Tiananmen Anniversary Remembrance in China

According to the Internet site Canyu, a group of people in Guizhou, China, successfully staged a two-hour commemorative session in a public park today for the 23rd anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre. It is believed to be the first such occurrence inside China.

The banners shown in the pictures state that "Remembrance of 23rd Anniversary of '89' '64'", "Investigate Murderers, Stop Political Suppression", and "Strongly Demand the Release of Political Prisoner Chen Xi".

This Day in 1989: July 14, Chinese Students March in French Bicentennial

On July 14, 1989, hundreds of Chinese students in Paris participated in the bicentennial celebration of the French Revolution. The anniversary was a major inspiration of the 1989 Chinese student movement itself.

Also on this day, Xiao Bin, a famous "rumor-monger," was sentenced to 10 years.

Days of 1989

People of 1989: Szeto Wah

It seems that everybody who has a personal affection to Mr. Szeto Wah (司徒华), regardless of their ages, refers him as "Uncle Wah". And in the community of oversea Chinese dissidents, that is indeed everybody.

Szeto Wah spent most of his adult life in Hong Kong, working first in primary schools and then a local representative. By late 1980s, he had risen to the high ranks of the Hong Kong legislature and was appointed by the mainland government to the important committee drafting the Hong Kong Basic Law, the constitution for the former colony. It was then his career and life took a drastic turn.

In 1989, as students in Beijing demonstrated on streets, Szeto Wah also broke his ties with the government there. He withdrew from the Basic Law drafting committee and founded the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China. Ever since May of that year, he has served as the Chairman of this Alliance till the day he died.

Immediately after the massacre, he took the leadership role in organizing a daring "Operation Yellow Bird" to rescue hundreds of student leaders and dissidents who were on the run on mainland and bring them to Hong Kong in secret before sending them off to the safety of western countries.

For more than 20 years since, Szeto Wah and his Alliance steadfastly upheld their demand to evaluate the 1989 movement, worked diligently to help the dissidents who escaped from China, and actively participated in the democratic processes in Hong Kong itself. Most remarkably, they have organized the annual Commemoration of Tiananmen Massacre at Victoria Park, consistently drawing a crowd more than 100,000. It is the biggest and arguably the only large-scale mass commemoration event for the subject matter in the whole world.

Szeto Wah, or Uncle Wah, died of lung cancer on January 2, 2011. He was 79.

People of 1989

Happenings at the 21st Anniversary

There have been many commemoration events, large and small, real and virtual, around the world during the 21st anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre. Here is an obviously incomplete list of the major occurrences, in no particular order:

1. The good people of Hong Kong kept their annual tradition with an estimated 150,000 people attending a candle-lit vigil at the city's Victoria Park.
2. "Tiananmen Mother" Ding Zilin and her husband made it to the spot where their son Jiang Jielian was killed on the night of June 3, 1989, at Muxidi, surrounded by heavy police escort and "protection." The couple stayed for 45 minutes and performed vigil for all known victims at that location that night. Ding Zilin fainted as she was leaving the scene.
3. Wuer Kaixi attempted to turn himself in at the Chinese embassy in Tokyo and was refused by the embassy. He was eventually arrested by Japanese police for trespassing. He had tried a similar and unsuccessful tactic at Hong Kong last year.
4. Chai Ling testified at the US Congress on the "forced abortion" policy by the Chinese government, calling it as "Tiananmen Massacre is happening ever day in China."
5. Wang Dan organized a large-scale online commemorative gathering on Twitter.
   
6. A book claimed to be the diary penned by Li Peng, the Premier during the movement and massacre, is published in Hong Kong.

Under the Jacaranda Tree Retraces the Days 21 Years Ago

Diane Gatterdam at the Under the Jacaranda Tree blog is currently writing a series posts retracing the 1989 student movement in 1989. From what has so far published for April 15, April 16, April 17, April 18, April 19, and April 20, this will be a very detailed and impressive series.

However, the posts present the events as facts, without links or citation to indicate their sources or basis.

Last year, at the 20th anniversary, this blog had also run a daily chronology of the events. In 2008, this blog ran an almost-daily summarization of reports from the New York Times archives.

Tiananmen Mothers' New Year Gathering

As Beijing is experiencing the coldest winter in decades, Tiananmen Mothers, family members of the victims of Tiananmen massacre, has their annual gathering on the 9th.



It is reported that it was relatively easier for them to have this meeting this year, without the police harassment they experienced last year at the cusp of the twentieth anniversary of the massacre. The parents exchanged information on those harassment and found a commonality in police tactics. Their handlers were making personal appeals to them not to gather in terms that it could cause trouble to their handlers themselves.

Tiananmen Mothers discussed the case of Liu Xiaobo, who was recently sentenced to eleven years in jail. They vowed to continue to seek dialogues with the government and live on with dignity.

They also mentioned that they will change the means of their appeal this year based the fact that the government had always ignored or harassed them in the past. No details on this impending change of tactic are given.

There was no mention on the numbers who attended the gathering this time.

Liu Xiaobo Formally Charged

After being detained in early December and spending the months since in isolated confinement, Liu Xiaobo is now finally being formally charged for the crime of subversion. Reuters reported that

State news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday that prosecutors approved Liu's arrest on Tuesday for "alleged agitation activities aimed at subversion of government and overthrowing of the socialist system."

There had been hope that Liu Xiaobo's detention would end after the passing of the June 4th anniversary. Liu Xiaobo had played a key role in the later stages of that movement. His current arrest stemmed from his leadership in the "Charter of 08" activities last winter.

"So you've got a tank?"

Danwei brought to us this fascinating magazine back cover (above) from the June issue of So Rock!, Under the tank picture on the T-shirt, the Chinese inscription says "So you've got a tank?"

The front cover of the same issue, below, is equally provocative. Just in time for the twentieth anniversary.

Wuer Kaixi Plans to Turn Himself In

On the eve of the twentieth anniversary of Tiananmen Massacre, former student leader Wuer Kaixi is in the process of turning himself in to the Chinese government.

Wuer Kaixi is currently at Macau. He has been living in Taiwan for most of the last twenty years and holds a passport from the Republic of China government there. Therefore he is entitled to enter Macau without a visa. He plans to go to the liaison office of the mainland government there and turn himself in.

In an email to his friends before his departure, Wuer Kaixi emphasized that his action is in no way of admission of guilt, but a protest that he has been in exile for the last twenty years without any chance to see his parents and relatives. His parents have been forbidden to travel abroad. Wuer Kaixi hopes that his action will enable him to return to China, or at least "a resumption of a dialog of a sort" between him and the Chinese government.

Wuer Kaixi was no. 2 in the 21 "Most Wanted" list after the massacre. He escaped shortly and has been in exile since.

Amnesty International's Online Petition

On the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of Tiananmen massacre, Amnesty International is hosting an online petition to urge the Chinese government to "initiate an open and independent public inquiry into the events of June 1989" and "to stop the ongoing persecution of human rights defenders and activists who seek justice for the victims of the military crackdown."

Here is a short video about the petition.

The petition will close on June 10. You can sign it here.

Associated Press Reports on Tiananmen Survivor

The media countdown to the twentieth anniversary of Tiananmen Massacre has unofficially started as the Associated Press features a survivor telling his story. Qi Zhiyong (齐志勇), who lost a leg near Chang'an Avenue during the night of the massacre has been telling his story for all these years. In fact, he once turned down a sizable amount of money from the government when he learned that the money came with the condition for his silence.

Five years ago, at the fifteenth anniversary, Qi Zhiyong was also profiled by BBC News.

Avant-garde Art in Beijing, Anniversary Canceled

The 1980s was a decade when modern western art forms started to propagate in China. The very first modern art exhibition in China was initially planned for 1987. But that attempt was foiled by the anti-Bourgeois Liberalization campaign following student unrest in the winter of 1986-1987. Two years later, the China/Avant-garde exhibition finally opened in Beijing in February 1989.

It was quite a show. About three hundred art pieces from all over the country were displayed. An usual presentation of Chairman Mao Zedong by the artist Wang Guangyi (王广义) was the talk of the town.
But there was more. A couple of performance artists brought in a revolver and fired shots to their artwork, resulting a suspension of the exhibition. A few months later, the 1989 student movement broke out. Many of the artists joined in.

It is now twenty years since that eccentric art exhibition. Modern arts are no longer foreign in China. Some of those artists planed for an anniversary exhibit commemorating that event. On the eve of its opening, however, police shut it down. Apparently, anything associated with a twenty-year anniversary is too sensitive for this year.

Tiananmen Mothers Gather for the New Year

Since 1991, the Tiananmen Mothers, a loose group of parents and relatives of victims of the Tiananmen Massacre, have gathered for a dinner during New Year. The participants, which included only those in Beijing, have grown from three families back then to forty-two this year. In the twenty-year time span, eighteen of them have passed away without seeing justice for their loved ones.

Ahead of the twentieth anniversary of the massacre, the party was described as having less tears but more encouraging words and spirits this time.

Here Comes 2009

Twenty years ago, the year 1989 came with a slew of conspicuous anniversaries which inspired Professor Fang Lizhi's open letter to Deng Xiaoping and the later student movement. The same anniversaries fall into this calendar year, with another twenty years added to them:

• the 90th anniversary of the famed May Fourth Movement
  
• the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China
• the 220th anniversary of the French Revolution

Of course, another significant one has to be added this time around:

• the 20th anniversary of the 1989 Student Movement and Tiananmen Massacre.

There has not been much chatter about the French Revolution or May Fourth Movement this time around, although the anniversary of the 1989 seems to be in many people's mind. On Internet forums inside China, cleverly designed posts appear here and there trying to reminding audiences of the anniversary without explicitly running into automated censorship. They are usually followed by knowing comments.

The budding "movement" of Charter of 08 seems to have stalled with its main leader Liu Xiaobo still detained. Liu Xiaobo's wife was recently allowed to meet him briefly at a "neutral location" and told that Liu Xiaobo was not formally arrested. All other participants who had been detained or called in for questioning one way or another has been released. It looks like the government is being cautious in how to nevigate through this sensitive Spring-Summer season of political minefiled wihtout major incidents.

The economy is not helpful either. Hampered by the global recession, the manufactary sector in South China, long the engined of China's "peaceful rising", is in collapse. Unemployment is rising fast and spontaneous mass protests are becoming a common occurances in small cities. Twenty years ago, it was the rampant inflation and corruption that had helped feuling the popular support to student movement.

Meanwhile, the government is preparing for a major celebration of the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic, in which the mighty military will once again march through Tiananmen Square. The last time a celeration of this kind was done is way back in 1984, which was a joyous occasion for Deng Xiaoping. Partyly due to Tiananmen Massacre, it has been staged for a quarter of century.

May we live in interesting times.

Fallout Continues for Charter of 08

Various news reports show that the "Charter of 08" is receiving more attention in the forms of both additional signatures and government crackdown. It is reported that more than 3600 people in China have signed the document so far.

A web site Chinese Human Rights Defenders had published a map of known detentions related to the Charter of 08. The web site is currently being reported as an attack site, presumably having been hacked.
Besides Liu Xiaobo, the map shows several names of veterans of 1989: Pu Zhiqiang, Jiang Qisheng, Gao Yu. A couple of them have been active in a few Internet forums until recent days.

According to a source close to this fledging movement, the "Charter of 08" is a well planed and thoughtout action. Many of its initiators are prepared for going to jail. As the twentieth anniversary of the 1989 movement apporaches in a few months, more activities could be expected to test the limits of an extremely nervous and anxious government.

A New Group Prepares for the Anniversary of Tiananmen

A new, unnamed group has recently unveiled a web site calling for a commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of Tiananmen Massacre on Saturday, May 30, 2009, at the Washington Monument in Washington, DC.

The group identifies itself only as "a small group of oversea Chinese who have met and become friends through an internet forum" and not associated with any established organizations.

The web site hosts a forum with few articles available and is calling for donations and volunteers.

A T-shirt Designed for the Coming Anniversary

The twentieth anniversary of the 1989 student movement is now just months away. Plans of commemoration for this occasion are being initiated in many places. In what termed to be from inside of China came a design for a commemorative T-shirt:

It's a fairly simple design. The figure is made by the anniversary dates for June 4, from 1989 to 2009. Together, they trace the shape of a character meaning "twenty" in Chinese. The initiator in the blog page calls for people to make the shirts locally and wear them in public on the day of the twentieth anniversary, as a form of performance art.

The T-shirt is currently available for purchase at Taobao, the eBay of China.

Wang Dan Calls For Commemorating Tiananmen Square Massacre

October 1 is the National Day of the People's Republic of China. On this day, Wang Dan released a statement calling for the preparation of a world-wide commemoration of the upcoming 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre.

The statement, titled as "Commemorating June 4th, Recover Justice, Let China become the Safe Homeland for all Chinese", is cosigned by his fellow exiled leaders Wang Juntao, Hu Ping, Chen Yizi, Liu Gang, Xiang Xiaoji, Li Jinjin, and Li Hengqing. It proclaims the planning of a series of commemorative activities in Hong Kong, Washington DC, and all over the world, as well as the publication of books and art works. It also calls for volunteers to join the efforts.

Media Coverage of the Tiananmen Anniversary

Andrew at One Man's Revolution compiled a list of media coverage of the 19th anniversary of Tiananmen Massacre, based on LexisNexis News Search. He found nothing in the major TV news network in the US and only scant mentions in the printed media.

This has been a very eventful year for China so far. The Tibet riot and Olympic torch relay had received tremendous media coverage, only to be surpassed by the devastating earthquake in Sichuan. The Olympics is just around the corner. There should be more attention towards China in the coming months.