Yang Lian (1955, Bern) poet. Growing up in Beijing, his name is strongly connected to the so-called Misty Poets who have used poetry as a tool to protest against the limitation of the freedom of speech. Yang went into exile after the bloodshed at Tiananmen Square in 1989, he lived in Australia and New Zealand, and since 1997 he has resided in London. His poetry gained both Chinese and international awareness in the 1980s. In his works he openly talks about politics; his recurring topics are questions of literature, politics and art. One of his most well-known works, the autobiographical The Narrative Poem was banned and destroyed by the Chinese authorities for evoking the bloodshed at Tiananmen Square. In addition to his collections of poems and prose, he has published an essay collection, too. His works have been translated into more than twenty languages.