Jiang Jielian

Jiang Jielian (Chinese: 蒋捷连; June 2, 1972 – June 3, 1989) was a second-year student at the Middle School affiliated with Renmin University of China. He was killed by People’s Liberation Army (PLA) behind a flower bed in front of Building 29, on the north side of Fuwai Street, Muxudi, at the age of 17 when PLA units advanced on Tiananmen Square to crack down on the student-led demonstrations. After the June 4 massacre, Jiang was the first casualty of high school age whose death was acknowledged in internal bulletins by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities. According to the authorities, Jiang was one of "more than two hundreds" of Beijing citizens who got shot or killed while trying to stop the PLA units from entering Beijing on the night of June 3, 1989. The real figure remained unknown but predicted as at least seven times higher. Jiang's death also triggered the Tiananmen Mothers movement, which was initiated and organized by Jiang's parents, Jiang Peikun and Ding Zilin, both of whom were professors at People's University. During an interview with a Canadian journalist on June 4, 1993, Ding said, "My government called him a rioter but he was not. He was a student who only had the idea of democracy".

After the death of Hu Yaobang on April 15, 1989, Jiang became deeply concerned and enthusiastic about the student movement. After school, he often went to Peking University and People's University to read the big-character posters, copy down slogans, and listen to speeches. Among those slogans, Jiang copied "Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life!" (gai si de mei you si, bu gai si de que si le). Jiang also participated in several student protests. On April 19, Jiang joined a sit-in in front of Xinhua Gate of Zhongnanhai (entrance to the government leadership compound) requesting that the government re-evaluate Hu Yaobang's achievements, and demanding to be allowed to express their respects to Hu. This protest was eventually broken up by military policemen. On May 13, when the student hunger strike at Tiananmen Square began, Jiang often volunteered as a night guard of student pickets, who were organized to keep order in the Square. On May 17, Jiang and his classmates organized a march in support of university students. Over two thousand students participated in this march, and this was the first time in the movement that high-school students had organized themselves to join a march. A photo recorded a moment of this march: A paper sign held up high by one of Jiang’s fellow marchers, the poster clearly stated their supports of the university students “If you all fall, we will still be here!” (Ni men dao xia, hai you wo men).

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