20 Years Since Tiananmen Square

A friend reminded me through a Twitter post that the Tiananmen Square Massacre was 20 years ago today. Claudia Rosett was there. She provides an eyewitness account and places the protest in historical context. Her short summary of events leading up to this massacre is a wonderful review of history. Read the whole thing. She concludes:

If you have ever looked at that famous photo of the lone man near the square, facing a column of tanks, and been deeply moved, then I would say you have understood the heartfelt cry we now refer to by the shorthand of Tiananmen.

Whatever the complex forces still playing out beneath the surface in China, that uprising was a message about the universal desire for freedom, a message with which--however muffled it may often seem--it would be richly rewarding to keep faith.

UPDATE: An interesting variety of perspectives on Tiananmen and other peaceful protests and the responses of human rights organizations to actions against those protests. The comments include a link to a newly-released photo of Tank Man from the New York Times.

We also learn that Deng's son was thrown from a roof and paralyzed by the Red Guard. This book tells the astonishing story of another target of the Red Guard. If I recall correctly, there were reports that her only child, a daughter, may have killed by throwing her off a roof. My Mom gave the book to me. The author may have unwittingly played a role in the later liberalization of China. An amazingly strong, principled, intelligent woman. A remarkable book.

UPDATE 2: June 4, 1989 was an important date for another reason, too. It was the beginning of freedom in Poland. History is full of little ironies, isn't it? Interesting that Gary Cooper would become the image of freedom in Poland.