OxBlog

Thursday, June 11, 2009

# Posted 5:43 PM by Ariel David Adesnik  

WHY TIANNANMEN STILL MATTERS: While I was away, the 20th anniversary of the Tiannamen Square massacre on June 4, 1989 was observed (except in China). Dan Twining has a great post on why Tiannamen still matters today. Here's his starting point:

We should start from the premise that the crackdown, and China's subsequent rise as an authoritarian rather than a democratic superpower, was not inevitable. We know from both The Tiananmen Papers and Zhao Ziyang's memoirs that the Communist Party leadership was split on whether to use force against the protestors. There is little question that China's regime was under threat -- mass protests had erupted not only in Beijing but in more than 180 cities across China, endangering the regime's survival.
Go read the rest.

Cross-posted at Conventional Folly
(0) opinions -- Add your opinion

Comments: Post a Comment


Home