A human rights watchdog says Chinese security forces have detained a former soldier who publicly expressed regret over his role in the bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
Zhang Shijun (張世軍), 40, published an open letter to Chinese Communist Party leader and President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) on the Internet in which he called on the party and government to reconsider its condemnation of the student-led protests.
The Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch said Zhang was taken from his home in the northern city of Tengzhou around 2am yesterday. The China-based group was citing a member of Zhang’s family who was not identified.
Reached by mobile phone yesterday afternoon, Zhang said he was not at home and that it was “not convenient to talk.” He declined to give further details before hanging up.
Zhang accepted an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday (“Former soldier regrets role in Tiananmen,” Taipei Times, March 20, page 5) in which he related his experience during the crackdown and a later jail sentence for alleged political crimes.
On Wednesday, he said he had been called into his local police station and ordered to shun contact with foreign media.
Zhang is one of a very small number of martial law soldiers to come forward with their tales and attack the government’s refusal to offer a full accounting of the crackdown. Hundreds, possibly thousands are believed to have been killed when troops stormed into the center of Beijing on orders from top party leaders.
Authorities are believed to be especially sensitive to such testimonials ahead of this year’s 20th anniversary of the crackdown and renewed calls for political liberalization.
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