Fang Lizhi ( born February 12, 1936) was a professor of
astrophysicsAstrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects such as galaxies, stars, planets, exoplanets, and the interstellar medium, as well as their...
and vice president of the
University of Science and Technology of ChinaThe University of Science and Technology of China is a national research university in Hefei, China. The university is regarded as one of the most prestigious universities in China. It was founded in Beijing by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in September 1958...
whose liberal ideas inspired the pro-
democracyDemocracy is a system of government in which either the actual governing is carried out by the people governed , or the power to do so is granted by them...
student movement of 1986-87 and, finally, the
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, referred to in most of the Western world as the Tiananmen Square massacre and in the People's Republic of China as the June Fourth Incident , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the PRC beginning on 14 April...
. Because of the first, he was expelled from the
Communist Party of ChinaThe Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and the ruling political party of the People's Republic of China and the world's largest political party...
in January 1987.
Fang gained fame and notoriety after his essays were collected and distributed by the
Communist Party of ChinaThe Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and the ruling political party of the People's Republic of China and the world's largest political party...
to many of its regional offices, with the directive to its members to criticize the essays.
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Fang Lizhi ( born February 12, 1936) was a professor of
astrophysicsAstrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects such as galaxies, stars, planets, exoplanets, and the interstellar medium, as well as their...
and vice president of the
University of Science and Technology of ChinaThe University of Science and Technology of China is a national research university in Hefei, China. The university is regarded as one of the most prestigious universities in China. It was founded in Beijing by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in September 1958...
whose liberal ideas inspired the pro-
democracyDemocracy is a system of government in which either the actual governing is carried out by the people governed , or the power to do so is granted by them...
student movement of 1986-87 and, finally, the
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, referred to in most of the Western world as the Tiananmen Square massacre and in the People's Republic of China as the June Fourth Incident , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the PRC beginning on 14 April...
. Because of the first, he was expelled from the
Communist Party of ChinaThe Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and the ruling political party of the People's Republic of China and the world's largest political party...
in January 1987.
Fang gained fame and notoriety after his essays were collected and distributed by the
Communist Party of ChinaThe Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and the ruling political party of the People's Republic of China and the world's largest political party...
to many of its regional offices, with the directive to its members to criticize the essays. As the story goes, many who read his essays found them to be thought-provoking, and Fang was inadvertently provided a platform for his views. During the Tiananmen Square protests, Fang and his wife, Li Shuxian, were granted asylum at the U.S. embassy in Beijing. They entered the embassy on June 5, 1989 and remained there in hiding until June 25, 1990 when he and his family flew on a U.S. Air Force C-135 transport plane to England. Fang later moved to the United States.
In campus speeches Fang, who works as Professor of Physics at the
University of ArizonaThe University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
, has spoken on topics such as
human rightsHuman rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
and
democracyDemocracy is a system of government in which either the actual governing is carried out by the people governed , or the power to do so is granted by them...
as matters of
social responsibilitySocial responsibility is an ethical or ideological theory that an entity whether it is a government, corporation, organization or individual has a responsibility to society at large...
. In 1989, he was a recipient of the
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights AwardThe Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award was created by the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial in 1984 to honour individuals around the world who show courage and have made a significant contribution to human rights in their country....
.