On the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, everyone is talking about human rights in China. The question is, why isn’t there more talk at other times? The answer is the same for human rights as it is for many other issues involving China: because we overemphasize economic matters unnecessarily. The PRC’s economic rise is of course important, even breath-taking. But we have gotten ahead of ourselves. It is the American economy which drives the world, with Beijing crafting a development model in light of that dominance. And, as …
This picture is worth thousands and thousands of words.
In the spring of 1989, millions of Chinese peacefully seized control of their own capital and demanded democracy. After then-Premier Li Peng declared martial law on May 19th, the people of Beijing, not just students, responded by setting up bus and truck barricades to protect the demonstrators’ command post in Tiananmen Square. But on the morning of June 4th, 20 years ago today, China’s rulers sent in tanks and soldiers to regain control. The Chinese government claims only 241 people died that day, but the Chinese Red Cross puts the …
In the spring of 1989, millions of Chinese peacefully seized control of their own capital and demanded democracy. After then-Premier Li Peng declared martial law on May 19th, the people of Beijing, not just students, responded by setting up bus and truck barricades to protect the demonstrators’ command post in Tiananmen Square. But on the morning of June 4th, 20 years ago today, China’s rulers sent in tanks and soldiers to regain control. The Chinese government claims only 241 people died that day, but the Chinese Red Cross puts the …
Dr. Wang Dan, the foremost student leader in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, joined Heritage’s Lee Edwards today in a conversation in our Allison auditorium. Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) introduced the slender, soft spoken Dr. Wang, saying that immediately following the forceful breakup of the protests the 20 year-old Peking University student was “branded as China’s enemy #1. Quite an honor and distinction I must say.” Dr. Wang quickly topped the list of ‘counterrevolutionaries’ for his efforts in organizing the students. He spent almost ten years in jail for his …
