The biggest legacy of the violent crackdown of the student protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989 was to make Chinese people ponder everything in a more sophisticated and prudent manner, said a journalism professor.
Prof. Steve GUO, head of the Journalism Department of Hong Kong Baptist University who covered the demonstrations as a China Daily reporter, was sharing his personal reflections on this incident at a talk with students on Saturday, organized by MA program in International Journalism Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University as the 25th anniversary of the protests is approaching.
In the spring of 1989, Chinese students and workers assembled in Tiananmen Square to voice strong dissatisfaction with the corruption of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and press for political liberalization, democracy and reform.
The movement ended with the government mobilizing the army to disperse the protests violently in the early hours of June 4. A huge turning point in contemporary Chinese history, the “June 4” has since become a taboo topic in China.
GUO said he assumed a dual identity at the time. After his daily routine as a journalist, he always returned the square and spent many sleepless nights there supporting the protesters
He said the protesters were mainly composed of young college students with conflicting emotions. On the one hand, they were afraid of any gunshot at night. On the other hand, they looked forward to hearing gunshots, which, in their opinion, would expedite the ending of the protests.
When PLA troops fired at people indiscriminately, however, he and many others were overwhelmed by feelings of panic and uncertainty. Soon, they became angry because the situation was beyond their imagination.
“How could a state brutally attack its own people by force,” he sais. “We started to feel how weak people were in front of the gigantic state machine.”
Asked why the 1989 protests failed to achieve their goals, GUO identified two reasons and compared it with another Tiananmen incident in 1976.
On April 5, 1976, people from all walks of life gathered to mourn the death of Premier Zhou Enlai and the gathering soon evolved into a protest against the “Gang of Four” and the Cultural Revolution.
“First, the major participants in 1989 were composed of immature young students and the absence of intellectuals brought greater improbability of their victory,” he said. “Besides, any act that directly defied the state system was absolutely intolerant for the CCP and was regarded as subversion of state power, naturally incurring the savage crackdown in the end.”
When it comes to China’s future, GUO admitted he did not feel optimistic. The widely anticipated political reform was around the corner, he said.
“The CCP was, is and will be exerting a huge influence on every aspect to block people’s ability to act independently, which in my mind is a prerequisite for reform.”
The sharing session was held after the screening of a three-hour documentary The Gate of Heavenly Peace, which explored the origins and influence of the protests.
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