An interesting article from the Economist:
The man who came too late
Jan 18th 2005
From The Economist Global Agenda
Zhao Ziyang, who was toppled as leader of China’s Communist Party for opposing the crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, has died aged 85. Had he not been deposed, China might be a very different place from what it is today
AT DAWN on May 19th 1989, when the pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square were at their height and looking like a serious threat to Chinese Communist Party rule, the party’s leader, Zhao Ziyang, suddenly appeared among the protesting students. Addressing them tearfully through a megaphone, he said he had come “too late�. He did not say what he meant but, in the coded language of Chinese political rhetoric, his message was abundantly clear. He had come too late to save the demonstrators—and he wanted them to leave the square before it was too late for them. The next day, martial law was declared in Beijing. Fifteen days later, with the protesters still ignoring Mr Zhao’s warning, soldiers from the People’s Army opened fire on them, killing hundreds.
The party’s hardliners, having brushed aside Mr Zhao’s pleas not to order the crackdown, removed him from office and put him under house arrest. He never appeared in public again. Nevertheless, the Chinese leadership remained fearful that his death might trigger fresh protests—just as the Tiananmen Square unrest had itself been triggered by the death of Hu Yaobang, another reformer. In the days leading up to his death on Monday January 17th, security was tightened in Tiananmen Square and outside Mr Zhao’s home—apparently to prevent either becoming a focal point for renewed protests. China's state media made only the briefest mention of the death of “Comrade Zhao�—or said nothing at all.
The authorities now face the difficult decision of whether it would cause less of a stir to grant or deny Mr Zhao a formal state funeral, and how big a ceremony to allow, if any. However, a source close to his family told Reuters news agency on Tuesday that they were prepared to forgo a high-profile public ceremony.
There does not seem much chance of unrest now. The passage of time, the hardliners’ success in snuffing out the nascent democracy movement, and not least China’s considerable economic progress since 1989, have all helped the memories to fade. Indeed, a foreign ministry spokesman defended the Tiananmen Square massacres on Tuesday, saying that: “The past 15 years have shown China's decision was correct. China's stability and development are in the interest of China and in the interest of the whole world.�
Nevertheless, public discussion of what happened between April and June of 1989 remains taboo. Notwithstanding the supposed power of the internet to provide uncensored information, Chinese outside Beijing, and even younger residents of the capital, often appear unaware of the scale and ruthlessness of the military action that ended the protests. The 15th anniversary of the crackdown, last June, passed almost unnoticed in mainland China, though there were demonstrations in Hong Kong.[\b]
Cont....
OTB
The man who came too late
Jan 18th 2005
From The Economist Global Agenda
Zhao Ziyang, who was toppled as leader of China’s Communist Party for opposing the crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, has died aged 85. Had he not been deposed, China might be a very different place from what it is today
AT DAWN on May 19th 1989, when the pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square were at their height and looking like a serious threat to Chinese Communist Party rule, the party’s leader, Zhao Ziyang, suddenly appeared among the protesting students. Addressing them tearfully through a megaphone, he said he had come “too late�. He did not say what he meant but, in the coded language of Chinese political rhetoric, his message was abundantly clear. He had come too late to save the demonstrators—and he wanted them to leave the square before it was too late for them. The next day, martial law was declared in Beijing. Fifteen days later, with the protesters still ignoring Mr Zhao’s warning, soldiers from the People’s Army opened fire on them, killing hundreds.
The party’s hardliners, having brushed aside Mr Zhao’s pleas not to order the crackdown, removed him from office and put him under house arrest. He never appeared in public again. Nevertheless, the Chinese leadership remained fearful that his death might trigger fresh protests—just as the Tiananmen Square unrest had itself been triggered by the death of Hu Yaobang, another reformer. In the days leading up to his death on Monday January 17th, security was tightened in Tiananmen Square and outside Mr Zhao’s home—apparently to prevent either becoming a focal point for renewed protests. China's state media made only the briefest mention of the death of “Comrade Zhao�—or said nothing at all.
The authorities now face the difficult decision of whether it would cause less of a stir to grant or deny Mr Zhao a formal state funeral, and how big a ceremony to allow, if any. However, a source close to his family told Reuters news agency on Tuesday that they were prepared to forgo a high-profile public ceremony.
There does not seem much chance of unrest now. The passage of time, the hardliners’ success in snuffing out the nascent democracy movement, and not least China’s considerable economic progress since 1989, have all helped the memories to fade. Indeed, a foreign ministry spokesman defended the Tiananmen Square massacres on Tuesday, saying that: “The past 15 years have shown China's decision was correct. China's stability and development are in the interest of China and in the interest of the whole world.�
Nevertheless, public discussion of what happened between April and June of 1989 remains taboo. Notwithstanding the supposed power of the internet to provide uncensored information, Chinese outside Beijing, and even younger residents of the capital, often appear unaware of the scale and ruthlessness of the military action that ended the protests. The 15th anniversary of the crackdown, last June, passed almost unnoticed in mainland China, though there were demonstrations in Hong Kong.[\b]
Cont....
OTB