Fri, Jul 28, 2000 page2

• Wang Dan publishes poems

  ROMANTIC INTELLECTUAL The man who led Beijing student demonstrations in 1989 found inspiration from Taiwan's modern folk songs and poems for his new book

  • By Yu Sen-lun / STAFF REPORTER
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  To an accompaniment of lyrical string music, Wang Dan (王丹), famed for his leadership of student demonstrators which led to the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing in 1989, yesterday revealed that he has talents beyond the realm of politics.

  His first poetry book, titled Travel in Cold Alone (我在寒冷中獨行), was published yesterday in Taiwan, and marks his third literary work.

  "As an intellectual, I've always thought poetry and reading were the most important aspects of life. With them, you can create a sound environment for political development," Wang said.

  

  Wang Dan and Wuer Kaixi, who led protests at Tiananmen square in 1989, smile at each other while presenting Wang's new book Travel in Cold Alone.

  PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES.

  The book launch was attended by Wang's Tiananmen companion Wuer Kaixi (吾爾開希), DPP legislator Shih Ming-te (施明德), and members of Taiwan's literary circle, including poets Chen Ke-hua (陳克華) and Lo Chih-cheng (羅智成).

  The book, published by Chiuko Publishing (九歌出版社), is a collection of Wang's poems written mostly during the decade between 1989 and 1998, years during which he was imprisoned twice in connection with his involvement in the 1989 Tiananmen Square student movement.

  Poet Chen Ke-hua commented that Wang's poems are much influenced by Taiwan's modern folk songs and poems.

  "They show Wang's quality as a poet -- his belief in life and his pursuit of beauty," said Chen.

  Unlike Wang's previous books about his imprisonment, his collection of poetry does not reflect his Tiananmen activities or his suffering in a dark prison cell, Chen said.

  "Instead, he reveals a wide and colorful imagination."

  Wang echoed Chen's remarks, saying, "I lived my boyhood days with the nurture of Taiwan's modern poems and songs ... so being able to publish a poetry book in Taiwan is like fulfilling a beautiful dream from my teenage years," he said.

  Chen, who first introduced Wang's poems to his eventual publisher, met Wang while studying at Harvard Medical School.

  He brought Wang's poems back in March this year.

  Wuer Kaixi, Wang's "fighting brother" during the Tiananmen massacre, said Wang was a friend who shared romantic ideas for the future.

  "People might think of a northern son [meaning Wang] as brave and warlike, but in fact we are also very romantic," he said.

  As most of the poems are lyrical works, Wang was asked whether he referred to a special "someone" in the lyrics.

  "I would say the object of my passion is my mother country. But I wrote those poems mostly to express my moods and feelings," Wang said.

  "I am very narcissistic, so maybe I wrote the lyrics for myself," he added.

  At yesterday's book launch, Chen and four other local poets recited Wang's poetry to the accompaniment of violin and cello music.

  Upon request, Wang also read a poem titled "My home country, I am a river (祖國我是一條河)" for the press.

  Shih Ming-te, DPP legislator and a drinking pal of Wang's, shared his experience as another well-known romanticist politician and long-time victim of political imprisonment.

  He said Taiwanese democratic politicians rarely make contact with Chinese democratic activists because it might be inappropriate under the current political climate.

  "But in terms of human rights, Taiwan should transform itself from an importing country to an exporting one," Shih said.

  "For me, romanticism is to set up unlimited ideals under limited circumstances. A democratic China is definitely beneficial to cross-strait peace," he said.

  Currently a masters' student in East Asian Studies at Harvard, Wang Dan was a student of history at Beijing University before the Tiananmen massacre of June 4, 1989. He was seen as the number one most wanted student leader and was arrested the same year.

  In 1998, Wang began his self-imposed exile in the US, having been allowed to leave China for medical treatment.

  He was invited last month by Academia Sinica to attend an academic conference. His last visit prior to that was as a guest of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) during the presidential inauguration.
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