[3] On June 2 Liu Xiaobo, Zhou Duo, and Gao Xin joined Hou Dejian in Tiananmen Square to announce their hunger strike in support of the student movement.
"[5] Together, the "four gentlemen" wrote a declaration that urged the Chinese people to uphold their "duty as responsible citizens" by sustaining a "peaceful democratization process.
"[6] They declared, "in this combat of opposing political cultures, of character cultivation and of moral strength, the hunger strikers intend to use their wisdom and actions to make the government feel shamed, to admit and correct its wrongdoings.
[6] This announcement from Hou Dejian and the others troubled high-ranking officials within the party, playing a definitive role in the government's decision on June 3 to approve a violent crackdown.
[11] After the 1989 events at Tiananmen, Hou Dejian disappeared from the public eye to avoid the crackdown on so called "counterrevolutionaries" who had participated in the protest.
"[14] Contradicting student leaders like Chai Ling and appearing to take the Chinese government's side of the story,[14] Hou was aware that his interview would cause outrage among many protesters, and he was correct.
According to the Wall Street Journal, among the 1.1 billion people in China in 1990, Hou Dejian was the only individual to utter "in public the criticisms of the state that many Chinese share[d] but dare not speak.
"[12] Andrew Higgins, a Beijing correspondent for the Independent, a British daily, stated that Hou was "the only real interview in town.
[18] When reporters arrived at Hou's home, they found a written message stating that he had cancelled the conference due to personal matters.
[18] Prior to the news conference the three dissidents were detained, forcing Hou Dejian to negotiate the terms of their release with authorities.