The Foreign Service Journal, June 2009

J U N E 2 0 0 9 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 19 the momentous meeting. Much to the embarrassment of the Chinese government, however, the student movement and occupation of Tian- anmen Square turned out to be a far more colorful and interesting story. ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, the BBC and many other media outlets from all over the world set up cam- eras in Tiananmen Square. While awaiting Gorbachev’s arrival, they focused on the fasting students. The night before the Gorbachev visit, students con- fronted police on the steps of the Great Hall of the Peo- ple, which runs along the western side of Tiananmen Square. Because the media were on the scene to cap- ture the drama, the entire world was drawn into the stu- dent movement. The video images of Chinese students broadcast worldwide aroused tremendous international sympathy for their struggle. The crowd’s excitement was palpable. Energized by Success Emboldened by the worldwide attention and support, students continued streaming into the area. People ar- rived from the countryside by the train carload, turning the square into a people’s camp. The air was electric with debate, criticism and new ideas. Students were speak- ing publicly and testing their skills with new political slo- gans. Each day, Jim and I wandered through throngs of stu- dents on street corners and in parks deep in heretofore- prohibited political debate. We watched them grow bolder by the day, becoming increasingly vocal and sure of their ideas. And the movement spread from street cor- ners to offices, shops and worker cooperatives. We could almost feel the opening up of people’s hearts and minds, like watching a dead flower come back to life. It was an astonishing experience. Students, workers, old and young people, shopkeepers, even Communist Party members, began smiling, greeting each other, speaking out in public, and defending their rights in the street. By this point, tens of thousands of permanent demon- strators were occupying Tiananmen Square. Medical supplies flowed into the square from Hong Kong. Stu- dents lay with IVs in their arms on cots in hospital tents. Medics rushed in and out of the square offering first aid. The students established volun- teer brigades to direct traffic, trans- port food and medical supplies, and patrol the streets and alleys. They and their supporters were effec- tively in control of large swaths of Beijing, as police and soldiers stayed out of sight. The students proclaimed they were setting up “a real people’s government.” Meanwhile, Communist Party leaders remained hesitant and confused, unable to re- spond to calls for dialogue. Finally, on May 20 Premier Zhao Ziyang, the most liberal-minded member of the ruling Politburo, met with the students in Tiananmen Square. With tears in his eyes, he pleaded with them to stop their hunger strike and leave. Soon afterward, he was ousted from power for trying to stop the hardliners from cracking down. Placed under house arrest, he was never again seen in public before his death in January 2005. Late on May 30, Vice Premier Li Peng went on tele- vision surrounded by members of the Politburo, stiffly dressed in Mao suits. He soberly announced that the government was sending troops in to restore order. The Government Cracks Down On June 1, 1989, Jim went to Tiananmen Square at around 7 p.m., as he had done each evening since the movement had begun. He watched as young, unarmed People’s Liberation Army troops tried to reach the square, but were turned back by the students and work- ers, who persuaded the soldiers not to hurt their fellow Beijingren. Celebrations rippled through the square. The next morning, the government imposed martial law and clamped down on all media. As the entire world watched, broadcasters were shut down, some right in mid-sentence. Foreign broadcasters were pushed off their sets and the screens went black as millions of peo- ple all over the world watched. International reporters were physically forced to leave the square. Nevertheless, on June 2, thousands of Chinese ig- nored the restrictions, riding their bicycles to Tianan- men Square in support of the students. Jim and I also solemnly biked through the streets and around the square. We could sense a strange mixture of exhilaration and foreboding as no one was certain what would happen F O C U S Jim’s eyewitness report remains, to this day, one of the most detailed descriptions of the night’s events.