"I think people have forgotten what happened in here. They censored everything so no one was able to know what happened. At that time, we estimated over one million people here. The bricks, the walls, and the statues have been replaced now. There were bullet holes on them. I saw armed tanks and vehicles, as well as armed soldiers in here. Around 3000 to 4000 were killed. Our efforts towards democracy back then were blocked, but I haven't lost hope for the future. I hope we will make it a reality, not just a dream."

"From 1989 to 1998, for a period of almost 10 years, I basically was in prison. From 1989 to 1993, I was in Qincheng Prison and Beijing No. 2 Prison; I was released in 1993. Then I was detained for the second time in 1995 on the charge of “conspiring to subvert the government.” During the period from 1993 to 1995, the government said our activities were that of a counter-revolutionary group. This criminal charge was the same as Liu Xiaobo’s –– inciting subversion: writing essays, accepting interviews, criticizing the government. Because of these activities, I was detained again in 1995, but in 1998 I was sent into exile to the United States. Although I was out of prison for more than two years from 1993 to 1995, I had absolutely no freedom. Wherever I went, there were agents following me."

"We were expecting bloodshed. It would take a massacre, which would spill blood like a river through Tiananmen Square, to awaken the people. But how could I tell them this? How could I tell them that their lives would have to be sacrificed in order to win? If we withdraw from the square, the government will kill us anyway and purge those who supported us. If we let them win, thousands would perish, and seventy years of achievement would be wasted. Who knows how long it would be before the movement could rise again? The government has so many means of repression — execution, isolation. They can wear you down and that's exactly what they did to Wei Jingsheng. Our chances are too slim as it is. Democracy cannot be accomplished by a single generation. Now I'm even more convinced of this. If I don't die, I vow to teach my child, from the day he is born, to grow up to be an honest, kind, fair, and independent Chinese. I believe that democracy is a natural desire. It should guarantee human rights and independence, and foster self-respect — all of which people are entitled to."