I don't know what occurred in Hengyang, Hunan province, on June 4, 1989. But I do know a small portion of what occurred there today. As I thought about what happened 25 years ago in China, I took an afternoon walk in an urban area of Hengyang's Shigu district and saw that ...
Some people cooked.
Some people ate at a street food market.
Some people ate at a McDonald's.
Some people ate at a restaurant under a bridge.
Some people played cards and drank tea under a bridge.
Some people waited for passengers under a bridge.
Some people used a mobile phone.
Some people read a newspaper.
Some people bought something at a newsstand.
Some people bought something at a department store.
Some people bought a rabbit.
Some people sat.
Some people rested.
Some people worked.
Some people played.
Some people asked a foreigner to take their photo.
Some people simply said "Hello!" to a foreigner.
Some people wore matching shirts.
Some people wore a distinctive shirt.
Some people wore a shirt with English text.
Some people wore a shirt with an American symbol.
I saw much today, yet almost all of it reminds me of what I have seen many other times in China. It was as if today "may as well be just another day", like what I saw two years ago in Xining, Qinghai, or three years ago in Chengdu, Sichuan.
Well, there was one thing I saw which gave me pause. So after passing a young man, I turned around and caught up with him. I told him I liked his shirt and asked if I could take his photo. Without hesitation, he gave his consent.
He didn't ask me why I liked his shirt. I didn't ask him why he wore the shirt.
How many people in China are asking questions today anyway?
Some people cooked.
Some people ate at a street food market.
Some people ate at a McDonald's.
Some people ate at a restaurant under a bridge.
Some people played cards and drank tea under a bridge.
Some people waited for passengers under a bridge.
Some people used a mobile phone.
Some people read a newspaper.
Some people bought something at a newsstand.
Some people bought something at a department store.
Some people bought a rabbit.
Some people sat.
Some people rested.
Some people worked.
Some people played.
Some people asked a foreigner to take their photo.
Some people simply said "Hello!" to a foreigner.
Some people wore matching shirts.
Some people wore a distinctive shirt.
Some people wore a shirt with English text.
Some people wore a shirt with an American symbol.
I saw much today, yet almost all of it reminds me of what I have seen many other times in China. It was as if today "may as well be just another day", like what I saw two years ago in Xining, Qinghai, or three years ago in Chengdu, Sichuan.
Well, there was one thing I saw which gave me pause. So after passing a young man, I turned around and caught up with him. I told him I liked his shirt and asked if I could take his photo. Without hesitation, he gave his consent.
He didn't ask me why I liked his shirt. I didn't ask him why he wore the shirt.
How many people in China are asking questions today anyway?
In my experience from being in Beijing on the 20th anniversary. . nobody remembers, nobody cares. Just people in HK and foreign media. Pretty sad or pretty impressive how effectively it has been wiped out of the history books
ReplyDeleteOk,as a Chinese ,what I want to say,in China,ALL TVs and newspapers are run by the government or shou I say the CPC,many international websites are also locked here.How can they know the events exactly?
ReplyDelete