Xiong Yan

Xiong Yan (; 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. 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.

Dissident Growing up in Hunan, Xiong moved to Beijing to pursue graduate level studies in law at Peking University. While at Peking University, he was a member of Caodi Salon, which Liu Gang had organized.

Xiong was a student leader during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. At one point, he called himself "general commander". After the military crackdown and massacre at Tiananmen Square, he was placed on China's most wanted list. Captured in late June 1989 at Datong, he was returned to Beijing under armed guard of hundreds of soldiers. Afterwards, he was detained for 19 months at maximum security Qincheng Prison without being charged with a crime.

After his release, Yan's academic credentials were stripped from him, and he was unable to obtain identification. He remains a fugitive of the People's Republic of China. He is active in the overseas China democracy movement. In 2009, he made a trip to Hong Kong to attend a candlelight vigil on the June 4 anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown. It was estimated that 150,000 people attended the vigil. This was the first time, within a 17-year time span, for Xiong to return to China since 1992.

In 2010, Chai Ling and he were panel members at a discussion on China's One-child policy held at Rayburn House Office Building.

In 2015, after receiving word that his mother's health was failing, Xiong appealed to mainland China to be allowed to return to see her before she dies. He was detained when trying to cross into China from Hong Kong, and was unable to see her before she died. In 2017 Xiong agreed with the account of a declassified United Kingdom diplomatic cable, which estimated about 10,000 civilians were killed in the 1989 massacre.

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. On 16 February, Xiong Yan participated in an event organized by an overseas Chinese group against the June 4th Memorial Museum.

Military service Xiong went on to join the United States Army He graduated with a B.A. in English literature in 1998. In 2017, Xiong was stationed in Hawaii.

Congressional campaigns In 2022, Xiong ran for Congress in New York's 10th congressional district as a Democrat. He lost the primary to Dan Goldman. The United States Department of Justice has reported that his campaign was attacked by agents of China's Ministry of State Security, including surveillance, and discussion of possible smear campaigns, honey trapping and physical attacks.

Xiong filed in June 2025 to run for Congress in New York's 6th Congressional district, to challenge incumbent Grace Meng in the 2026 election. As of the end of 2025, his campaign had received no financial contributions, as reported to the Federal Election Commission.

Personal life Xiong is married to Qian Liyun. they were released and sent to the United States. In the United States, Qian also joined the Army.