Wang Chaohua was a former June 4 student leader. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in modern Chinese literature, Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, UCLA. This article was first published in “Trends” magazine and translated by New Century Net. From New Century Net:
Chinese Communist Party officials on several occasions this year have publicly broached the topic of democratic reform, at long last. It seems that time, and repeated lies, have created enough barriers to stop the public from relating the word “democracy” to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
However, the confrontation between the peaceful demonstrators and the army’s machine guns and tanks left a huge question in history: What was the conviction that led those demonstrators to confront the military machines? Explanations such as the “impulsiveness” of youth cannot account for those striking scenes that shocked the world. I have always understood their courage to come from the power of a mass movement toward democracy.
Looking back at the widespread participation and the way people were mobilized in 1989, we recall that the marchers paraded in the streets in the middle of the day, carrying the banners of their schools or workplaces, as if the banners made their actions more righteous. Under the social circumstances of the time, the intent of the demonstrators was to participate in a patriotic movement toward democracy, not to overthrow the government. Only by realizing this point can we understand why, throughout the month-long demonstrations, the people demonstrated such strong self-discipline. This did not come from fear of government revenge. Instead it suggested a strong feeling of pride in challenging government suppression. The key point was the widespread participation, which is what democracy relies on.
When night fell, the people who went out to the streets represented only themselves. They did so of their own free will, and many confronted government officials face-to-face. This shows that, although the students’ strategy was to stir the sympathy of the people, the force that mobilized the masses went far beyond mere expressions of sympathy and support. Sympathy was just superficial; whether it was the April 27th incident (when students protested the state media’s depiction of the movement), the martial law order, or the gunshots on the night of June 3rd, the largest scale participation always occurred in direct opposition to the government’s tough measures. [Full Text]
Read aslo Poems for June 4: Wang Dan and Luo Yihe from RFA Unplugged.
