王丹写于2010年5月13日：
21年前的今天：绝食开始！北大队伍出发前，钱理群等中青年教师在燕南园宴请绝食同学，挂出横幅：“风萧萧兮易水寒，壮士一去兮盼回还。”我与开希，少方三人手挽手带队到广场，旋即与王超华一起代表绝食团、高自联召开记者招待会。绝食要求：一、对话；二、修改四二六社论。晚，绝食学生增至三千人.
Wang Dan writes on 13 May 2010:
21 years ago today: the hunger strike started! Before the Beijing University group departed, young professors such as Qian Liqun treated those who were about to go on a hunger strike to a meal at the Yannanyuan Restaurant. There hang a banner with these words: “Braving howling wind at the bank of the frozen Yi River, we pray for the return of our gallant warriors”. Wu’er Kaixi, Ma Shaofang and I, hand in hand, led the team to depart for the Square. As soon as we arrived there, Wang Chaohua and I represented the hunger strike group and the Independent Student Union to hold a press conference, where we put forward two demands:
- Dialogue
- Modification to the editorial published on April 26th
That evening, the number of hunger strikers increased to three thousand.
