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]
After leaving China
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 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]
Military service
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]
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]
^ abcBeck, Simon (8 January 1995). "Concern grows over secret ban; Rights chief puts exiles on agenda". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015. Xiong Yan, 31. Former student leader. Arrested in Beijing and served two years in jail before leaving China in 1992. Now in US Army. Chair of the Chinese Freedom and Democracy Party.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Tiananmen, 15 Years On". Human Rights Watch. 2004. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2015. He served two years, 1994–96, in the U.S. army before immersing himself in a divinity school doctoral program.
^ abc"Chaplain (Major) Xiong Yan's Bio"(PDF). Committee Repository. United States House of Representatives. 30 May 2014. Archived(PDF) from the original on 13 November 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
^ abAndrew, Jacobs (4 June 2014). "Tiananmen's Most Wanted". New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015. A graduate law student at Peking University and a probationary Communist Party member in 1989, Mr. Xiong was among those chosen to negotiate with the government.
^"Record Turnout At Hong Kong Tiananmen Vigil". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Reuters. 4 June 2009. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015. "Hong Kong is a part of China and can influence China more than any country, more than any place," said Xiong, who was one of 21 people placed on Beijing's "most wanted list" in 1989.
^Zhang Boli (27 May 2003). Escape from China: The Long Journey From Tiananmen to Freedom. Simon and Schuster. p. 55. ISBN978-0-7434-3161-3. They carried the story on TV of his being sent back under escort to Beijing. The hundreds of helmeted soldiers carrying rifles and ammunition seemed shadowed by this heroic man as he stepped fearlessly off the train.
^ abLeitsinger, Miranda (4 June 2009). "One of Tiananmen's 'most wanted' returns to China". CNN. United States. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015. "Xiong Yan". Nine to Noon (Podcast). Radio New Zealand. 4 June 2009. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.