Ling Chai

Independent activity 1966–

Student leader of the 1989 Tiananmen hunger strike and occupation

Born in Shandong, she graduated from Peking University and pursued graduate study at Beijing Normal University. She held a leading role in the 1989 hunger strike and occupation, participating in disputes over withdrawal. After the crackdown she hid, escaped via Hong Kong and continued her studies in the United States. She later founded a software company and an organization concerned with women and children. Her interviews and memoir remain part of debates over the student leadership’s responsibilities.