Fifteen years ago, Tong Yi (童屹) watched in terror as tanks rolled toward Tiananmen Square and soldiers gunned down two students who were just a few meters from her.
On Thursday, she joined other exiled leaders of the student protest in calling for the US and other Western nations to pressure the Chinese government on human rights violations and democracy.
"We believed we were patriots," Tong, now a New York lawyer, said at a news conference. "We never anticipated they would roll over us in tanks."
They are older now, working as accountants, lawyers, journalists and Internet executives. But as the former student leaders gathered to mark the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre that left hundreds or even thousands dead, they pledged to reorganize and force change in their homeland.
For Tong that means educating people about the struggle for democracy in China. Tong said she probably would not return to her home country soon.
But Liu Junguo (劉俊國) is determined to go back. Liu has staged a hunger strike since Tuesday morning in front of the Chinese embassy in Washington. He wants to commemorate the anniversary and draw attention to political prisoners in China.
Liu, who was to end the fast yesterday, said he and others should return to China even if it means re-entering secretly.
"We should not just sit and wait for change. We've been waiting for 15 years and it hasn't happened," he said. "We will probably change our approach."
From within China, he said, activists could better organize the Chinese people. But he said it was a risk.
His friend, Boston academic Yang Jianli (
Yang's case was noted by the former students as they read a statement calling for the Chinese government to release political prisoners.
But they said it was hard to have an impact when Western countries promote trade and other relationships with China.
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