Bao Zunxin


Bao Zunxin was a Chinese historian and political dissident who was arrested and jailed for his role in the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy protests.

Biography

Born in September 1937 in China, he was a 34th-generation descendant of Bao Zheng. Bao graduated from Beijing University in 1964. He was a scholar at the History Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Bao also taught as a professor at Beijing Normal University.
In 1989 Bao spoke out in support of pro-democracy protesters who marched in the Tiananmen Square democracy protests. Bao also signed a petition which declared that China was still ruled by an emperor. The "emperor" which the declaration referred to was the supposedly retired Chinese Communist Party leader Deng Xiaoping.
Bao was arrested after the Tiananmen Square massacre, and was charged with "counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement." He was released in 1992. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison for his participation in the pro-democracy movement. He served 3 and a half years of his sentence before being released.

Death

Bao died in Beijing on October 28, 2007 of a brain hemorrhage. He was 70 years old.