Yu Dongyue

Yu Dongyue (; Hanyu Pinyin: Yù Dōngyuè) is a former Chinese journalist imprisoned for almost 17 years in China, for throwing paint-filled eggs onto the large portrait of Mao Zedong on Tiananmen Gate in Beijing during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

Role in Tiananmen Square protests

Yu Dongyue was formerly a fine arts editor with Liuyang News in Hunan. In May 1989, he went by train to Beijing with two other men, Yu Zhijian (), a school teacher, and Lu Decheng (), a truck mechanic. They planned to join the ongoing demonstrations calling for democracy in China. They decided to make a disturbance that would readily be captured by news media then reporting on events in Tiananmen Square. Yu Dongyue, a graduate of the Department of Art at Xiangtan Teachers College, Hunan, was 21 years old at the time.

On May 23, the three men threw eggs that had been emptied and refilled with red, blue and yellow paint at the large portrait of Mao Zedong displayed prominently near Tiananmen Square. Splatters of paint landed on the face and shirt of the People's Republic of China's founding leader. According to news reports, other demonstrators seized the three men and turned them over to police.

Imprisonment

The three men were arrested and charged with "counterrevolutionary sabotage, propaganda and incitement." Trials were soon held, and in August, 1989, they were all sentenced to long prison terms. Lu Decheng was sentenced to life in prison, Yu Dongyue to 20 years and Yu...
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