Must-Read Articles on 1989 Protest
Tiananmen killings: Was the media right? from BBC News by James Miles
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8057762.stm
There was no Tiananmen Square massacre, but there was a Beijing massacre. The shorthand we often use of the “Tiananmen Square protests” of 1989 gives the impression that this was just a Beijing issue. It was not. Protests occurred in almost every city in China (even in a town on the edge of the Gobi desert).
Tiananmen at Twenty from The Nation by Jeffrey Wasserstrom
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090615/wasserstrom
How long can the regime keep expressions of discontent from snowballing again into something that threatens its power? This remains an open question, especially in light of the global economic downturn, which has not hit China as hard as it has many other countries but has led to a staggering number of factory closings and prompted an urban-to-rural migration of many workers who are not happy to be heading home. This is a phenomenon to watch, since economic frustrations were a crucial spur to action in 1989 and are likely to figure centrally in the next big challenge the leadership faces from below.
For now, though, the long series of high-growth years provides the regime with a buffer, allowing many who are struggling to think they could do well in the future. The party’s real difficulties will come when the memory of the recent upward surge has receded and a broad cross-section of people who have been left behind start to lose hope of prosperous times ahead. This is bound to happen eventually, but not yet. And we should not underestimate the ability of this regime, which has been so effective at defying the odds, to further delay its long-predicted demise.
Also noteworthy are comment from The Guardian: Lessons from Tiananmen (”The best way to remember those who died in the Tiananmen massacre is to reaffirm the Chinese people’s right to civil liberties”) and an interview with Wang Dan (Wired) on the importance of IT to the political awareness of young Chinese citizens, in which Wang Dan called on Western governments to civil society in China.
Buchimifan (@buchimifan) roamed to the Square 3 or 4 hours ago. According to his tweets, to the East side of Tiananmen Square, “It looked harmonious and there were more police cars than mosquitoes.” Policemen checked his bag politely. “Taking photographs was OK. Some took a lot of photos of policemen.” See the photos taken on the Square by Buchimifan (on Flickr).
