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Articles Tagged ‘Tiananmen Square’

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19th Anniversary of Tiananmen Massacre

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

The world must not forget.

China’s Grief, Unearthed

NYTimes.com
June 4, 2008

By Ma Jian

FOR three days last month, China’s national flag flew at half-staff in Tiananmen Square to honor the victims of the devastating earthquake in Sichuan. It was the first time in memory that China has 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 risen to nearly 70,000, the earthquake has shaken the nation back to life. The Chinese people have rushed to donate blood and money and join the rescue efforts. They have rediscovered their civic responsibility and compassion.
[read on]

Posted in Beijing, China | No Comments »

Tiananmen Square

Wednesday, October 20th, 2004

East China.gif

I had read that Tiananmen was the biggest square in the world. However, Mao’s huge Mausoleum takes up about a third of the square…almost right in the middle…so the area doesn’t seem all that imposing. Then I remember…don’t expect…just accept.

We passed up the viewing of the wax body. As I was gawking and wandering around trying to get a fix on where all the students were and where the tanks rolled into the square that day in 1989, I was approached by three young people who wanted to know if I was interested in viewing the student exhibits in the institute across the street. Having had experiences like this before (it’s a hard sell to “support a poor starving artist'” I turned the conversation…”we in the world have not forgotten 1989.” I said sympathetically. “Neither have we,” one of the boys said. But the girl who was leading the approach was not to be deterred…she was only six, she said, and then dismissed the remark saying that her parents would remember but they don’t want to talk about it.” When pressed again and I said I would visit the art exhibit another day, that was the end of the conversation. So much for student activism…the hustle yields the short term gain…sometimes but not this time.

Posted in Beijing, China, World Watching And Politics | Comments Off on Tiananmen Square