Thirty one years ago today the protests against the communist government in China were put down.
Many of us remember the iconic photo of the Tank Man, who bravely stood in front of a line of tanks heading to Tiananmen Square While he may have escaped, thousands of others did not when the army opened fire on the protesters (https://news.yahoo.com/tiananmen-square-massacre-tank-man-111656080.html). Their bodies were unceremoniously removed by bulldozers for incineration (https://news.yahoo.com/tiananmen-square-massacre-tank-man-111656080.html).
I recall first hearing the news of the massacre in my car. I was going grocery shopping that morning. I stopped and sat stunned in my car as I listened to the entire news report. I had been hopeful that reform could happen in China as it had in many other communist countries. The first elections after the fall of communism in Poland also happened on June 4, 1989 with Solidarity winning a decisive victory (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Polish_legislative_election). The news of the Tiananmem massacre crushed my hope for reform.
Reporting of the crackdown was difficult as satellite transmissions for most networks were cut off (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Tiananmen_Square_protests). Reporters tried to continue reporting, using telephones and smuggling footage out of the country (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Tiananmen_Square_protests). World leaders, like George HW Bush and Margaret Thatcher condemned the crackdown (https://news.yahoo.com/tiananmen-square-massacre-tank-man-111656080.html).
One person, not yet a leader, praised the Chinese leaders for their "strength" in putting down the protests in a Playboy interview in 1990 (https://www.sbs.com.au/news/dateline/old-trump-interview-with-playboy-resurfaces-discusses-strength-of-china-s-response-in-tiananmen-square?fbclid=IwAR2QxhOaP97117jpwKllnJoc5SmdAazjxFnr4ncVBraDY92YUQoTDKNiaTo). He also commented that Gorbachev did not have "a firm enough hand." More recently, this same person, now a President, has wanted to deploy the US military to suppress Black Lives Matter protests (https://www.sbs.com.au/news/dateline/old-trump-interview-with-playboy-resurfaces-discusses-strength-of-china-s-response-in-tiananmen-square?fbclid=IwAR2QxhOaP97117jpwKllnJoc5SmdAazjxFnr4ncVBraDY92YUQoTDKNiaTo).
As I watch events unfolding now, I am again worried for the future. I pray for a future in which people can be free to express their opinions.
Many of us remember the iconic photo of the Tank Man, who bravely stood in front of a line of tanks heading to Tiananmen Square While he may have escaped, thousands of others did not when the army opened fire on the protesters (https://news.yahoo.com/tiananmen-square-massacre-tank-man-111656080.html). Their bodies were unceremoniously removed by bulldozers for incineration (https://news.yahoo.com/tiananmen-square-massacre-tank-man-111656080.html).
I recall first hearing the news of the massacre in my car. I was going grocery shopping that morning. I stopped and sat stunned in my car as I listened to the entire news report. I had been hopeful that reform could happen in China as it had in many other communist countries. The first elections after the fall of communism in Poland also happened on June 4, 1989 with Solidarity winning a decisive victory (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Polish_legislative_election). The news of the Tiananmem massacre crushed my hope for reform.
Reporting of the crackdown was difficult as satellite transmissions for most networks were cut off (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Tiananmen_Square_protests). Reporters tried to continue reporting, using telephones and smuggling footage out of the country (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Tiananmen_Square_protests). World leaders, like George HW Bush and Margaret Thatcher condemned the crackdown (https://news.yahoo.com/tiananmen-square-massacre-tank-man-111656080.html).
One person, not yet a leader, praised the Chinese leaders for their "strength" in putting down the protests in a Playboy interview in 1990 (https://www.sbs.com.au/news/dateline/old-trump-interview-with-playboy-resurfaces-discusses-strength-of-china-s-response-in-tiananmen-square?fbclid=IwAR2QxhOaP97117jpwKllnJoc5SmdAazjxFnr4ncVBraDY92YUQoTDKNiaTo). He also commented that Gorbachev did not have "a firm enough hand." More recently, this same person, now a President, has wanted to deploy the US military to suppress Black Lives Matter protests (https://www.sbs.com.au/news/dateline/old-trump-interview-with-playboy-resurfaces-discusses-strength-of-china-s-response-in-tiananmen-square?fbclid=IwAR2QxhOaP97117jpwKllnJoc5SmdAazjxFnr4ncVBraDY92YUQoTDKNiaTo).
As I watch events unfolding now, I am again worried for the future. I pray for a future in which people can be free to express their opinions.
No comments:
Post a Comment