11:30 A.M. TO 2:00 P.M.
Yu Dongyue, a former journalist and art critic, and his friend Yu
Zhijian, a former teacher, will be visiting Los Angeles.
In 1989, the two men, childhood friends, and a bus driver, Lu
Decheng, hurled eggshells filled with paint at the 30ft (9m) portrait
of Mao Zedong that gazes out from the Gate of Heavenly Peace. On May
23, 1989, the three men wanted to make a mark amid the student-led
pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square. They had travelled
from their home province of Hunan in central China, the region where
Mao was born.
They bought 30 eggs from a street food stall and filled the shells
with paint. Mr Lu, who found asylum in Canada three years ago, has said
that Yu Zhijian prevented people from walking through the gate under
the portrait while he and Yu Dongyue hurled the eggs at it.
Yu Dongyue was convicted of sabotage and counter-revolutionary
propaganda and sentenced to 20 years. Mr Lu received 16 years and Yu
Zhijian a life sentence.
The latter two were released in 1998 but prison officials refused
requests to free Yu Dongyue on medical parole, saying that he had never
admitted doing anything wrong.
His sentence was, however, reduced by two years in 2000 and by
another 15 months in 2003. He served the longest-known political
sentence after the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
His treatment in prison, including two years in solitary confinement
as well as subjection to electric shocks and beatings, took a toll on
Yu Dongyue’s mental health.
Human rights and pro-democracy groups are planning a picnic
fundraiser on Saturday, June 19, 2010
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