Xiong Yan (; born 1 September 1964) is a Chinese-American human rights activist, military officer, and

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

chaplain. He was a

dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 20th ...

involved in

1989 Tiananmen Square protests The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...

. Xiong Yan studied at Peking University Law School from 1986–1989. He came to the United States of America as a political refugee in 1992, and later became a chaplain in

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

, serving in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. Xiong Yan is the author of three books, and has earned six degrees. He ran for Congress in

New York's 10th congressional district New York's 10th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives currently represented by Democrat Jerry Nadler. The district contains the southern portion of Morningside Heights, the Upper We ...

in 2022, and his campaign was reportedly attacked by agents of Communist China's Ministry of State Security.

Dissident

Growing up in

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...

, he moved to Beijing to pursue graduate level studies in law at Peking University. He was a probationary member of the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

. While at Peking University, he was a member of ''Caodi'' Salon, which

Liu Gang Liu Gang (born 30 January 1961) is a Chinese scientist and revolutionary who founded the Beijing Students' Autonomous Federation. He was a prominent student leader at the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Liu holds a M.A. in physics from Pek ...

had organized. Yan was a student leader during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. At one point, he called himself "general commander". After the crackdown at Tiananmen Square, he was placed on China's

most wanted list A most wanted list is a list of criminals and alleged criminals who are believed to be at large and are identified as a law enforcement agency's highest priority for capture. The list can alert the public to be watchful, and generates publicity ...

. Captured in late June 1989 at Datong, he was returned to Beijing under armed guard of hundreds of soldiers. Afterwards, he was detained for 19 months at maximum security

Qincheng Prison The Ministry of Public Security Qincheng Prison () is a maximum-security prison located in Qincheng Village, Xingshou, Changping District, Beijing in the People's Republic of China. The prison was built in 1958 with aid from the Soviet Unio ...

without being charged with a crime. After his release, Yan's academic credentials were stripped from him, and he was unable to obtain identification. During this period he converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

having met a member of an

underground church The term underground church () is used to refer to Chinese Catholic churches in the People's Republic of China which have chosen not to associate with the state-sanctioned Catholic Patriotic Association, they are also called ''loyal church'' (). U ...

. He fled mainland China in May 1992. After being granted political asylum he moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in June 1992, initially moving to the

Los Angeles area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Cou ...

. He remains a

fugitive A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

of mainland China.

After leaving China

Moving to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, he studied

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and was accepted into its

divinity school A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

but declined its admission. He later attended

Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary (GCTS) is an evangelical seminary with its main campus in Hamilton, Massachusetts, and three other campuses in Boston, Massachusetts; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Jacksonville, Florida. According to the As ...

; eventually he earned a D.Min. degree from the same seminary in 2009. He is active in the overseas China democracy movement. In 2009, he made a trip to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

to attend a candlelight vigil on the June 4 anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown. It was estimated that 150,000 people attended the vigil. This was the first time, within a 17-year time span, for Yan to return to China since 1992.
In 2010,

Chai Ling Chai Ling (; born April 15, 1966) is a Chinese psychologist who was one of the student leaders in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. She is the founder of All Girls Allowed, an organization dedicated to ending China's one-child policy, and t ...

and he were panel members at a discussion on China's

One-child policy The term one-child policy () refers to a population planning initiative in China implemented between 1980 and 2015 to curb the country's population growth by restricting many families to a single child. That initiative was part of a much br ...

held at

Rayburn House Office Building The Rayburn House Office Building (RHOB) is a congressional office building for the U.S. House of Representatives in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C., between South Capitol Street and First Street. Rayburn is named after form ...

. In 2015, after receiving word that his mother's health was failing, Yan appealed to mainland China to be allowed to return to see her before she dies; he was detained when trying to cross into China from

, and was unable to see her before she died. In 2017, when a United Kingdom diplomatic cable was declassified, which estimated that about 10,000 civilians were killed, Xiong agreed with the account.

Military service

Yan went on to join the United States Army while working on a second bachelor's degree, studying at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

. He graduated with a B.A. in English Literature in 1998. By 1999, he was a sergeant in the Army Reserve. He went on to earn an M.A. degree from the

Covenant Theological Seminary Covenant Theological Seminary, informally called Covenant Seminary, is the denominational seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Located in Creve Coeur, Missouri, it trains people to work as leaders in church positions and elsewhe ...

in 2001 and a Master of Arts in Religion (M.A.R.) degree from

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) is an academic divinity school founded in 1897 and located in the northern Chicago suburb of Deerfield, Illinois. It is part of and located on the main campus of Trinity International University. It� ...

in 2002. Serving eight years in the Army Reserve, he was commissioned as an officer in 2003. He serves as a Protestant chaplain of the Evangelical Church Alliance denomination. In 2010, he was a chaplain at the Warrant Officer Career College on

Fort Rucker Fort Rucker is a U.S. Army post located primarily in Dale County, Alabama, United States. It was named for a Civil War officer, Confederate General Edmund Rucker. The post is the primary flight training installation for U.S. Army Aviators and ...

. In 2014, Yan was stationed at

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President Zachary Taylor, Ft. Bliss h ...

. Yan served two tours in Iraq. Xiong has considered running for Congress in the future, after he retires from the Army. In 2017, Xiong was stationed in Hawaii.

Congressional campaign

He is running for Congress in

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. The

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

has reported that his campaign has been attacked by agents of China's Ministry of State Security, including surveillance, and discussion of possible

smear campaigns A smear campaign, also referred to as a smear tactic or simply a smear, is an effort to damage or call into question someone's reputation, by propounding negative propaganda. It makes use of discrediting tactics. It can be applied to individual ...

honey trapping Honey trapping is an investigative practice involving the use of romantic or sexual relationships for interpersonal, political (including state espionage), or monetary purpose. The ''honey pot or trap'' involves making contact with an individua ...

and physical attacks.

Personal life

Xiong is married to Qian Liyun. She was arrested along with

Shen Tong Shen Tong (Simplified Chinese: 沈彤; Hanyu Pinyin: Shěn Tóng) (born 1968) is an American impact investor, activist, and writer. He founded business accelerators FoodFutureCo in 2015 and Food-X in 2014, the latter of which is recognized by Fas ...

due to activity relating to the Democracy for China Fund in 1992; they were released and sent to the United States. In the United States, Liyun also joined the Army.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Xiong, Yan 1964 births Living people American military personnel of Chinese descent United States Army personnel of the Iraq War Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections Chinese dissidents Chinese emigrants to the United States Chinese human rights activists Peking University alumni Chinese Christians Writers from Hunan American evangelicals University of North Carolina alumni Covenant Theological Seminary alumni Trinity Evangelical Divinity School alumni United States Army chaplains Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary alumni People from Loudi People from Shuangfeng County Converts to Christianity