Taiwan Central News Agency (CNA) reported that Jiang Yanyong, a retired PLA physician, recently sent a letter to Xi Jinping requesting Xi to vindicate the June 4th student movement. In 1989, Jiang participated in the rescue of the victims of the Tiananmen incident and has been supporting the cause since then. During the SARS period in 2003, he was the first one to disclose the serious epidemic in mainland China.
On March 25, Hong Kong Cable i-CABLE News Channel broadcast an exclusive interview with Jiang Yanyong. Jiang called for the Chinese authorities to take the initiative to resolve the June 4th issue, give an accurate assessment of the incident, and minimize the social impact.
Jiang Yanyong is 87-years-old. He was the dean of the General Hospital of the PLA 301. He was forced to retire in 1993 because he refused to support the crackdown involving the Tiananmen incident. Jiang retired as a major general. Along with Bao Tong, the secretary for Zhao Ziyang, Jiang is considered a party liberal. For many years, Jiang Yanyong has written to the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party in a number of different forms, asking to vindicate June 4th. The suspicion is that, as a result, he was barred from leaving the country. However, he still believes that his advocacy is based on respect for human life. In addition to his support for the June 4th movement, Jiang is known for the disclosure of the truth about SARS in Beijing in 2003. It was Jiang’s interview with Time Magazine that forced the Chinese officials to disclose the situation of SARS prevention and control work in China. Jiang told the media that he must speak the truth. Although it is hard to do, after having been through so many political movements in the past fifty years, he must insist on telling the truth.
Source: China News Agency, March 26, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201903260118.aspx