--- title: Tiananmen Protester: Donald Trump Sounds Like a Communist description: “Riot" is the word that the Chinese Communist Party uses for its massacre, which spilled innocent blood canonical: https://time.com/4258064/tiananmen-protester-donald-trump-sounds-like-a-communist-leader/ author: Wang Dan Wang Dan article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-14T18:56:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T15:53:15.295Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Tiananmen Protester: Donald Trump Sounds Like a Communist og:description: “Riot" is the word that the Chinese Communist Party uses for its massacre og:url: https://time.com/4258064/tiananmen-protester-donald-trump-sounds-like-a-communist-leader/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7e057182d15be8af/69888ae5196cf4277d03abc1/tianenmen-square-tanks-china.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2500 og:image:height: 1406 og:image:alt: 11/06/1989. LES CHARS SUR LA PLACE TIEN AN MEN og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Tiananmen Protester: Donald Trump Sounds Like a Communist twitter:description: “Riot" is the word that the Chinese Communist Party uses for its massacre twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7e057182d15be8af/69888ae5196cf4277d03abc1/tianenmen-square-tanks-china.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Tiananmen Protester: Donald Trump Sounds Like a Communist Leader > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=5c79ad07-8063-4954-8929-6e30a7daf932&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) by [Wang Dan Wang Dan](https://time.com/author/wang-dan/) ## Wang Dan Wang Dan Mar 14, 2016 6:56 PM UTC  The tanks on Tiananmen Square in Beijing China on June 11, 1989. The tanks on Tiananmen Square in Beijing China on June 11, 1989. Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images by [Wang Dan Wang Dan](https://time.com/author/wang-dan/) ## Wang Dan Wang Dan Mar 14, 2016 6:56 PM UTC In July 1989, a month after the Tiananmen massacre in Beijing, [I was thrown into prison](https://www.hrw.org/legacy/campaigns/china/scholars/t15/wangdan.htm) because of my leadership of the Chinese student movement. Since then, I have committed myself to a long-term struggle against the Communist Party of China’s authoritarian government. It has been 27 years since I was a student at Peking University calling for government reform and accountability in [Tiananmen Square](http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/04/world/asia/china-tiananmen-activists/). I’m often asked if I have any regrets? My answer, even though I am in exile in the U.S. and have not seen my parents for more than a quarter century, is always, “No regrets.” My reasons are simple: Although there is no freedom of speech in China, in much of the world—especially in the U.S., where I have been living for 18 years—I have been heartened by the support for the crushed Chinese student movement. I have drawn comfort from the consistent condemnation by Americans of the Chinese Communist government’s slaughter of peaceful protesters. It makes me feel like I am on the right side of history. That is, until I heard Donald Trump’s words in a GOP debate in which he called the [nonviolent movement at Tiananmen a “riot](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/03/11/trump-just-called-tiananmen-square-a-riot-the-communist-party-will-be-pleased/).” This description—“a riot”—is the same one that the Chinese Communist Party uses for its massacre, which left innocent blood flowing through the heart of Beijing. Mr. Trump went on to praise the Chinese government that butchered civilians as “strong, powerful.” As a student leader at Tiananmen, whose fellow youth were killed or imprisoned by a government that is still in charge in China, I am disappointed by and angry at Mr. Trump’s words. If a bloody repression can be praised as a “strong, powerful” action, what does this mean about American values, especially when this blatant mischaracterization comes from a presidential candidate? In China, because of the Communist Party’s omissions from history books and mounting online censorship, people—young ones, especially—may have no idea about the idealism and hopes of the students at Tiananmen. They may know nothing of the bloodshed that was unleashed on June 4, 1989\. Americans know, however. I want to ask Mr. Trump: How can you say these things about Tiananmen? As a long-time resident of the United States, I am deeply worried about a great country’s future. Maybe Mr. Trump will spin a defense for himself. But his description of the student movement as a “riot” was very clear. There is no room for misunderstanding on this point. Yet I can say with confidence that it is only Chinese Communist Party officials who will agree with him. So, I will tell Mr. Trump this: “Congratulations, you are already qualified to become a member of the Communist Party of China.” _Wang Dan was No. 1 on the Chinese Communist Party’s most-wanted list for his leadership of the 1989 student movement at Tiananmen._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4258064/tiananmen-protester-donald-trump-sounds-like-a-communist-leader/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4258064/tiananmen-protester-donald-trump-sounds-like-a-communist-leader/"},"headline":"Tiananmen Protester: Donald Trump Sounds Like a Communist Leader","datePublished":"2016-03-14T18:56:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:53:15.295Z","description":"“Riot\" is the word that the Chinese Communist Party uses for its massacre, which spilled innocent blood","url":"https://time.com/4258064/tiananmen-protester-donald-trump-sounds-like-a-communist-leader/","keywords":["politics","China","Donald Trump","2016 Campaign","Tiananmen Square"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7e057182d15be8af/69888ae5196cf4277d03abc1/tianenmen-square-tanks-china.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Wang Dan Wang Dan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/wang-dan/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7e057182d15be8af/69888ae5196cf4277d03abc1/tianenmen-square-tanks-china.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"11/06/1989. 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