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Yang Jianli speaks at Gustavus Adolphus College on its annual MAYDAY! Peace Conference focusing on “20 years since Tiananmen Sqaure”

April 30th, 2009 · No Comments

“Tiananmen + 20 Years”
is the topic of Gustavus Adolphus College’s 29th annual MAYDAY! Peace Conference held Wednesday, April 29, 2009 on the college campus.

Featured speakers:

Andrew Nathan, Ph.D, department of political science at Columbia University and a leading expert on Chinese affairs and politics, opens the daylong conference at 10:00 a.m. in Christ Chapel. The afternoon keynote speaker is Yang Jianli, Ph.D, human rights activist and a participant in the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations. His talk and the closing ceremony will be hosted in Christ Chapel.

KEYC-TV covers MAYDAY! Peace Conference.\”29th MAYDAY! Peace Conference\”
29th MAYDAY! Peace Conference
May Day isn’t until Friday, but at Gustavus Adolphus College May Day is today.It’s the 29th annual MAYDAY Peace Conference.This year’s theme is “Tiananmen-plus-20 years”.The conference looked at topics relating to human rights and social justice on life in China.It is the 20th anniversary since the protest and massacre at Tiananmen Square.The day consisted of workshops and speeches focusing on the possibility of democracy in China.MAYDAY keynote speaker Dr. Yang Jianli says, “The Chinese regime must feel the pressure. Without pressure, we do not win.”Previous MAYDAY conferences have focused on hunger, Africa’s AIDS crisis, violence in the community, and others.

View the MAYDAY! Peace conference schedule of events.

Conference organizers are planning several topic-related workshops, a Democracy Wall, a film festival, and other social-action activities.

The conference, an annual event designed to educate the campus community and beyond about issues related to peace, human rights, and social justice. For more information, contact the Office of Marketing and Communication at Gustavus (call 507/933-7520 or e-mail marketing@gustavus.edu).

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Introduction to the Founder

Dr. Yang Jianli

Founder and President of Initiatives for China, Dr. Yang Jianli was born in Shandong Province in northern China. A graduate of Beijing Normal University, Dr. Yang holds a PhD. in Mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley, and a PhD in Political Economy from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. In 1989, at the age of 26, his fellow graduate students at Berkeley selected him to go to Beijing in support of their counterparts in China who were demonstrating for democracy in Tiananmen Square. He arrived in Tiananmen Square in time to witness the massacre of thousands of peaceful demonstrators by the guns and tanks of the Chinese government. This event fundamentally changed young Jianli's future. He narrowly escaped capture and returned to the United States where he committed himself to studying democracy. Read more...