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Chinese-American human rights activist, military officer and Protestant chaplain From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Xiong Yan (Chinese: 熊焱; born 1 September 1964) is a Chinese-American human rights activist, military officer, and Protestant chaplain. He was a dissident involved in 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.[7] Xiong Yan studied at Peking University Law School from 1986 to 1989. He came to the United States of America as a political refugee in 1992, and later became a chaplain in U.S. Army, serving in Iraq.[4][8] Xiong Yan is the author of three books, and has earned six degrees.[5] He ran for Congress in New York's 10th congressional district in 2022, and his campaign was reportedly attacked by agents of China's Ministry of State Security.[9]
Xiong Yan | |
|---|---|
Xiong in Army Service Uniform | |
| Native name | 熊焱 |
| Born | 1 September 1964 Shuangfeng, China[1] |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1994[2]–1996[3] 1996–2003 (Reserve) 2003[4]–present |
| Rank |  Major[5][6] |
| Unit | Fort Bliss Warrant Officer Career College, Fort Rucker 1st Cavalry Division |
| Battles / wars | Operation Iraqi Freedom |
| Alma mater | Peking University Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary University of North Carolina Covenant Theological Seminary Trinity Evangelical Divinity School |
| Other work | Student protest leader |
Growing up in Hunan, he moved to Beijing to pursue graduate level studies in law at Peking University.[10] He was a probationary member of the Chinese Communist Party.[11] While at Peking University, he was a member of Caodi Salon, which Liu Gang had organized.[12]
Yan was a student leader during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.[10] At one point, he called himself "general commander".[13] After the military crackdown and massacre at Tiananmen Square, he was placed on China's most wanted list.[14][15] Captured in late June 1989 at Datong,[14] he was returned to Beijing under armed guard of hundreds of soldiers.[16] Afterwards, he was detained for 19 months at maximum security Qincheng Prison without being charged with a crime.[5][8]
After his release, Yan's academic credentials were stripped from him, and he was unable to obtain identification.[2][10] During this period he converted to Christianity.[citation needed] He fled mainland China in May 1992.[10] After being granted political asylum he moved to the United States in June 1992, initially moving to the Los Angeles area.[17] He remains a fugitive of the People's Republic of China.[18]
Moving to Boston, he studied English at Harvard University and was accepted into its divinity school but declined its admission.[19] He later attended Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary;[11] eventually he earned a D.Min. degree from the same seminary in 2009.[19][20] He is active in the overseas China democracy movement.[21] In 2009, he made a trip to Hong Kong to attend a candlelight vigil on the June 4 anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown.[22] It was estimated that 150,000 people attended the vigil.[23] This was the first time, within a 17-year time span, for Yan to return to China since 1992.[18]
In 2010, Chai Ling and he were panel members at a discussion on China's One-child policy held at Rayburn House Office Building.[24]
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;[25] he was detained when trying to cross into China from Hong Kong, and was unable to see her before she died.[26] In 2017, when a United Kingdom diplomatic cable was declassified, which estimated that about 10,000 civilians were killed, Xiong agreed with the account.[27]
Xiong Yan was listed as a member of the preparatory committee of the Wang Dan's June 4 Memorial Museum. On 4 February, he published a statement protesting against the inclusion of his name in the committee.[28] On 16 February, Xiong Yan participated in an event organized by an overseas Chinese group against the June 4th Memorial Museum.[29]
Yan went on to join the United States Army[2] while working on a second bachelor's degree, studying at the University of North Carolina.[30] He graduated with a B.A. in English Literature in 1998.[20] By 1999, he was a sergeant in the Army Reserve.[30] He went on to earn an M.A. degree from the Covenant Theological Seminary in 2001 and a Master of Arts in Religion (M.A.R.) degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in 2002.[20] Serving eight years in the Army Reserve, he was commissioned as an officer in 2003.[4] He serves as a Protestant chaplain of the Evangelical Church Alliance denomination.[19] In 2010, he was a chaplain at the Warrant Officer Career College on Fort Rucker.[4] In 2014, Yan was stationed at Fort Bliss.[19]
Yan served two tours in Iraq.[31] Xiong has considered running for Congress in the future, after he retires from the Army.[25] In 2017, Xiong was stationed in Hawaii.[32]
In 2022, Yan ran for Congress in New York's 10th congressional district[33] as a Democrat.[34] The United States Department of Justice has reported that his campaign was attacked by agents of China's Ministry of State Security,[35] including surveillance, and discussion of possible smear campaigns, honey trapping and physical attacks.[36][37]
Xiong is married to Qian Liyun.[1] She was arrested along with Shen Tong due to activity relating to the Democracy for China Fund in 1992;[38] they were released and sent to the United States.[39] In the United States, Liyun also joined the Army.[40]
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