The crushing of light
is really an impossible thing
Light travels too quickly for lies to catch it
It emerges in places unexpected
It fills hearts without notice
It sets free the minds of captors and captives
- Susan Jacob
(written in 1999, thinking of tenth anniversary of Tiannenman Square)
is really an impossible thing
Light travels too quickly for lies to catch it
It emerges in places unexpected
It fills hearts without notice
It sets free the minds of captors and captives
- Susan Jacob
(written in 1999, thinking of tenth anniversary of Tiannenman Square)
Thirty years ago in Beijing in a place called Tiannenman Square there was a gathering of mostly young people.
ReplyDeleteWatching the events unfold, we were mesmerized - and hopeful - for those young people. Then, the reporters broadcasting the events from the hotel room window received an official visit. The feed was cut. No more transmission to all of the broadcasters. Silence.
Silence from our President at that time, George H. W. Bush.
Silence from the United Nations . . . but then again, the United Nations was basically silent when Tibet was rolled over by the People's Republic of China; wasn't it the UN's basic responsibility to stand up for little guys being rolled over, invaded by big guys? Was it such a long time since the days of the "Sudatenland"? Wasn't Tibet basically lebensraum for the PRC? And that was now all right? Silence from the UN for Tibet, silence from the UN for the events of June 1989 in Tiannenman Square in Beijing.
Could there ever be a monument or a memorial in Beijing for the brave, hopeful young people?
I daresay, I don't think the PRC would welcome that notion.
Could there basically be a monument or a memorial online, "in the ether"?
Perhaps a hologram of the young people with their Statue of Liberty could be transmitted, in all their hopeful courage. Well, I guess that would not be any more welcome than an actual statue and even a website or a blog about June 4, 1989 would be forbidden.