A Heart for Freedom
Read A Heart for Freedom Online
Authors: Chai Ling
Tags: #Non-Fiction, #History, #Politics, #Biography, #Religion
Praise for
A Heart for Freedom
As a foremost student leader of the Chinese democracy movement, Chai Ling gives us a deeply touching firsthand account of what really happened in China that eventually led to the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4, 1989. By preserving memories of this epoch-making event and its aftermath from oblivion,
A Heart for Freedom
not only makes an important contribution to history but also helps keep alive China’s ever-increasing hope for freedom and democracy.
Yu Ying-shih
Professor emeritus, Princeton University, and recipient of the John W. Kluge Prize (2006), Library of Congress
Chai Ling is one of the most courageous women I know, and always has been—from her early days as a self-possessed student thrust suddenly onto the worldwide stage to her current role as a fierce defender of women and girls. Her conviction that every person should have a voice has informed her whole life and made her a powerful role model to
Glamour
’s 12 million readers and to women worldwide of every political persuasion. Quite honestly, she awes me!
Cindi Leive
Editor in chief,
Glamour
magazine
I am delighted that Chai Ling, who has promoted and sought freedom all of her life, has found the greatest freedom of all in Christ. And I pray for God’s blessing on her in the coming years as she discovers new ways to serve and minister in the world in the power of the gospel.
Tim Keller
Senior pastor, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City, and author of
The Reason for God
Chai Ling bravely fought for democracy in China but found something even more transformational—grace. This memoir is not just for people interested in a compelling first-person account of politics and history. It is for all of us seekers who search for true meaning and purpose while battling our private fears and regrets. It is about that liberating discovery when we learn that there is nothing we can do that will make God love us any more, and nothing we can do that will make God love us any less.
Micheal Flaherty
Cofounder and president of Walden Media
What was it like to be at the center of the Tiananmen democracy movement in Beijing in 1989? Chai Ling, who was the commander in chief of the students, tells the story in a gripping and moving way. She shares her insights into the student movement and the personal narrative of her dramatic escape from China and experience as an immigrant in the United States. If you want to read one book about China’s student democracy movement and what happened to its activists,
A Heart for Freedom
will keep you completely engrossed.
David Aikman
Former
TIME
magazine Beijing bureau chief, eyewitness to the Tiananmen massacre, and author of
Jesus in Beijing
Chai Ling has a dramatic story to tell of God’s transforming power—from radical dissident to radical Christ-follower, now changing China and the world in ways she never dreamed possible. Her book,
A Heart for Freedom
, will inspire you to pursue great things for a great God!
Dr. Bryan Wilkerson
Senior pastor, Grace Chapel, Lexington, Massachusetts
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A Heart for Freedom: The Remarkable Journey of a Young Dissident, Her Daring Escape, and Her Quest to Free China’s Daughters
Copyright © 2011 by Chai Ling. All rights reserved.
Cover photograph of author copyright © Michael Abramson/TIME & LIFE/Getty Images. All rights reserved.
Cover photograph of tanks copyright © Jeff Widener/AP. All rights reserved.
Text of “Confession” pamphlet quoted on page 308 is copyright © Peter Dupre. All rights reserved.
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Edited by Dave Lindstedt
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ling, Chai.
A heart for freedom : the remarkable journey of a young dissident, her daring escape, and her quest to free China’s daughters / Chai Ling.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ).
ISBN 978-1-4143-6246-5 (hc)
1. Ling, Chai. 2. Christian converts—China—Biography. 3. China—Politics and government—2002- 4. China—Politics and government—1976-2002. I. Title.
BV4935.L525A3 2011
248.2´46092—dc23
[B] 2011024188
ISBN 978-1-4143-6485-8 (International Trade Paper Edition)
To all the people who courageously sacrificed and fought for a freer China, including the Tiananmen generation. May the day of eternal freedom come soon!
* * *
When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.
Psalm 84:6,
NLT
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Growing Up in the City of Sunshine
Chapter 2: Child of the Tiger Dad
Chapter 3: “Make Me an Extraordinary Child!”
Chapter 7: A Dream and a Nightmare
Chapter 8: Feng the Revolutionary
Chapter 10: Night at Xinhua Gate
Chapter 11: Searching for Feng
Chapter 12: The Funeral for Hu Yaobang
Chapter 13: Dawn of New Beginnings
Chapter 14: The Dong Luan Verdict
Chapter 20: Defending Tiananmen Square
Chapter 21: Last Will and Testament
Chapter 24: China’s Most Wanted
Chapter 25: Escape to Hong Kong
Chapter 26: The Meaning of Freedom
The American Dream Meets Chinese Reality
Chapter 28: Life After Tiananmen
Chapter 32: Wrestling with the Past
Chapter 36: Overcoming Darkness (Moving into the Light)
Preface
As early as May 27, 1989, I felt the need to bear witness to the events unfolding in Tiananmen Square and to record my experience there for posterity. I’ve long felt there was a much deeper meaning and reason for what happened at Tiananmen, but for twenty-two years I had been unable to articulate it. In 1995 and early 1996, I wrote more than two hundred pages of an initial draft but could not finish it. I sensed there was a precious story and truth to be told, but for the past two decades, I could not capture the essence of it. It was like a free bird—I could hear it singing and feel its presence and heartbeat, but I could not quite grab hold of it. Like the sparkle of sunlight on a river, I could not capture it and put it down on paper. But for all these years, I have never given up my pursuit of this truth.
I searched in many places: in democracy work on Capitol Hill and at the UN; in a Princeton and Harvard education; in the fast-paced, high-pressure investment banking and consulting industries; in self-help books and leadership seminars; even in founding an Internet company and starting a foundation. But I couldn’t find the answer that would quench my thirst.