Ever since my focus on China shifted towards post 1911 and the rise of the CCP, the Tiananmen Massacre became a recurrence in my reading and study of this period of massive change in China. Like most people the infamous image of “tank man” was in my mind long before I really knew the history and meaning behind it. The more I read, the more Tiananmen intrigued me.

What started as a student movement to air grievances about the deplorable job market for college grads, turned into the largest pro-democracy protest in China to date. Tiananem for me marks the beginning of serious talk about democracy in China. However, I don’t think that it was their Boston Tea Party and to draw a parallel between the democratic movements in China and those that happened in the US is in err. If a democratic movement ever happens in China it will be uniquely Chinese and much like the Tiananmen movement will start with the twenty somethings of China wanting to make their grievances know to the CCP.  

For me Tiananmen was never a sign of what could have been. I have never viewed it as a missed opportunity. It has always been a symbol what can happen in China when people genuinely unite behind a common goal. That day military power was used because the leaders of the CCP saw the power behind those protesters. Those leaders saw the steadfast resolve of students that wanted nothing more than a means to voice their opinions in the government that governed their lands. The only way this resolve was damaged was through physical violence that claimed a still unknown number of lives and affected thousands for years to come. The power of that movement is still felt to this day with the level of censorship that is present on the issue. When in China, searches with terms such as “June 4th incident” continue to be blocked completely. If the CCP really had no fear of the ideals that this movement was trying to convey than why after almost 25 years is the Great Firewall of China needed? My conclusion is fear that the seeds those protesters planted may one day sprout in China.

Even though Tiananmen has be thrown into the basket of democratic movements, I think the wants of the current generation that has grown up post Tiananmen is much simpler. Democracy is clearly not a number one goal for this generation but other ideals that the Tiananmen movement embodied are. Netizens have frequently called for greater accountability, better transparency and improved measures to combat corruptions from their political leaders. Rarely is there a call for voting rights or amendments to the current Chinese constitution. Fighting corruption and better accountability can be achieved without democracy and I think China may be the country to test this hypothesis.

However, those students that took to the streets all over China in that summer of ‘89 should not be forgot. They laid the first stones of the road towards a better China and on the anniversary of the violence that took place they should be sources of inspiration for all humans who stand against oppression.