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