Tiananmen Square Massacre (June 4, 1989)From Wall Street Journal:
20 Years After Tiananmen, Beijing Tolerates a Safer Wave of Protest
BEIJING -- As she strolls through a park near her temporary home, Shen Lixiu glances warily at passers-by who may be listening in on her conversation.
The 53-year-old mother of two from China's eastern Jiangsu province appears no different from other park visitors, dressed in a loose shirt for summer and with short hair graying at the temples. But she has an unusual calling in life: She's a full-time protester.
Like many other activists today, she turned up in the Chinese capital to petition the central government over what she describes as a personal injustice -- in her case, the seizure of her business by local officials -- then stayed to fight for other causes. She started attending various protests about eight months ago. Now she protests at least once a week.
"We're defending human rights," Ms. Shen says.
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My Comment: My first visit to China was in 1988. I have been fortunate enough to see how much China has evolved since then. But I have no illusions .... they still have a long way to go.
I remarked to my Government hosts in 1988 that while China has a culture and a history that is one of the oldest in the world, China was still (politically and socially) an immature child operating at a kindergarten level when compared to the U.S. or Canada .
After 20 years, I would have to say that China has just passed grade 3.