MCLC: ways to remember June 4

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: Magnus Fiskesjo <magnus.fiskesjo at cornell.edu>
Subject: ways to remember June 4
***********************************************************

Source: SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST (4/15/13)

Till the day a million may gather in Tiananmen Square to remember

Philip Cunningham says until the day the tragedy of June 4 can be openly
mourned in China and the life-affirming spirit of the movement honoured,
we must keep alive those memories
By Philip Cunningham

Ways to remember

[X]

There are 108 ways of remembering 1989, like the little beads on a prayer
string; simple, humble, tactile reminders of the days when Beijing was a
city of hope, caught in the throes of a peaceful uprising.

When I'm in Beijing in the spring, I like to walk up and down Changan
Boulevard and across Tiananmen Square, to pause, reflect and move on. It's
a private way of remembering, but I know I am not alone.

Everybody lost and nobody won when the tanks rolled in on June 4, 1989 to
crush a peaceful, creative and remarkably harmonious uprising. And while
it's hard to be patient with the long years of official silence, it's also
difficult to stay true to the truth. There has been a tendency over the
years to cast China's unique tragedy into a Manichean struggle of good
versus evil, in which US-style democracy humiliates Chinese communism, or
the west wind prevails over the east wind, or the BBC beats CCTV and CNN
beats Xinhua, but such binary formulations lose the thread of the
movement, its deep roots, rich tones and infinite nuance.

One day, it will be possible for a million to gather in Tiananmen Square
to reflect on the events of 1989 and openly mourn the lives lost, but that
day has not yet come. To fight historic injustice with hate, revenge or
triumphalism would not only be unwise in a tactical sense, playing into
the hands of hardliners on both sides, but it would also betray the
original spirit of the inclusive, transformative and life-affirming
movement.

There was much about the uprising that was idiosyncratic to China and
resonant with the best of the communist tradition. Until the unlucky and
unnecessary denouement, there was admirable restraint, broadmindedness and
pluck on all sides. There were moments when the Chinese press offered
superior coverage to that of the foreign TV personalities, most of whom
were jet-lagged, hotel-bound and unable to communicate in Chinese.

Then the walls of martial law came crashing down, the crackdown ensued and
a hapless handful of foreigners were left to run with a story of vital
interest to a billion people.

China needs to reclaim this magnificent and tragic chapter of history as
its own, and the day when it will do so is inching closer. A good first
step would be to permit the dead to be appropriately mourned by their kith
and kin and for peaceful annual observances to take place.

There are questions of "face" for those who supported the ruthless
crackdown out of fear or opportunism, but their vanity cannot be protected
forever at the expense of the truth.

One would like to think that Xi Jinping can make a difference, and perhaps
he will. This year is the first anniversary under the leadership of a man
whose father, Xi Zhongxun , took a courageous stand against the 1989
crackdown in the twilight of his career. But Beijing is beset by ruthless
factionalism and there are power brokers in the party who continue to
stand up for the men who stood on the wrong side of history, so even Xi
won't find it easy going.

With media discussion banned and comment kept off the record, the truth
resides in the minds of people, like the books committed to memory in the
face of book-burning in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. But memories do
fade and propaganda does sow seeds of doubt. Lies repeated often enough
take on a baleful life of their own and counterfactual arguments continue
to contort and confuse, so it's essential to keep flexing and exercising
those precious memories until the day they can be printed in Chinese
newspapers, broadcast on Chinese TV and engraved in stone at memorials for
the fallen.

As for the 108 ways to remember, I will mention a few "memory beads" that
come to mind, leaving it to readers to construct their own karmic
bracelets.

Read something about the humorous and humane former party secretary Hu
Yaobang , whose death on April 15, 1989 set in motion the train of events
that rocked Tiananmen Square and the world.

Consider the double-edged power of words by studying the April 26 People's
Daily editorial that drew the lines of conflict.

Ride a bicycle. It's a reminder that back in 1989 nearly everyone got
around by pedal power, not cars. The May 10, 1989 demonstration of "ten
thousand bicycles" racing to the square was the kind of simple fun people
enjoyed in simpler times.

The week starting May 13, 1989 saw an emotional mass hunger strike led by
a generation of students born during one of the most tragic famines in
world history. Skip a few meals in symbolic solidarity.

Learn the lyrics to The Internationale in another language. Or hum
Beethoven's Ode to Joy.

Buy a newspaper or write a letter to the editor, showing support for the
gutsy journalism being practised then, as now, under less-than-ideal
conditions.

Read something by Fang Lizhi, Liu Xiaobo or Wang Dan .

Listen to music. Hou Dejian's Descendants of the Dragon, Cui Jian's
Nothing to My Name and Chyi Chin's Wolf all evoke memories of the time.

Watch a bootleg copy of The Gate of Heavenly Peace. Talk about it with
someone who was there.

On June 3, light a candle to remember the innocent civilians and unarmed
protesters cut down in their prime.

Find a moment to mourn the dead soldiers, too. They were young, confused,
afraid and not in control of their fate.

Think of the man standing in front of the tank when crossing a busy
intersection.

On June 4, if you are in Beijing, take a long solitary walk across town
and visit the people's square, knowing it will one day be possible to do
so in the company of others.

These are just a few little rituals of remembrance that are possible in
China.

Hong Kong people have their own unique and vibrant way of commemorating,
and that tradition should be upheld, not just in solidarity with Beijing
1989, but as a statement about what Hong Kong is, and should continue to
be, in terms of its role as a stronghold of free expression.

Philip J. Cunningham is a media researcher and freelance writer, whose
most recent book about China is Tiananmen Moon


This article first appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition
on Apr 15, 2013 as Ways to remember

-- -- --