Fang Lizhi is laid to rest in the United States, 300 people bid farewell to him (Photos)

> Fang Lizhi is laid to rest in the United States, 300 people bid farewell to him (Photos) (Reprinted on Apple Daily) Fang Lizhi’s funeral was held at 4:00 pm on Saturday (yesterday morning, Hong Kong time) 7 o'clock), at...

(Reprinted from Apple Daily)

Fang Lizhi's funeral was held at 4 pm on Saturday (7 o'clock yesterday morning, Hong Kong time) at Dongyi Cemetery in Tucson City. At around 2 p.m., Fang’s colleagues and students from the University of Arizona arrived one after another. Many of them were students from mainland China, Taiwan and other places in the United States, and are now leaders in the field of astrophysics research. The auditorium opened at 3 p.m., and condolences signed in, lined up in two rows to pay homage to the remains, and bowed in order. Mr. Fang was lying in a coffin surrounded by flower baskets, with a peaceful face. Dozens of flower baskets were placed inside and outside the auditorium, signed by relatives and friends, students from the June Fourth Movement, pro-democracy activists, and some faculty and staff of Peking University; the largest number were alumni of the University of Science and Technology of China.

1936–2012

Fang Liz’s son Fang Ke said that his father created a happy childhood for him. Wife: Losing him is the most painful thing in life. The family held the funeral in a low-key manner and only relied on private invitations via email. It was not until the same day that they published an obituary in a local newspaper in Arizona to announce the time and place of the funeral. Despite this, the auditorium was packed, and the separate room was also filled with people. At 3:30 pm, Fang Lizhi’s widow Li Shuxian entered the ceremony supported by Wang Dan. "He is my husband, my lover, my soul, my heart... Rest in peace, my dear." Li Shuxian's affectionate confession moved everyone present. She recalled the hardships but sweet love between the two in a turbulent era. Looking back on her life, Li said: "He was born lucky to do what he wanted and liked throughout his life, scientific, humanistic, and political, regardless of the consequences for himself. I was lucky enough to know him, fall in love with him, and live together through thick and thin, life and death. This life was not in vain. Losing him prematurely now is the biggest pain in my life." "Dear little brother, we will always love you and miss you." My sister Fang Pingzhi came to the United States from mainland China to attend the funeral on behalf of the other three brothers and sisters. Over the past 20 years, except for this sister who went to the United States to meet Fang Lizhi once in 2008, my brother and sister were unable to go to the United States due to their old age, and they were separated forever. Fang Lizhi's eldest son, Fang Ke, said that the background image on his father's computer was a photo of the Summer Palace in Beijing, where his family of four often visited. He recalled that his father taught him to appreciate the beauty of nature, make his own radio, etc., and created a happy childhood for him in those years of material poverty and political turmoil, which made him deeply proud of his father.

Lin Perry (first from left) and friends express condolences to Fang’s widow Li Shuxian.

>The funeral on the 14th was attended by nearly 300 people. Students jokingly called their teacher "Fang Laoxie". Mr. Fang's student Xiu also came on stage to share his experiences with his teacher. Dr. Feng from Beijing was Fang Lizhi’s graduate student at HKUST in 1982. In recent years, he and Fang Lizhi published 40 academic papers. He recalled that his students jokingly called Fang Lizhi "Fang Laoxie" because they thought Fang was like Huang Yaoshi, the master of Peach Blossom Island in Jin Yong's novel, who was as open-minded and open-minded. Most of the guests invited to give speeches at the funeral were academics, with the exception of Wang Dan, the leader of the 1989 student movement. He commented that Fang Lizhi was a "political esthete." He quoted Fang Lizhi as saying: "For intellectuals, caring about society is a right and obligation!" A doctor surnamed Chen also recalled some of Fang Lizhi's famous sayings in the 1980s at the funeral, such as: "Economically, the people feed the government, not the government feeds the people." "In addition to the personal mistakes of the leaders, the communist system itself may also have flaws. Otherwise, why do so many people feel happier abroad?" The funeral lasted for more than three hours until the evening. The condolences left at half past eight. In addition, the Hong Kong Advocacy Association also paid a moment of silence to Fang Li before the Long-distance Run to Remember June 4th held yesterday morning.

Fang Lizhi’s Event Book At the funeral site, family members showed photos taken by Fang Lizhi over the years.

When he served as vice president of the University of Science and Technology of China in 1986, he advocated and promoted the student democratic movement.

In January 1987, he was expelled from the CCP by Deng Xiaoping along with the then "People's Daily" reporter Liu Binyan and writer Wang Ruowang.

In the spring of 1989, while serving as a researcher at the Beijing Observatory, he supported the Beijing student democratic movement and was hailed as the spiritual leader of the 1989 student movement.

He was wanted after the Tiananmen Massacre in 1989 and took refuge in the U.S. Embassy in China. He went to the United States a year later.

After 1990, he taught in the Department of Physics at the University of Arizona in the United States; during this period, he paid attention to the cause of human rights in China.

Died suddenly in Tucson, Arizona on April 6, 2012, at the age of 76.