Commentary Jan. 17 marks the 16th anniversary of the death of former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Zhao Ziyang. When the democratic protest movement occurred in 1989, he stood on the side of the people. Consequently, Zhao was purged from the Party, but he became a symbol of democracy. Zhao, who was the general secretary of the CCP at the time of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, was placed under house arrest in Beijing until his death on Jan. 17, 2005. The Chinese regime has since forbidden all media reporting about Zhao. My trouble with the Chinese authorities began after my brief encounter with Zhao Erjun, the second child of Zhao Ziyang, in 2009. I was visiting my friend Shi Lei in Guangzhou city during the Spring Festival. Recently, I found an old photo of the three of us. Although I did not know Zhao Ziyang personally, I never thought that …