Former chief editor of the Chinese Communist Party’s official “Hainan Daily”, Mr. Cheng Kai, passed away. In 1989, Cheng Kai opposed the CCP’s crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests and had to exile overseas.
On January 27, Chinese-American writer and Vice Chairman of the Global Alliance, Sheng Xue, posted on the social platform X, saying: “Brother Cheng Kai’s departure was too sudden… Wishing Brother Cheng Kai to set down the burdens of the world, ride the crane to the west, have a smooth journey, and come back in the next life to a better world…”
Sheng Xue mentioned that she and Cheng Kai shared many common topics. Both worked at Radio Free Asia for many years. Cheng Kai condemned the Tiananmen Square massacre, was purged by the CCP, and fled to the United States, never setting foot on his homeland again. “I’ve heard him say many times that the only thing he regrets is not being able to see his mother.”
Independent commentator and columnist Cai Shenkun commented that the news of Cheng Kai’s passing was indeed sudden and expressed wishes for his peaceful rest.
According to Cai Shenkun’s recollection, in February 1990, when he stayed at the “Hainan Daily” during a visit to Hainan, Cheng Kai had been demoted due to the events of the Tiananmen Square, working in the supplementary department daily. Cai Shenkun’s schoolmate was hired as a journalist when Cheng Kai was the chief editor, and naturally held him in high regard. After the Tiananmen Square massacre, Cheng Kai was stripped of all party and public positions.
Under Cheng Kai’s leadership, the “Hainan Daily” moved the People’s Daily’s editorial from the front-page headline to the fourth page. After the Beijing martial law on May 20, the “Hainan Daily” not only published Zhao Ziyang’s visit to Tiananmen Square to meet with students in the early hours of May 19 but also featured photos and speeches under the headline “Ziyang, Hello!” from Zhao Ziyang’s earlier inspections in Hainan.
Cai Shenkun explained that at the time, the Hainan Provincial Committee did not intend to further purge Cheng Kai. After demotion, expulsion from the party, and the end of the investigation, he was planned to be relegated three levels down and assigned to organize historical data. However, Jiang Zemin pursued the incident of the “Hainan Daily” publishing Zhao Ziyang’s photos, requesting the Hainan Provincial Committee to “seriously” handle the matter. Cheng Kai had no choice but to exile overseas, transitioning from a Communist Party insider to a political exile.
On the same day, pro-democracy leader of the Tiananmen Square movement, Wang Dan, also posted on X, saying: “Late last night, I received a notification from a friend in San Francisco, that Mr. Cheng Kai had passed away. In 1989, Mr. Cheng Kai was the chief editor of the ‘Hainan Daily’ and openly opposed martial law. He was purged by the CCP and has been in exile overseas since. As a lifelong journalist, Mr. Cheng Kai has always upheld his ideals, continuing to speak out on various overseas media.”
As early as June 2021, during an interview with Epoch Times, Cheng Kai mentioned feeling proud and courageous when reflecting on his past actions. “At that time, I had that kind of courage, as a media person in the Communist Party system for decades, to have such courage. I think it was a significant decision in my life.” Jiang Zemin targeted the “Hainan Daily,” and the Hainan Provincial Committee decided to take a harsher stance. Friends advised him to leave China because he couldn’t come out unscathed.
With the help of his friends, Cheng Kai first went to Hong Kong and later to the United States, starting over with over thirty years of exile life.
Cheng Kai stated that he did not waste his time, nor did he regret his actions. He never stopped fighting for China’s democracy and continued his media work. “Through my reports and articles, I have always advocated for China’s democracy, for the future of China, and criticized the Chinese Communist regime’s increasing move towards fascism. I have not wasted my time.”