As the 29th anniversary of June Fourth approaches, let us revisit the 1989 pro-democracy movement. This plays an irreplaceable role in strengthening our confidence in the Chinese people and in our own compatriots.
The 1989 Democracy Movement was an unprecedented nonviolent democratic movement in Chinese history. In just over 50 days, the movement swept through more than 200 cities nationwide, with a cumulative participation exceeding 50 million. Such a massive scale is extremely rare, even truly unheard of, in human history. The 1989 pro-democracy movement clearly put forward slogans for fighting for freedom and democracy. Students, workers, intellectuals, and citizens all formed independent organizations, and many members of CCP party and government agencies took to the streets or issued statements, openly expressing support for the democracy movement and opposition to martial law. This powerfully proves that in China, freedom and democracy are not merely the pursuit of a tiny minority of dissenters, but the shared aspiration of millions of people. Anyone who has participated in or witnessed this movement has no reason to hold a pessimistic attitude toward the Chinese people or our compatriots.
Many people say: Chinese people are naturally servile; as long as they have enough to eat, they willingly accept servitude; Some even said that Chinese people would not resist even if they starved. However, the 1989 pro-democracy movement proved that this view is completely untenable. The 1989 pro-democracy movement was not a hungry uprising or a rebellion; The 1989 pro-democracy movement did not happen against the backdrop of natural disasters and people’s suffering, but rather in a context of rapid economic development that benefited people from all walks of life; The movement was led by college students who lived without worries about food or clothing. Additionally, some have long believed that the uprisings in China were stirred up by marginalized individuals stirring up trouble, but the 1989 pro-democracy movement proved that this claim doesn’t hold up, because the vanguard and main force of the movement were university students, primarily students from prestigious universities in the capital. At that time, universities had not yet expanded enrollment, and university students were regarded as favored by heaven, which was clearly different from the common historical behaviors of hunger riots or the desperate actions of the lower classes. Moreover, the movement’s strong adherence to nonviolent principles stands in stark contrast to the historically commonplace violent struggles.
In the 1989 pro-democracy movement, intellectuals played a very important role: the prelude to the movement was the wave after wave of signature letters initiated by intellectuals demanding the release of ideological prisoners. It was this group of intellectuals who enlightened the generation of university students of the ’89 era. The intellectuals who made a name for themselves in the ‘New Era’ mostly participated in the 1989 democracy movement in one form or another.
Some say the outbreak of the 1989 pro-democracy movement was due to a split among the CCP’s upper echelons. No, it’s not the division at the top that gave rise to civil protests; on the contrary, it was the large-scale and heroic resistance among the people that fueled the split among the upper class, and only then did the division further encourage civil resistance.
Many people say that when Chinese people do not resist, they are obedient citizens; once they resist, they become rioters. The 1989 pro-democracy movement strongly refuted this view. During the more than 50-day campaign, the peace and rationality, spontaneous discipline and order displayed by the people amazed the world. We know that even in established democracies like the UK, France, and the US, where protests are large and prolonged, sometimes there are riots and looting. However, China’s 1989 pro-democracy movement lasted over 50 days, with tens of millions of participants, yet almost no violence occurred. It was nothing short of a miracle.
Some assert that despite the current CCP authorities’ promotion of xenophobic nationalism and anti-America, anti-West, if China achieves democracy, its future China will only become more xenophobical, anti-American, and anti-Western. The 1989 pro-democracy movement strongly refuted this claim. The 1989 pro-democracy movement powerfully demonstrated how open and friendly Chinese people are toward the United States and the West, and how much they support and believe in universal values. The Goddess of Democracy statue erected in Tiananmen Square during the 1989 pro-democracy movement was clearly modeled after the Statue of Liberty in New York, USA, showing the mindset of the people at that time—there was no narrow or xenophobic nationalism.
The1989 pro-democracy movement was undoubtedly a peak experience for our nation. The spirit of the Chinese people has never been so pure, so beautiful, or so moving. Unfortunately, the pro-democracy movement in 1989 failed completely. The 29 years of continuous pressure after June Fourth led to a terrible decline in national spirit. However, we should not lose confidence in our fellow citizens. Since you have witnessed it soaring over the peak, you should know it is not a chicken, but an eagle. If it is an eagle, it will not always crouch; one day, it will spread its wings again and soar above the peak. Especially in moments like today, we must hold onto hope and faith in this.
Reprinted from: Voice of Europe online magazine