Tiananmen Sq Vigil in HK – 20 years later

Last nite, D and I joined about 200,000 participants at the Candlelight Vigil in remembrance of those who demonstrated, those who lost their lives, and those who lost loved ones that fateful day 20 yrs ago in Tienanmen Sq.  In the weeks and days leading up to this 20th anniversary, there’s been much written and said about what happened in Beijing. Aside from the news archives from the media, there have also been testimonies from the student leaders, others where were there and more recently the memoirs of Chinese Leader Zhao Ziyang (趙紫陽). There was also the political gaff of HK Chief Executive Donald Tsang whose comments regarding this event have seem to lit a fire under those who are working to bring full disclosure and admission of wrong-doings on June 4th, 1989.

I’m not sure I can bring much to the discussion. Since moving to HK, this piece of recent history has taken on a new significance for me.  I was 14 when these events occurred and I can remember the daily discussion in our World History Class on what was going on in Spring of 89. Pretty exciting stuff. even for a young Chinese kid in a predominantly white suburb on the US.  I’d never been to China and my closest connection to the Party was the harsh stories my mom would tell me about my grandfather’s incarceration and how it tore the family apart.

I remember hearing and learning about the terror that gripped this city in the wake of these events and the subsequent flight to Canada, Australia, and other parts in fear of “97.”  On my first STM to China, I remember being cautioned against asking or bringing up this topic. These thoughts and feelings have stuck with me for a long time.

In recent conversations, it seems that attitudes in HK range from these are troublemakers to no one really knows what happened there because of media bais to HK must lead the charge to bring democratic freedom to China and have the truth of 6/4 come to light. Certainly a wide range of thoughts and feelings encompass this issue.  Its obvious that on a national level, the country is not ready to discuss nor disclose the details of this event. As we left the park, the rest of the city was BAU (business as usual) and while its reasonable for an entire generation to be unaware of what happend 20 yrs ago, its a little more disheartening that folks are more concerned with making a living and pursuing their own goals.  I write this not to judge; the same assessment can be made of any other Westernized country. It is, however, a clarion call for Christians (in particular) to recognize the need to be disatisfied with such aspirations and rise to the goals of grace, mercy, goodness, and holiness that God calls us to embody.

Much of what I’ve read online on this has been along the lines of how “freedom is never free” and I agree with that. 6/4 has left us with the iconic image of the lone man standing before a column of tanks. Iconic for those of us who only see that image, but when examining the video of the event, it seems much more complex that a simple act of defiance.  It seemed that the tank driver tried to evade the man as opposed to ride over him outright.  Tank Man, it seems was resolute in trying to martyr himself. Such a no-win situation for both sides proved to be a very destructive predicament indeed. The humanizing of this situation gives a different perspective of those events. I found this story of former soldier turned artist, Chen Guang to be very enlightening on the matter.

Anyway, I’ve waxed on enough… please take a look at these links if you’re interested in looking into this piece of recent world history.

• BBC – HK’s Tiananmen Beacon
• BBC – HK holds Tiananmen Vigil
• BBC’s Timeline
• NYT’s Timeline
• NYT Opt Ed piece: China’s Forgotten Revolution by Yu Hua
• Hong Kong’s Tiananmen Vigil May Draw Double Turnout

• Wu’er Kaixi: Prosperity Can’t Erase Tiananmen

• China’s Youth Post-Tiananmen: Apathy A Fact Or Front?

• James Kynge: West Miscasts Tiananmen Protesters

• PBS’ Frontline episode on “Tank Man”
• The Standard: Crowds mass to remember crackdown fallen

• China’s Growing Cage: The Legacy of Tiananmen

MIA – Wedding prep, travel and getting back into the swing of things

So while I started off well, I’ve basically allowed my blog to fall by the wayside as things in my personal life began to demand much of my time. Since moving to HK, I’ve been busy getting to know my in-laws, planned a wedding in the US, flew over to the US for said wedding, and came back to HK with my new bride and have been busy setting up our new love nest. Its certainly been a learning experience and for those of you who have had roommates of any kind know, there is always an adjustment period the follows such an arrangement. Imagine the fun we’ve had as things are mysteriously moved from one location to another. Oh the games of treasure hunt has begun!

But on a serious note, it has been a tremendous blessing these past few months. Our love and appreciation to our family and friends who traveled near and far to not only be there for our wedding but also to help out in so many different ways. Thank you for making our day so wonderful!

The Wedding – My thoughts and observations (part 1 of n)

The big day started out a little rainy and it looked like we would have to forgo our outdoor pictures but Praise God, after the ceremony, it cleared up and we got some terrific shots in this field of Cherry Blossoms.

we planned for an afternoon wedding to allow the girls enough time to get ready without getting up before the sun. this meant plenty of time for the guys to get ready. and that translated to the best nite’s sleep for me for that whole week! it was kinda odd… i woke up that morning and began to wonder why I was so calm! as if i should be worried or nervous or something… ahh… hollywood… you and your notions of the groom getting cold feet! I guess when you know… you really know.

after some photos at the hotel, everyone made the way to the church. althought we had hopes of having the ceremony at the church where we met, this was impossible since they had sold the bldg and had built a new one. No worries as this meant a larger facility for our guests. Things went smoothly there and the ceremony went off without a hitch. Apparently my little nephew Joshua stole the show in the beginning with is cute antics. — but we’ll have to wait for the DVD to see that since both D and I were hidden away during this time.

The music, provided by friends from MCCC was beautiful and framed the lovely entrance by the ladies and finally the entrance of my beautiful bride. During our engagement, D made me watch a movie 27 Dresses as a way of ‘getting in the mood’ and while I thought it was typical chick-flic fare, I did pick up on the central protagonists comment that when everyone is looking at the bride as she enters, she likes to look at the groom. I don’t know what I looked like when D came down the aisle. It must have been a mixture of joy and elation. (I wonder if my palms were sweaty!) overall, it was such an enjoyable and peaceful ceremony that I think I’ll have to look over the video to see what I missed!

Thanks to our former English pastor, Rev Al McNally who officiated and helped make everything run smoothly. Thanks to Eric Lin and Willie Wang for their help organizing the worship team. Thanks to countless others who helped at the church to set up and put back everything.

Weddings can be a lot of fun, even if you don’t get to spend nearly enough time with your guests. Overall, it was very enjoyable to see old friends and family that I haven’t been able to spend time with. I only wish that there was more time and a more relaxed time schedule. Both D and I come from large families, though D will say that mine is a whole lot larger. This can be a dizzying affair as it becomes necessary to have a scorecard to keep track of who’s who.

As mentioned, following the ceremony and reception, the wedding party stopped by a field where we had scouted earlier that had some nice cherry blossoms. After that, we proceeded to the banquet. I’m told that little hiccups are to be expected at any wedding and I guess here was where ours came. If I had it to do over again, I would have delegated more tasks to others. We had some mix ups with table arrangements but thankfully, things sorted themselves out. (thanks to D’s bridesmaids and my groomsmen!)

oh, just prior to the banquet, we had a tea ceremony for our families. this is mainly for traditon’s sake and was something my parents wanted so as dutiful children, we complied. It was an interesting experience and probably like most traditions, they are intended for a bond to be built and for the families to welcome their new son/daughter.

so, that’s a brief recap of the wedding. If you actually know us, you can see our pictures on our wedding website. the url is www.myfirstnameandD’sfirstname.com

gotta go. hope to have more regular entries now that we’re back in HK.

Today will be a 2 entry bonus since I’ve also been working on an entry for the June 4th Tiananmen Sq 20th Anniversary.