We Are All Victims
From July 5, some of my mind has been broken down.
We are all victims no matter Han Chinese or Uyghurs. The sad fact is victims are killing each other and the suppressor turned into a mediator.
Will the suppressor learn from this lesson and adjust ethnic policies? Probably not.
Good life to all innocent people.
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).
Chinese Blogger Attacked When Giving Speech in Bookstore
It was February 14 yesterday, the Valentine’s Day, and it didn’t end up like a day of love, but fear. Chinese liberal blogger and author XU Lai (徐来) a.k.a. ProState (钱列宪) on the Web was attacked by two unidentified men with knives when he was giving a speech at One Way Street Library. Soon after that he was hospitalized and had a surgery. I sincerely wish he will recover soon.
Although nicknamed “ProState”, on most cases the blogger writes “against” the State. Because of his witty satires and sensitive news postings, his blog “ProState has Something to Say” has a large reader base, and has been taken down by the State for many times.
No one knows who did this, and probably we’ll never know. As noted on this blog, Mr. ProState is very much liked among the public. The attackers are not likely to be those who have different opinion, because it is “politically correct” in this country to challenge liberal opinion, you don’t need a knife. Probably not the government either, an assassination in small bookstore is not quite terrifying to the public. The most likely attackers are the evil individuals and companies that were criticized by ProState on his rather influential blog.
What I have to say is, if it was really the government, I’d say democracy is an inch nearer.
PM Wen, Although Some Love You
Chinese students at Cambridge said they LOVE the sweet Premier Wen Jiabao
Premier Wen Jiabao apparently loves adoration, and doesn’t like being protested against, because he’s been always respected and adored in his home country, without any awareness that people should be allowed to disagree and protest. That’s why he called an act of free speech (although impolite) “despicable”.
In a democracy, individuals are allowed to have their own opinions other than government. Government doesn’t automatically get approval & support from all the citizens. I hardly think that guy did think he could damage “friendship” between China & UK by this isolated incident, but Premier Wen took this too serious.
Wen is a good senior gentleman, and I guess most people would agree he is morally respectable. But respect in moral terms cannot translate to ability in governance. What Wen practices by showing care, goodwill, and his moral character and virtue is the same as how this country had been managed in ancient times: when government officials had good qualities in poetry, music and morality (mostly to their own family & parents). But note here, public responsibility, competency in managing public affairs, check & balance of public power are all missing.
By Confucius doctrine, a leader of state shall take all the responsibility to their people (making all decisions for their people, and denying their right to discuss & disagree), good dictator doctrine. Wen and the current Chinese government continues such belief.
