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Blogger: The Adventures of a Petty City Dweller, June 4th, 2009 (Updated with Photos)

The following Kafkaesque story about a visit to Tiananmen Square on June 4th, 2009, has been widely circulated in the Chinese blogosphere, written by a blogger using the name 十七只猫和鱼 (Seventeen Cats and Fish), who codes key phrases (”something something square,” etc) in order to bypass censors. Translated by E. Shih:
What day was yesterday—what day was yesterday? I’ve forgotten. My memory has been shot lately. But no matter what day it was yesterday, I don’t think I will ever be able to forget the freak incident I experienced in the three hours from five to eight pm.

The June weather in Beijing is like the face of a child with Down’s syndrome: It changes in the flash of an eye. Just like that, at a few minutes past 4:30 pm, the unidentifiable grey clouds morphed into a mass of gale and dust that enveloped all of Beijing. The rain gave no relief, but was humid, repressed like a sad, angry drunk, and it carried the stench of blood.

I, a petty city dweller, was walking along a non-vehicle path, thinking to myself whether I should go get a bowl of soy-sauce stew outside the Xuanwu gate or go get some Yanji cold noodles at the mouth of Xin Street. Just across from the noodle place there was a place that sold discount socks. Oh, but if I went for the soy-sauce stew, I could go check out the demolished South Gate…etc. In other words, just mundane thoughts of a mundane person.

However, a number 46 bus making a stop at the side of the road changed my mundane thoughts, because there came drifting from it the most beautiful melody in the world:

“Something, something red flag (I can’t remember exactly), I am proud of you, I cheer for you and wish you well; your name is worth more than my life!”
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- June 12, 2009 1:53 PM
Personal History: A June Deserter

In the run-up to last’s week’s 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre, the following essay quietly circulated in the Chinese blogosphere, written by an anonymous author calling himself Deserter. Via bullogger.com, translated by CDT’s Paulina Hartono:

It was in June of that year. I was working at one of the three big media corporations in America. That was an eventful spring. At the beginning of the year, the former president George Bush visited China, and then a former CCP leader passed away … Finally, by the time one evening in early June came around, that eventful spring was marked by an exclamation point, and then an even bigger question mark.

At the time, I was still a Chinese citizen. The next morning, I hastened to find my boss: It was a worrisome situation [in Beijing], I could not stay. I wanted to resign, to get out, to leave.

I didn’t imagine that my boss was also looking for me. He said that our Australian cameraman and his English recording assistant were in the Beijing Hotel, and they had just filmed some extremely important material. My boss told me that I should personally go and get the material, rather than send my 20 broadcasting school interns. This, to me, was a dilemma. I had originally wanted to resign, but now was sent on assignment, and clearly an important one at that: Before this, I had never been personally sent to go pick something up from a place.

I was young and easily excitable at that time. The [media] company was really good to me: In 1980s China, they paid $200 USD in cash a day. I kept thinking to myself that it wouldn’t be right to drop the ball on them now, so I just promised to go. However, I immediately regretted it after because my boss said, “I’ve heard that it’s safe out there.” But I could tell from the way he spoke that he shouldn’t have said that. It was obviously not that safe out there.

I went from work at the Palace Hotel and walked over to the Beijing Hotel. It was past 10 in the morning, but there was no one in the streets. Occasionally, I would hear the clear, crisp sound of firecrackers around me. At the corners of Chang’An, I would see some Beijing residents beating their chests and stomping their feet, swearing under their breath. One elderly resident was supported on both sides by several youth, and immediately took off for Peking Union Medical College Hospital. It was said that one side of his mouth had been struck by a bullet that came out the other side. The old man had his head down, his body was leaning to one side. The man was undeniably suffering.

Once I had arrived at the entrance to the Beijing Hotel, I only saw one row of closed glass doors. There was only one half-open door in the middle, letting just one person at a time enter sideways. Flanking the sides, inside and out, were at least a dozen plain-clothed people performing some duties.

I braced myself and approached them.

I had put a new, unsealed videotape into my backpack as an exchange for the material I wanted to pick up. As I faced these fellow citizens of mine carrying out their duties, I tried my utmost to calm down, telling myself that I had nothing on me, and that this tape had nothing on it, either.

I kept thinking and went through their pat-down, finally walking into the hall. However, I felt as if many eyes kept staring at me from behind. But I got into the elevator, saw the elevator’s doors close, and finally, no one called for me to stop.

When I had reached the 14th floor, I found our filming group’s room, and knocked on the door. I heard some rustling for a while, and then the door was finally opened after a long wait. Turns out the two foreigners thought I had come to arrest them, so they brought their camera equipment from the balcony and hid it under the bed. After that, they even changed their pajamas and looked just like a gay couple. It was pretty funny! As soon as they recognized me, they let out a sigh and immediately put the equipment back on the balcony. The cameraman put my tape in the machine and the recording assistant delivered the tape I had come to get.

I rode the elevator down and walked to the front. This time, the tape I had in my backpack had content on it. There was a backlight as I was approaching the entrance, and though I thought that people’s shadows were shifting in and out the door, no one was moving. It was clear that they were staring at me as I moved towards them. Those steps I took were the heaviest and longest steps of my life.

Once I reached the entrance, I could finally make out their faces. I could feel a silent pressure, an … anger. But they did not obstruct my way, and instead let me pass.

I quickly left the Beijing Hotel for the Palace Hotel. As soon as I arrived, the editor took the recording and began to make a copy of it. I intended to get out of the way; I did not want to know what was on the tape. By doing so, I could remain utterly ignorant and deny any responsibility. Of course, this was my subjective preference, or perhaps self-deception.

Just as I was considering speaking to my boss about the resignation situation, my boss again sent me with the tape, this time to the airport, to “release the carrier pigeon.” I did not pull back; I had to go to the airport. I still reassured myself that I had no idea what the tape’s contents were.

“Release the carrier pigeon” is American television jargon meaning that one has to go to an airport or some location to hand over material to a passenger who looks reliable, give him/her some remuneration, and trust him/her to carry it to the intended flight destination. In the past, this was an old, common method of satellite broadcasting. However, at this time, Beijing’s satellite delivery had already been cut off, so this was now the only recourse.

The Beijing Capital Airport was brimming with people, with everyone there foreign and frantically wanting to leave Beijing. Aside from the large number of people, there was another thing that made my hair stand on end: in the airport’s large hall, there were countless people lined up and moving through the crowds, but none of them were speaking; their faces were solemn. Now, compared to the usual clamor and chaos, there was quiet — the atmosphere was unexpectedly frozen, and eerie. From time to time, someone would softly speak, but oddly, would be cautious about it. It was as if they didn’t want others to hear what was said.

I was in a line with people heading for Hong Kong and found an American businessman-looking type, not quite 40-years-old. I got the copy in my bag ready with the $100 USD cash I intended to give to him. I explained that I was from the such and such American TV corporation, and then asked if he would be our carrier pigeon, told him that I hoped he would tell me his name, that I would have to return to the office to send a fax to Hong Kong so that when he landed, he could hand the tape over to our people there waiting for him … At the time, 1997 [Hong Kong's return to China] was still far off, so naturally, Hong Kong’s satellite broadcasting system had not been cut off.

That American looked at me, and then looked at the tape I held in my hand. Then, he nodded his head, with almost no expression registering on his face. I jotted down his name. Robert. Robert told me something absolutely unforgettable. However, please allow me to recount [his words] a little further on.

When I left the airport, I had some suspicions and felt as if someone was following me from behind. My primary comfort was still that I was completely ignorant about the contents of that tape.

After getting back to the office, I did not dare to delay — I immediately went to look for my boss and told him that I was completely finished with the assignment, and that I was sorry that I was a deserter. At this point, I had no choice but to resign. My boss seemed to finally understand that he and I were not the same; I held a Chinese passport. After some consideration, he said that he understood, gave me my pay, and let me go.

Some time passed since that incident, and I was very slowly beginning to forget. Until one day, I saw a picture, one that became the 20th century’s most compelling image.

My memory was revived.

On June 5th of 1989, a little past 10 AM, a bare-fisted young man in a white shirt stood erect in front of a tank motorcade and faced death, unafraid. A group comprising us and a few other foreign news agencies were at the top of the Beijing Hotel, which was at the side of Chang’An where he had obstructed the tanks. We were able to take some shots of his image.

A few minutes later, before I had even been able to voice my resignation, I was directed by my boss to personally go over to the Beijing Hotel and retrieve the tape. After I had retrieved it, I was again sent with extreme urgency to the airport to “release the carrier pigeon” …

Judging from the time, location, and level of importance, I — this deserter — then totally unwilling in the circumstances and perpetually attempting to comfort myself with “I don’t know what the contents of this tape are,” was unaware that I was sending the entire world, within its first moments, images of the last man in a generation of Chinese who would ever assent to becoming a deserter.

Here, I want to say a few words: it was not that I did not get any help and support from others in this process. Today, I recall that scene and want to technically thank [those at] the Beijing Hotel entrance, those plain-clothed fellow citizens performing their duties. Given their positioning, their grasp of information, and technology available, it is absolutely impossible that they did not know there was a video crew taping on the 14th floor. To say that they did not know I was riding up to the 14th floor to receive the tape is even more unlikely. However, as I said, they did watch me; their eyes were full of anger. I, someone who wholeheartedly felt like deserting, regarded their anger as being directed towards me. But I overlooked something. These people, after work, were also regular Beijing folk. Surely, bullets would not avoid their family, friends, and neighbors just because of their day jobs. Today, I understand one thing, and can say why they let me pass through the entrance and why they willingly let me leave. It’s because whether they acted as individuals or a collective, the decision they made was not without dangerous consequences. They let the world see the images of this awe-inspiring, righteous fellow citizen and his courage.

Lastly, let me tell you what the American Robert said at the airport.

“I feel so, so guilty and ashamed. At the time when the Chinese people most need my help, I can’t do anything but choose to flee, and more than that, flee from this privilege. I can’t take this money. Although I don’t know what’s on this tape, rest assured, I will do my utmost to protect it and send it to where it needs to go. It’s my small individual effort for China.”

Today, as I remember those words, my first regret is that Robert and I were deserters. Perhaps, on our path of flight, we would have never learned what we unknowingly did for the world.

Image source: New York Times blog.

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- June 11, 2009 2:54 AM
Former Tiananmen Soldier Depicts Crackdown Through Art

From AFP:

An eerie realism permeates Chen Guang’s oil paintings of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, for he was one of the first soldiers to arrive in the square on the night China’s democratic hopes were crushed.

Now a member of Beijing’s alternative art scene, 37-year-old Chen’s hair is greying, but he is determined to pass his recollections on, giving rare testimony of the event from a soldier’s perspective.

“My friends, my family, my army buddies, all tell me not to touch this subject. That’s how sensitive it is,” he said.
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- June 7, 2009 8:45 PM
John Pomfret: After Tiananmen, China Wedded Force With Freedom

For the Washington Post, John Pomfret writes about his experiences being expelled from China as an AP reporter in 1989, and erroneous predictions then that June 4th would cause the Party’s collapse:

In 1989, a chorus of Western voices predicted the party’s collapse. “One foot in power and one foot on a banana peel,” was how the late, great David Schweisberg of United Press International described the party’s predicament. I, too, filed my share of sensationalist dispatches, intimating a coming collapse.

But the party has defied such predictions. And it has done so by taking a brilliant step: giving a lot of Chinese — in the countryside, the cities, the media, the security services and the government — a bigger stake in preserving the existing system.

It’s easy to conclude that the double-digit economic growth that has persisted since the early 1990s is what has kept the communists in power. And yes, Deng Xiaoping’s trip to Shenzhen in 1992 opened the door to the resumption of pro-market economic reforms and an export-led growth strategy. The results include huge trade surpluses, a massive capital influx and the creation of Deng’s social contract with the Chinese people: You can get rich and I won’t mess with you, or you can dabble in politics and I will.

But China’s communists needed a lot more to stay on top of the heap. Instead of thwarting change, as it had in 1989, the party realized that it needed to lead it.
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- June 6, 2009 7:38 AM
Beijing Chiefs, Probably for the First Time, Are Actively Opposed by Large Numbers

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the nationwide, student-led democracy movement in China, and the subsequent June 4th military crackdown in Beijing. To commemorate the student movement, CDT is posting a series of original news articles from 1989, beginning with the death of Hu Yaobang on April 15 and continuing through the tumultuous spring. The full series can be read at Twenty Years Ago Today: Tiananmen Square Student Movement..

From the June 6, 1989 New York Times:

Mao used to say that 95 percent of the people were with the Communist Party and only 5 percent against it…. With the current crackdown in Beijing, Mao’s estimate has been turned on its head. Or at the very least, China’s leadership, probably for the first time, is now actively opposed by large numbers of its own people.

If that is true - and the mass demonstrations and the Government’s brutal response to them indicate that it is -the events in China represent the long-term failure of China’s Communists to turn to their advantage a virtually unparalelled opportunity. Only a few months ago, most analysts of China believed that, despite many horrible mistakes, Chinese Communism had been, on balance, a success.

It had reunified the country for the first time in half a century, given it respect in international affairs and, particularly with the economic initiatives of the last decade, set it on an upward economic path.

Now the judgment would have to be far harsher.

See also from the same day:

- In Blood, a New China Is Born from the NY Times
- China’s Gunfire Echoes In London, Hong Kong from the Toledo Blade
- An Army With Its Own Grievances from the NY Times.

Beijing citizens show bullets and shells to news reporters, via CND
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- June 6, 2009 2:06 AM
English-Language Chinese Newspaper Breaks Silence on Tiananmen Crackdown

From New York Times:

“Prosperity Tangible along Chang’an Ave” was the innocuous headline in Global Times, China’s newest English-language newspaper. The text that followed was only slightly more engaging.

But the front-page article on Thursday was in one sense a major exclusive: In it, a state-run media outlet in China officially broke the silence on the June 4, 1989, crackdown on China’s pro-democracy movement.

The coverage — actually a pair of articles appearing on Monday and Thursday — was more notable for having appeared than for what it revealed. The article on Thursday began and ended by contrasting benign scenes of children and tourists around Tiananmen Square this week with what it called the turmoil of the “June 4th Tiananmen incident.”
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- June 5, 2009 3:59 AM
Lone Man Confronts Tanks in Beijing

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the nationwide, student-led democracy movement in China, and the subsequent June 4th military crackdown in Beijing. To commemorate the student movement, CDT is posting a series of original news articles from 1989, beginning with the death of Hu Yaobang on April 15 and continuing through the tumultuous spring. The full series can be read at Twenty Years Ago Today: Tiananmen Square Student Movement..

The following photo was taken on June 5, 1989:

From an interview with journalist Jan Wong, from the PBS documentary Tank Man:

… [You saw the Tank Man confront the tanks that day] … What exactly did you see?

I was watching it from the Beijing Hotel, where we had rented a room that looked onto the north side of the square. That morning, I remember, my husband said to me, “You’d better get out here.” I rushed out onto the balcony, and I saw this lone person standing in front of this long column of tanks. … The young man — … I couldn’t see his face but I think he was young because of the way he moved, he was very fluid, he didn’t move like an older person. … He tried to step in front of the tank. … The tank turned to go around him; the tank did not try to just run him over. I thought, “Wow!” So the tank is turning and then the young man jumps in front of the tank, and then the tank turns the other way, and the young man jumps down this side. And I thought, “What’s going on?”

They did this a couple of times, and then the tank turned off its motor. … And then it seemed to me that all the tanks turned off their motors. It was really quiet; there was just no noise. And then the young man climbed up onto the tank and seemed to be talking to the person inside the tank. … After a while the young man jumps down and the tank turns on the motor and the young man blocks him again. … I started to cry because I had seen so much shooting and so many people dying that I was sure this man would get crushed. [And] I remember thinking, “I can’t cry because I can’t see; I want to watch this, but I’m getting really upset because I think he’s going to die.”

But he didn’t. … I think it was two people from the sidelines ran to him and grabbed him — not in a harsh way, almost in a protective way. … Then he seemed to melt into the crowd. Then the tanks, after a moment, just started up the engines again, and then they kept going down the Boulevard of Eternal Peace. That was the end. It was amazing. …

Two other photos taken on June 5, 1989 in Beijing (via CND):
Relatives mourn the death of a Beijing University student killed during the last two days of violence
Tiananmen Square, and the area of Chang’an Boulevard in front of it, became an armed camp on June 5th after more than 200 tanks came into the city
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- June 5, 2009 12:00 AM
Kevin Carrico: Remembering Tiananmen Square

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the violent military suppression of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Cornell anthropology grad student Kevin Carrico (kjc83 [at] cornell.edu) has shared with us a commentary in recognition of this day. From American Anthropological Association blog:

With the dramatic takeoff of China’s economy in recent years, these two sets of numbers are not unrelated. The latter figures are to erase the looming specter of the former: 6/4. China since Tiananmen has become a nation of numbers over people.

An increasingly common rationalization of state violence in June of 1989 incorporates these events into a narrative of national development, asserting that “drastic steps” were necessary to protect “national stability” and maintain momentum for economic growth. Dehumanizing protesters, it is alleged that their continued presence on the streets of Beijing would have brought chaos to the nation and stalled economic development, thus calling for the adaptation of “resolute measures”; by stepping in and “resolving” the issue, the government was not acting in its own interests, but rather working for the interests of the broader populace, not unlike an exterminator ridding a home’s foundation of termites.

The people’s purported interests, according to official discourse in the reform era, are limited solely to economic growth, to be followed by more economic growth. The transcendent position of Maoism, once capable of justifying anything, is now occupied by GDP-ism, similarly capable of justifying anything. Appropriating the concept of human rights for its own suppression, official publications since the 1990s cite the rights to “stability” and economic development as the fundamental rights of citizens, purportedly in accordance with China’s national conditions and traditions. Discussions of further rights are recast as a Western conspiracy designed to sow chaos and slow China’s rise. The hyper-politicized ideal citizen of the Maoist era, devoid of “bourgeois” economic considerations, now becomes the economically-driven ideal citizen of the present, units of GDP growth, devoid of any contaminating “bourgeois liberal” political considerations.

Behind these official abstractions, however, the much-heralded nation is inevitably composed of people. And no matter how much they may be lost in the fog of economic forecasts or self-congratulatory official pronouncements, these people continue to live, day by day, with their own personal experiences and emotions.
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- June 4, 2009 11:50 PM
Photo: Behind the Scenes - A New Angle on Tank Man

From the New York Times blog:

Terril Jones had only shown the photograph to friends.

While working as a reporter in Beijing during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, he shot many photographs and recorded several hours of video. It wasn’t until weeks afterwards, when he had returned to Japan, that he discovered the magnitude of what he had captured — an iconic moment in history from an entirely unique angle.

His version of the tank man has never been published until now.

For 20 years the negatives rested in Mr. Jones’ belongings, following him across the world throughout his career as a journalist. He contacted The New York Times after reading the accounts of the other four photographers in Wednesday’s Lens blog.

Mr. Jones’ angle on the historic encounter is vastly different from four other versions shot that day, taken at eye level moments before the tanks stopped at the feet of the lone protester. Wildly chaotic, a man ducks in the foreground, reacting from gunfire coming from the tanks. Another flashes a near-smile. Another pedals his bike, seemingly passive as the tanks rumble towards confrontation.

The photograph encourages the viewer to reevaluate the famous encounter. Unlike the other four versions, we are given a sense of what it was like on the ground as the tanks heaved forward, the man’s act of defiance escalated by the flight of others.

» Read more
- June 4, 2009 11:14 PM
Global Times: Prosperity Tangible along Chang’an Ave

Global Times, a media outlet owned by the People’s Daily, recently started an English edition, targeting foreign readers. The following article appeared on June 4th:

While putting aside debate on the June 4 incident for two decades, most people in China have devoted most of their energy and enthusiasm to economic reform, leading to continuous rapid GDP growth and causing foreign media to call China a “world power.”

“Chinese leaders insisted on not debating the June 4 incident or whether China was following a socialist or capitalist model of development,” said He Liangliang, senior political commentator of the Hong Kong-based Phoenix Satellite TV.

“They had no intention of challenging the super-power position of the US, but they focused on maintaining stability of internal politics and domestic society, while keeping good relations with other parts of the world. In this way, China set direction and established a solid foundation for today’s peaceful development.”

Many other mainstream Chinese scholars share that opinion.
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- June 4, 2009 12:23 AM
Crackdown in Beijing

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the nationwide, student-led democracy movement in China, and the subsequent June 4th military crackdown in Beijing. To commemorate the student movement, CDT is posting a series of original news articles from 1989, beginning with the death of Hu Yaobang on April 15 and continuing through the tumultuous spring. The full series can be read at Twenty Years Ago Today: Tiananmen Square Student Movement..

From the BBC, June 4, 1989:

Several hundred civilians have been shot dead by the Chinese army during a bloody military operation to crush a democratic protest in Peking’s (Beijing) Tiananmen Square.

Tanks rumbled through the capital’s streets late on 3 June as the army moved into the square from several directions, randomly firing on unarmed protesters.

The injured were rushed to hospital on bicycle rickshaws by frantic residents shocked by the army’s sudden and extreme response to the peaceful mass protest.

From BBC, June 4, 1989:

June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Square Massacre
by 0110110x

From CBC, June 4, 1989:

See photos of the night of June 3rd-4th in Beijing here.
» Read more
- June 4, 2009 12:01 AM
Cui Weiping: Why Do We Need to Talk About June 4th?

During Mother’s Day weekend on May 10th, a number of intellectuals in Beijing organized a seminar discussing 20 years of the democracy movement in China. The seminar started with a moment of silence, paying tribute to the Tiananmen Mothers.

Cui Weiping (崔卫平), professor at the Beijing Film Academy presented the following text at the seminar, from her blog, translated by Linjun Fan:

为什么要谈“六•四”？——“2009•北京•六四民主运动研讨会”论文
作者：崔卫平

Why do we need to talk about June 4th? A paper for 2009 Beijing June 4th Democratic Movement Seminar

Cui Weiping

下面是我十年前写给朋友的信。我与对方在交换意见——这么长时间，我们对于“六•四”集体保持沉默，实际上是参与了隐瞒这桩罪行。如此做法已经使得我们每个人，对于这件事情有了一定的责任。

Below is a letter I wrote to a friend ten years ago. I was trying to communicate my point to him: We have kept silent about June 4th collectively for such a long time that we are actually participating in concealing this crime. Such a practice has made each one of us somewhat responsible for the problem.

这种沉默带来的后果是无法计算的。我们在这件事情上绕着走，意味着在其他事情上，也同样采取了绕着走的态度。因此，如何来估量我们的工作、我们的言说和各项成果呢？我们如何向他人说明——我们的头脑是忠直的、我们的语言是忠诚的，因而是值得信任的？

The consequences of this kind of silence are incalculable. The fact that we skirted around the issue implies that we have adopted a similar attitude towards other issues. Therefore, how could we evaluate our work, our words, and various achievements we’ve made? How could we testify to others that our mind is honest and our words are truthful and reliable?

在“六•四”二十周年之际，我愿意公布这封信，向周围所有朋友提出这样的问题：二十年来的沉默和隐瞒，给我们社会带来的负面影响是什么？给我们民族的精神和道德带来怎样的损害？而我们自己在工作、生活中所受的损失又是什么？我们还打算继续沉默吗？

On the 20th anniversary of June 4th, 1989, I’d like to publicize the letter, and raise this question to all my friends: What kind of negative impact has it had on our society for us to keep silent and to conceal the event for two decades? How has it harmed the spirit and morality of this nation? What kind of losses have we suffered in our own work and life? Are we still intending to continue this silence?

如果再过十年，情况还是这样，那么“六•四”就不是少数人作恶，而是我们所有人都参与的一桩恶行，变成我们所有人的羞愧和耻辱。尤其是我们民族各行各业的精英们，对这件事情应该首先负起责任。让良知发出声音，才是我们民族道德重建、社会重建的起点。（2009年5月9日）

If the situation remains the same for another ten years, June 4th will no longer be a crime that was committed by a small group of people, but one that we all participated in. It will become a shame on all of us. We, especially the elites from all walks of life in this nation, should take primary responsibility for the problem. Let our conscience speak. It’s the beginning point for us to rebuild the morality of our nation and to rebuild our society.
May 9, 2009
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- May 29, 2009 11:09 PM
Twenty Years On - Legacy of a Massacre

Two lengthy articles look at the legacy of June 4th by profiling the key players. A report in the Age gets the perspectives of several of the student leaders and Du Daozheng, a former official who recently played a major role in the publication of Zhao Ziyang’s memoirs:

“People don’t really talk about June 4 any more,” a confident public security official told The Age. “We’re far more worried about September, when this year’s university students graduate and find there aren’t any jobs.”

The party’s obsession with controlling its past makes the achievements of a few contrarian cadres all the more unlikely.

[...] In the 1980s, when China was being liberalised, Du edited the People’s Daily and then headed the General Administration of Press and Publications. But on May 31, 1989, as the tanks rumbled towards Beijing, Du decided he would not be meekly swept along in yet another episode of tragic Communist Party history. He says he agonised and shed “many tears” before phoning a senior leader and vowing to tear up the party membership card he had carried for 54 years if the soldiers opened fire.

The soldiers sprayed their bullets, the party arrested Zhao, but Du did not hand in his membership card. Instead he has spent 20 years chipping away at the party’s collective guilt from the inside, trying to clear the names of the reform-minded cadres it had destroyed.

And the Financial Times interviews Bao Tong, a senior aide to Zhao Ziyang who was the highest official to be jailed in connection to the 1989 protests:

He greets me at the door with a wry smile, jet-black hair and a lithe frame wrapped in a Princeton University sweatshirt. It is hard to believe that he spent six years of his life doing hard labour during the Cultural Revolution and then, from 1989, another seven years in solitary confinement in the notorious Qincheng political prison. When I mention the sinister-looking men at the entrance to his apartment block who asked me to explain why I’ve come to see him, his face cracks into a sly grin.

“I’m contributing to the country by stimulating domestic demand, increasing employment and helping solve the financial crisis,” he says. He speaks Mandarin with the soft consonants of a southerner and the confidence characteristic of a senior party cadre. “You only saw three people down there but if I want to go out I’m followed by three groups – one on foot, one in cars and one on motorbikes. Just think – it takes more than 30 people to keep an eye on me so if the government decided to monitor all 1.3bn people in China we could solve the unemployment problem for the whole world!”

While this kind of gallows humour and the satirical use of communist propaganda slogans is common on the anonymous internet, I have never heard a senior Chinese official, even a retired one, talk like this in public.
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- May 29, 2009 9:30 PM
Jonathan Mirsky: The Long Shadow of Tiananmen

For Standpoint, Jonathan Mirsky writes about the repercussions of the violence of June 4th, 1989 and remembers what he witnessed in Beijing during the protests:

It is a measure of the significance of what happened that spring, that after 1989 and 1990, when communist regimes in eastern Europe began collapsing, China’s Communist Party remains in place, ruling well over one billion non-citizens and sitting on hundreds of billions of US dollars. To attract those dollars, Britain, together with the US, has issued demeaning statements involving Tibet and human rights. The debate about how to handle the demonstrations split the higher echelons of the party. Party general secretary Zhao Ziyang argued with Deng Xiaoping and Li Peng for negotiations with the students and lost. He appeared in the square on 19 May, muttering through a megaphone, “I have come too late.” We didn’t know he was referring to the declaration of martial law the next day. Within a few days, Zhao, now deposed, became the focus of leadership wrangling about how much he should be blamed for the “disorder”. By 1991, he had disappeared into house arrest. He died in 2005. Zhao’s secret memoir, Prisoner of the State (Simon & Schuster), composed while he was detained and smuggled to Hong Kong, has just been published. It confirms his sympathy for the Tiananmen demonstrators and his misery as he heard the sound of gunfire from the square. “I told myself,” Zhao whispered into a hidden tape recorder so as not to be heard by his guards, “that no matter what, I refused to become the general secretary who mobilised the military to crack down on the students. The students are only asking us to correct our flaws, not overthrow our political system.”
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- May 28, 2009 4:05 PM
In Today’s Headlines, an Absence Speaks a Thousand Words

For China Media Project, David Bandurski reads between the lines of official media reporting of the 20th anniversary of June 4th:

The Beijing Daily article paints an important, if impressionistic, picture of current efforts to bolster security ahead of the June 4th anniversary. Security, for example, has reportedly been heightened in and around Peking University, and police and government departments have been placed on a high level of alert.

Whatever assertions might be made about the irrelevance of June 4th for young Chinese today, the official language of “stability preservation work” underlines the ongoing importance of the 1989 protests in the party’s own mind.

Clearly, officials at every level are under the strictest orders to take the anniversary very seriously. And one must wonder: why is a generation of ostensibly indifferent university students of such concern to Beijing’s party secretary?
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- May 27, 2009 10:27 AM