From left to right: RNDC Executive Director Nicole Griensewic, New Ulm City Manager Chris Dalton, Denis Warta, Brown County Historical Society Executive Director Kathleen Backer, Dr. Yang Jianli, and New Ulm City Council President Andrea Boettger. Photo by Nathan George

NEW ULM – Author, scholar, and democracy advocate Dr. Yang Jianli visited New Ulm on Monday, Oct. 31. Yang traveled to the area to speak at a Minnesota Association of Development Organizations (MADO) retreat in Mankato.

During his trip, he had the opportunity to visit New Ulm to learn more about the city and its history. While there, New Ulm City Council President Andrea Boettger showed Yang around Turner Hall and presented him with an honorary citizen certificate. After the presentation, Brown County Historical Society Executive Director, Kathleen Backer, gave Yang a tour of the Brown County History Museum.

Yang is a Chinese dissident who was involved in the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. Shortly after, he came to the United States where he earned PhDs in Political Economy from Harvard University and Mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley. He was detained by the Chinese government for supporting democracy from 2002 until 2006 when the Bush Administration petitioned for his release.

Since his release, Yang has continued to work toward a democratic China. He formed the Foundation for China in the 21st Century which aims to support the freedom of information and actively works to counteract the Chinese government’s disinformation networks. He has presented to Congress and the United Nations about the political climate in China and the importance of democracy.