America at 250: Reflections of a Patriot by Choice

As the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of its Founding, I have found myself reflecting on my own journey in America and what this extraordinary nation has meant to me. I owe my freedom and even my life to this country. I have told before the story of returning to China from my graduate studies in the U.S. to participate in the 1989 Tiananmen democracy movement, surviving the massacre, later earning my doctorate in political economy from Harvard University, returning once again to China to promote peaceful democratic reform, being imprisoned by the Chinese Communist Party, and finally being rescued through the determined efforts of the United States. My gratitude to America is permanent and profound.

But this is not that story. Instead, I want to share experiences that I have never written about before, moments that shaped my understanding of America long before I was forced to depend upon it.

About the Author

Jianli Yang

Jianli Yang is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Center for the National Interest and a columnist for National Review.

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As the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of its Founding, I have found myself reflecting on my own journey in America and what this extraordinary nation has meant to me. I owe my freedom and even my life to this country. I have told before the story of returning to China from my graduate studies in the U.S. to participate in the 1989 Tiananmen democracy movement, surviving the massacre, later earning my doctorate in political economy from Harvard University, returning once again to China to promote peaceful democratic reform, being imprisoned by the Chinese Communist Party, and finally being rescued through the determined efforts of the United States. My gratitude to America is permanent and profound.

But this is not that story. Instead, I want to share experiences that I have never written about before, moments that shaped my understanding of America long before I was forced to depend upon it.