Tang Ping (唐平) was a Miao (苗族) demobilized soldier and cadre at the Fenghuang County Tobacco Factory in western Hunan. Historical prisoner records report that he and fellow veteran Li Deming (李德铭) wrote and circulated material opposing the government’s suppression of the 1989 student movement.
Case
Accounts agree on the core conduct but differ on the precise recipients. One roster says Tang and Li secretly mailed writings to party, government and military organs and news organizations; another account describes distribution to the Fenghuang county government and public-security, procuratorial and court organs. The exact recipient list therefore remains unresolved.
Tang was reportedly arrested in 1991 and convicted of counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement. Sources consistently report a three-year prison sentence; a later account identifies the Xiangxi Prefecture Intermediate Court. No judgment has yet been located, so those details remain probable rather than primary-document verified.
Li Deming, a Miao former soldier who worked as a police officer at a Fenghuang County public-security substation, is reported as Tang’s co-defendant and received a five-year term. His case should be maintained as a separate linked person record.
Current status
Unknown. No reliable release record or post-release biography for Tang has been located. FreeChina does not infer a release date from the nominal three-year term.
Identity guard
This Tang Ping is a male Miao cadre and veteran from Fenghuang County. He must not be confused with the unrelated female Changsha singer of the same Chinese name.
Sources and evidence limits
- HRIC/HRW-Asia Hunan prisoner roster as preserved in the 2013 Hunan June Fourth prisoner compendium.
- Later Hunan historical synthesis citing Chinese-language accounts of the case.
The arrest year is supported by the roster lineage; the court identification by the later synthesis. Exact leaflet wording, recipients, prison and post-release history remain unresolved.