China's secret grief

Published 31 July 2008

Mourning the victims of the May earthquake has reminded a nation of the deaths it is forbidden to recall - the students of Tiananmen and the tens of millions who lost their lives under Mao

For three days in May, China's national flag flew at half-mast in Tiananmen Square to honour the victims of the devastating earthquake in Sichuan. It was the first time in memory that China had publicly commemorated the deaths of ordinary civilians.

Crowds were allowed to gather in the square to express sympathy for their compatriots. Despite a death toll that has been estimated at 80,000, the earthquake shook the nation back to life. The Chinese people rushed to donate blood and money and to join the rescue efforts. They rediscovered their civic responsibility and compassion.

Their grief, shock and confused solidarity recalled the hours that followed the Tiananmen massacre 19 years ago, when the Communist Party sent army tanks into Beijing to crush a pro-democracy movement organised by unarmed, peaceful students.

The protests had been set off by the death of the reform-minded Communist Party leader Hu Yaobang. College students had camped out in the square - the symbolic heart of the nation - to demand freedom, democracy and an end to government corruption. There they fell in love, danced to Bob Dylan tapes and discussed Thomas Paine's Rights of Man.

The city had come out to support the pro testers: workers, entrepreneurs, writers, petty thieves. After the tanks drove the students from the square in the early hours of 4 June 1989, nearby shop owners turned up with baskets of trainers to hand out to protesters who'd lost their shoes in the confrontation. As soldiers opened fire in the streets, civilians rushed to the wounded to carry them to the hospital.

But even as doctors were caring for students hurt in the melee, the party was rewriting his tory. It branded the peaceful democracy movement a "coun ter-revolutionary riot" and maintained that the brutal crackdown was the only way of restoring order. As leaders of the movement were rounded up and jailed, people who had donated food and drink to the students during their six-week occupation of the square began reporting them to the police.

Realising that their much-vaunted mandate to rule had been nullified by the massacre, the party focused on economic growth to quell demands for political change. Thanks to its cheap, industrious and non-unionised labour force, China has since become a world economic power, while the Communist Party has become the world's best friend.

Watched on television screens around the world, the Tiananmen massacre was a defining moment in 20th-century history. Like Budapest in 1956 and Prague in 1968, it has become a global symbol of totalitarian repression. But in China the subject is taboo. Even in the privacy of their homes, parents dare not discuss it with their children. Blinded by fear and bloated by prosperity, they have succumbed to a collective amnesia.

Some might object to recalling calamities of the past while China is still recovering from a recent disaster. The western news media turned their attention away from political repression in China and Tibet, out of respect for the dead. When invited to speak at a London human rights event recently, I was asked not to say anything negative about my country.

But grief refuses to be channelled. It spills over. In Sichuan, it turned to anger as parents demanded to know why 6,898 school buildings collapsed during the quake while government buildings remained standing. As the nation continues to mourn, it will begin to remember the deaths it has been forbidden to recall: not only the thousands who were slaughtered in 1989, but the tens of millions who died under Mao Zedong's rule during the Anti-Rightist Campaign, the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.

The government leaders know that, despite their efforts to erase history, the wounds inflicted by past repression are festering. With each anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre it becomes clearer that behind the bravado, the party is as fearful as a deer caught in the headlights.

This year, Tiananmen Square was patrolled once again by plain-clothes policemen, ready to quash any attempts to remember the vic tims of the massacre. People in volv ed in the de mo cracy move ment were removed from the city or placed under house arrest. Last year, editors of a news pap er in Cheng du that carried a tiny advertisement saluting the "Mothers of 4 June" were fired from their jobs. It turns out that the young clerk who had approved the ad hadn't grasped the significance of the date. She, like the rest of her generation, had been robbed of her own history.

Still, a few brave individuals continue to speak out and remind the world what happened. In 2004, the poet Shi Tao sent to a western democracy website a government document banning the news media from mentioning the 4 June anniversary. He was arrested and is now serving a ten-year prison sentence.

Two months ago, Ding Zilin, the head of the Tiananmen Mothers group, who lost her 17-year-old son in the massacre, opened a website - Tiananmenmothers.org - containing detailed evidence of the massacre. Only three hours after its launch, the Chinese authorities blocked it.

There is an expression in Chinese that says: "One can only stand up from the place where one fell." If China is truly to stand up and deserve its powerful position in the international community, it must return to the place where it fell. The regime must reveal the truth about past crackdowns and apologise to the victims and their families; release the hundred or so people still jailed for their connection to the Tiananmen movement, and the tens of thousands of other political prisoners. And it must introduce democratic reforms.

The Chinese people were reminded by the Sichuan earthquake that lives are not expendable and that deaths cannot go unmourned. Now they have to extend that understanding to the victims of Tiananmen.

This essay was translated from the Chinese by Flora Drew

The pro-democracy writer Ma Jian was born in Qingdao, China, in 1953 and now lives in London. Decried as "bourgeois liberalism", all his works are banned in China. His latest novel, "Beijing Coma" (Chatto & Windus), is the story of a student injured in the Tiananmen massacre

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9 comments from readers

iewgnem
31 July 2008 at 15:15

What make me sad is people like you, whom I used to resepect, all ended up writing stories in English for an audience who have no responsibity and indeed no desire to see China's growth. Hindsight reveals a lot more about people than what they say, the fact that those pro-democracy leaders all ended up now living comfortably in the US, writing articles in language Chinese can't understand for an audience hostile to China make me thankful they did not succeed in 1989.

nawawimohamad
01 August 2008 at 09:33

Please don't put the blame entirely on the government for any man made calamities that is happening in China. Those calamities are more of a result from corruption amongst their officials. There have never been a genocide in China, the leaders do care about the poor people and those affected by the earthquake, but the implementation is by the various officials that resulted in another calamity. Come on Ma jian, democracy is not for China and not the solution to the problems in China. Do you think the west really practice true democracy? Are you not aware that the west will revoke whatever democratic values to achieve their ambition? Do you realise that Bush at times have been acting dictactor!

The Chinese people must be brave enough to combat corruption and continue exposing it. Like wise the media.

Now I am against the olympics which is just a waste of money, but it is not my money. So just because of several thousand people who are in dire straits it doesn't mean others cannot celebrate their birthdays!

Douglas Chalmers
02 August 2008 at 07:12

That you say that "...the regime must reveal the truth about past crackdowns and apologise to the victims and their families..." is something which China can do which no Western democracy ever bothers to do with its own people, especially these days.

I am told that it has been done in the past and will continue to be done. The CCP is more part of the people now than it was when it was hijacked by the gang of four and whoever else wanted to vie for power. Hating China or grieving over past hurts is not making a truthful description of events.

We in the West don't really know that much of what actually happened in Tiananmen. We have been fed a deceptive diet of half-truths and told how to interpret them just as we have about Tibet. Video showed disruption but little else. We are still being widely manipulated for the Neocon agenda.

What happened to the "tank man"? If you watch the clip, the tank driver actually took great care NOT to run him over. He then climbed up onto the tank and seemed to be sharing food or drinks with the crew. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnmWYb4D4Dg But some of the information which the Western media siezed upon was absolute garbage:-

Quote Jan Wong, Toronto Globe - "These bullets are the size of a man's thumb, and they're encased with this soft outer coating that, when it's fired, it unfurls and it twists. They're like dum dums, I guess -- they twist. So when they go through the victims, they tear up the victim inside. … And can go through 10 bodies at close range..." (The Tank Man, PBS).

One wonders when a journalist suddenly becomes a ballistics expert (as they so often do). In short, a bullet which "unfurls" can neither fly nor can it pass through "10 bodies" nor can it be aimed accurately. In fact, rifle bullets have hard casings and soft cores, whether for military use or hunting - otherwise they could not be fired through the barrel of a gun.

Westerners seem to think in terms of stories of the old French revolution and the siege of the Bastille. That in itself is a highly colorized story. In China, the PLA (Army) is not the enemy of the people and is highly respected. It is not like the banana republic dictatorships fostered by the USA in South America http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fsf06Q1KKjE

Douglas Chalmers
02 August 2008 at 12:35

By the way, Ma Jian, the tiananmenmothers.org website you mention (with or without the www.) does not seem to exist although there is mention of it on the net starting in May.

There is a Tiananmen Mothers Campaign site in HK in Chinese although their petition page is in English - http://tmc-hk.org/forum.php - and there is also a video but try this link as it doesn't seem to play - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2343708575521844445 - "Do Not Neglect June 4th Missing Person's Fate -- Ding Zilin Appeals" (with both Chinese + English subtitles).

Also, you can still donate to the China Red Cross earthquake appeal online at http://english.cri.cn/3126/2008/05/12/Zt902@356259.htm

docdile
07 August 2008 at 17:02

There is another side of the Tian'anmen Squre story, which the western media deliberatly failed to cover, that is the burned bodies of the sodiers. Who assulted those soldiers before the tanks entered the Square,before the Chinese goverment ordered the soldiers to take actions? Yes, the majority of the peolpe are supportive to the demostrations at first, because they were against corruption, they want a cleaner government. But later on, when more and more peole joined the demonstration, some people used this chance to assualt the sodiers, to creat riots. I really wish if the organisers were wise enough to stop this violent actions, otherwise the demonstration can end up in good. China may become less corrupted and more democratic. It is a ptiy that this chance missed. With the riots began, the Chinese government ordered millitary action.

Many people in China, like the current HU Jintao administration, because he is more open-minded and does care about his people. People, like Ma Jian, have seen the difference, since HU entered into power? I think, with time goes on , when HU gains a more solid power base and support from CPC, he will do more to gain more democracy for Chinese.

yoshinogawa
17 August 2008 at 13:49

Mengwei and Douglas Chalmers, you don't expect Ma Jian to write the truth about China while he's still in China do you?

Also, Douglas Chalmers, although one falsehood doesn't make everything you write equally untrue, it might interest you that there are a lot of people who know about bullets (even if they don't own a firearm)...even a child who learns from their parents, etc. For example, you write:

...your last statement is totally 100% untrue. Your 'In fact' is NOT a fact. Which leads me to ask -- One wonders when a comment poster suddenly becomes a ballistics expert. -- . Then you might ask -- Why not? Obviously, good question. Same with a journalist. Why couldn't a journalist know something re. ballistics? (Though that one you mention didn't know everything correctly about that bullet.)

In the same way you make a lot of arbitrary assumptions about China and what goes on there, about Ma Jian and so on.

And I notice you made completely wrong statements re. Tibetan groups under the Woeser article. If you named a specific group and did so, that would constitute libel and you could be sued. You should doublecheck your facts before more people come and accuse you of being an irresponsible, aggravated, long-winded hack.

Now getting back to ballistics. There are all kinds of bullets that go through rifle barrels, especially when people do their own loading (i.e., cast their own) -- not just jacketed ones. I'll give only one example. And that is the soft-nosed item (that one can buy over the counter) that goes out the end of a Winchester 30-30. It's lead and it's so soft one has to watch what you touch with the ends of those bullets so as to not change their shape and thus vary their flight dynamics.

I could lay it out similarly for Tibetan groups. But you should do your own research, if you want to find out. Use your intelligence.....like bullets, there are all kinds of Tibetan groups, with different constitutions, policies, aims, funding, etc, etc. Don't be so bloody one-sided in your mind. That's like someone saying all communists are bad, etc. I suppose if you assume you are always right, then you needn't bother to check...right?

yoshinogawa...British Columbia, Canada

yoshinogawa
17 August 2008 at 14:03

For some reason, this website didn't accept the following quote which was included when my above comment was submitted. So here is Douglas Chalmers statement:

yoshinogawa...British Columbia, Canada

yoshinogawa
17 August 2008 at 14:11

Hmmmn!

A 3rd try quoting Mr Chalmers' statement (maybe he's just not very quotable):

--- One wonders when a journalist suddenly becomes a ballistics expert (as they so often do). In short, a bullet which "unfurls" can neither fly nor can it pass through "10 bodies" nor can it be aimed accurately. In fact, rifle bullets have hard casings and soft cores, whether for military use or hunting - otherwise they could not be fired through

he barrel of a gun. ---

Thanks for your patience.

yoshinogawa...British Columbia, Canada

Douglas Chalmers
25 August 2008 at 16:55

Poor #yoshinogawa, ha ha - tried three times and still couldn't succed, uhh. Better count your blessings when bullets fly as the ones with "soft" noses will hit just as hard - simply because they don't "unfurl" as they go. The reason they go through the barrel of a high-velocity rifle is because they have a steel casing (copper-coated).

Now, I could lay it out similarly for Tibetan groups but you should do your own research, yoshinogawa. Most of the people are good and trying their best to learn and to follow Buddhism. That includes many of the Tibetan monks but perhaps not their Tulkus. Having "diamond light" in their eyes is not protection against the lies of the nationalist spearatists amongst them, though.

But following the real Buddha takes a little more effort. It is not enough to trust ones' fellows and their agendas. It is not enough to trust one's teachers. One has to be absolutely sure of their motives as well as one's own. They have to be verified in all respects, too. Leaving things to fate leaves them wide open to exploitation by the Neocons for their own political agenda of global domination.

By the time you finally do wake up, it will be rather late. We have already all been threatened with WW3 and it wasn't by China. They have 14 countries on their borders and Taiwan and Japan off their coast. They stay out of wars and yet the Americans go looking for wars as a means of utilizing their military-industrial complex merely to generate corpoarate profits. Who, then, are the real barbarians?

Imagine if America had Russia, Japan and India on its borders. The loud-mothed groaning and endless righteous screaming would be unbelievable, ha ha! There are "...a lot of people who know about bullets...", Akira Yoshinogawa, but you are not one. Nor do you know much about either Buddha or about TRUTH. Go learn, eh.....