Chinese intellectual Fang Lizhi, who inspired a whole generation of student activists during the 1980s, passed away on April 6, 2012, at the age of 76. Fang had been in exile in the United States for 22 years.

As if the time he spent exiled wasn't enough, Chinese authorities were also quick to ban the news of his death from appearing online in China, and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) mouthpiece media declared that Fang has been forgotten.

Born in 1936, Fang joined the CCP underground network when he was just 12 years old, entering the Beijing University School of Physics in 1952, following which he became an astrophysics professor. Similar to the fate of many intellectuals of his generation, Fang was prosecuted during the Anti-Rightist Campaign in the 1950s and again during the Cultural Revolution for expressing his opinions.

Fang Lizhi (right) and Wang Dan (1989 student activist). Photo by Wang Dan

In 1986, Fang openly supported the student's democratic movement and was expelled from the CCP and removed from his position as vice president of the University of Science and Technology of China. Nonetheless, Fang remained politically active and even criticized then statesman Deng Xiaoping‘s Four Cardinal Principles when interviewed by foreign media in 1988, following that with an open letter in January 1989 urging Deng to release political prisoners of the 1978 Beijing Spring.

After the Tiananmen Massacre in 1989, Fang and his wife, Li Shuxian sought asylum in the U.S embassy in Beijing and went into exile the following year.

As a well-respected teacher who lived his life in defense of his beliefs, Fang is recognized for having inspired a whole generation of university students. Chinese authorities, however, would rather see him forgotten. As news of his death spread out in the Chinese speaking world, the name, “Fang Lizhi” became blocked throughout the Chinese internet, leaving netizens only able to use “Mr. Fang” to express their condolences and feelings. At the same time, Hu Xijin, chief editor of Global Times, another CCP mouthpiece, has apparently been granted the privilege of writing Fang Lizhi's full name in Sina Weibo, and to propagate that Fang has been forgotten in China [zh]:

方励之先生在美去世，享年76岁。说实话，我挺同情他个人的。 他的追求和用力没有同中国的进步合上拍子，他实际上已被遗忘。希望中国知识分子未来更理性。中国不应再出现一些精英受外国支持保护，同国家政权对抗的局面。那属于旧时代，是往回走。达赖受的支持最多，但都是过眼浮云，他的成功机会是零。

Hu's comments left many infuriated and has drawn thousands of angry replies. Below are some of the typical ones:

孙弘武的博客：胡锡进自封为国家的看门狗？你很可能是特权阶级的看门狗。你是被特权者喂了肉包子，疯狂咬向推进国家进步改革的民主先驱人的疯狗

柳絮飞扬spare：假惺惺的，有的人死了，却还活着（如方先生）;有的人活着，却已经死了（如胡编辑）。

只配抬杠：#胡锡进#，很多官员合上拍子了，贪到好多钱，很多言不由衷的小人合上拍子了，上位当了主编。你的逻辑无非还是因为现状就是这样，所以这样就是合理的，因此所有指责现状的都是不合理不合拍子，你还能更脑残一点么？一个国家的精英要外国来保护，是这个国家的不幸，指责精英受到了保护，是你的不幸。

Human rights blogger Mo Zhixu explained the political meaning behind Hu's statement:

@mozhixu 胡锡进的想法，其实反映了体制内得势群体的主流意见，不正视这一点，成天意淫政改，须吃胡锡进的耻笑。

@mozhixu 胡锡进的所有观点其实都可以归结于一句话：“老子吃定你们了，请识相点！” 对此，我也只有一句话：走着瞧，你Y不就是有几辆坦克吗。。。。

The social media censor machine's filtering of the name “Fang Lizhi”, and the removal of condolence messages as many netizens are struggle to remember him, reflects how threatening Chinese authorities find the spirit Fang represented:

宅哥的世界：方先生走了，客死他乡。有家不能回，精英被流失，这是一个国家的耻辱。

深绿仙人掌这种鲁迅式的知识分子，以我区区几年的成长生涯，完全没见过，或者都蹲在监狱里了。方先生逝世的消失，居然隔了那么久，也还是被大陆全面删除。历史会证明你是对的。