1989 Tiananmen Square protests special administrative region of China, in order to mark the 20th anniversary the Tiananmen protests. Xiong Yan spent 19 months in jail, after his release he fled to the United States where he keeps in touch with Tiananmen activists and participates in pro-democracy events. Xiong was invited the southern Chinese enclave by the Hong Kong Alliance, which has been holding annual candlelight vigils on the 4 June anniversary Tiananmen protests. Many of the 21 who are in exile have joined human rights organizations or are now engaging in private business. Not all of the 21 most wanted are as well
Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident practitioners, but were not scrutinised for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death. Tiananmen Square was one of the main venues where Falun Gong practitioners gathered to protest the persecution, usually by raising banners in defence of the group, or stage peaceful meditation sit-ins. Ian Johnson of the "Wall Street Journal" estimated that by 25 April 2000, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested for attempting to demonstrate in Beijing, most of them in or on the way to Tiananmen Square. Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration