Fang Li Zhi
When the Chinese astrophysicist Fang Li Zhi fell from grace in 1988 for allegedly fomenting student unrest, CCS sprang into action.
We sent letters protesting restrictions placed on his travel for participation in scientific exchanges abroad and on contacts with his students at home. A member of our National Board visited him in Beijing to ascertain strategies he wanted pursued. At several scientific meetings, we circulated petitions on his behalf.
After Fang found safe haven at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing from a crackdown on dissent, we entered subscriptions for him to professional journals designed to keep him abreast of developments in his field. Further collegial support was provided by CCS Board Members, who corresponded with him regularly. At other meetings, we circulated petitions signed by many participants, urging Beijing to grant him and his wife Li Shuxian safe passage out of the country, and rallied Nobel laureates in science to reiterate this message in cables to China’s leadership. After a year of refuge in our Embassy, the couple was allowed to leave for England.
Until his death in April 2012, Professor Fang held a professorship at the University of Arizona and devoted considerable time and energy to help the Chinese champions of democracy who remained behind.