Tiananmen Leader Recalls Prison

Liu Gang, one of the leaders of the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstration, told Lowell House residents Monday night that he finally felt truly free after being smuggled out of China more than 10 days ago.

"For the first time, I really felt I was breathing the air of freedom," said Gang, who arrived in the United States last week after spending six years in a Chinese prison.

After the student revolt, Gang said he was third on a list of the 21 people most wanted by the Chinese government.

Once captured, he was subjected to a preliminary trial with the police, in which they attempted to force his confession, he said, using any means they deemed necessary.

Gang said the confession extracted by police in this "trial" becomes the main evidence for the court.

"We become our own prosecutors," he said.

In jail, Gang said he was introduced to prison life by being badly beaten by guards.

Gang said the purpose of the Chinese prison system "is to change us and our thoughts."

He said prisoners were forbidden to use the words "we," "they," "us" and "you." By using those words, a prisoner was considered to be setting himself apart as an individual, he said, an act discouraged by the communist government and its prison guards.

After six years in prison, Gang said he was released, only to be followed by police and harassed on the street.

He said his friends were often questioned by police and that the places he visited were often raided.

"I can't go anywhere," Gang said. "I bring only misery to people."

Gang said he has high hopes for the future.

"I have a lot to learn from the people here," said Gang, who added that he wants to attend school at Harvard in the coming years.

Despite his distance from China, he said he plans to dedicate the rest of his life to human rights issues in China.

Gang said he hopes to go to Washington D.C. to meet with America's top officials regarding the human rights situation in China.

Barbara E. Petzen, the assistant senior tutor in Lowell House, said speaking with Gang was a good chance for people to think about human rights violations.

"We have few opportunities for first-hand accounts of abusive human rights," Petzen said. "This brings home the importance of all of us striving daily to improve human rights worldwide."