone, which had been confiscated. The activist has been calling for years to review the official verdict on the 1989 crackdown.

Beijing () – Xu Guang, a former student leader of the 1989 protest movement, has been on a hunger strike for days at Xihu prison in Hangzhou (Zhejiang). This is reported Radio Free Asia citing people close to the activist: he was arrested in early June, but the authorities only notified the family of the validation on July 2.

The police approached him on the eve of June 4, a day when many in China remember the events of Tiananmen: on June 4, 1989, in the central square of the capital, security forces killed thousands of peaceful protesters calling for more democracy and freedom. At the time, Xu was leading the protests at Hangzhou University. Every year, the authorities order the activist to refrain from exposing the matter publicly.

After questioning Xu at the Yuquan Police Station, the officers confiscated his mobile phone and then released him. Shortly after, in protest, Xu returned to the police station demanding the return of the mobile phone. He did so by waving a banner that read “Reverse the official verdict of June 4.” The legend refers to the government’s position on what happened in Tiananmen: at first, it condemned the 1989 demonstrations as “counterrevolutionary riots”, to later qualify them as “political riots” that were repressed with “strong measures”.

Xu was arrested on the spot and charged with “provoking riots,” a charge often used against political activists. The man had previously been in prison from 1998 to 2003, convicted of attempting to formally register the China Democratic Party, banned by The authorities.

On repeated occasions, the activist has asked the government to review the official verdict on the 1989 demonstrations. For recalling the events of June 4, Xu had already been in prison in 2014accused of “wanting to disturb public order”.