WASHINGTON—China’s most visible student leader in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests spoke at the Heritage Foundation Tuesday, expressing hope for China’s future and stressing the importance of a society’s ability to question its government.

Dr. Wang Dan was imprisoned for nearly 10 years for leading Peking University students in China’s pro-democracy movement.

“For those of us who watch the inspired yet tragic events of 1989 unfold, our solomn duty not only is to help the survivors carry this legacy to the generation of Chinese citizens who have been kept in the dark by their government, but also to learn to emulate the courage of those who stood for the promotion of human dignity through civil, political and religious freedom,” remarked Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.

With the economic difficulties facing the world today, “ this is a big topic and it is at a most important time,” Brownback concluded.