DATE=5/31/99
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-43539
TITLE=TIANANMEN ANNIV / CHINESE PROTESTS TODAY
BYLINE=STEPHANIE MANN
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: TEN YEARS AFTER THE CHINESE ARMY CRACKDOWN ON THE 1989
TIANANMEN SQUARE DEMONSTRATIONS, MOST LEADERS OF THOSE PROTESTS
ARE EITHER IN PRISON OR LIVING IN EXILE. CORRESPONDENT STEPHANIE
MANN REPORTS ON THE REMNANTS OF CHINA'S DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT AND
THE NATURE OF PROTEST IN CHINA TODAY.
TEXT: THERE ARE INDIVIDUALS AND EVEN SOME GROUPS OF PEOPLE IN
CHINA WHO ARE STILL PRESSING FOR POLITICAL REFORMS. FOR THE MOST
PART, THEIR NUMBERS ARE SMALL, THEY ARE NOT WELL-ORGANIZED, AND
THEY DO NOT ALL AGREE ON STRATEGY. MOREOVER, CHINESE AUTHORITIES
USUALLY ACT SWIFTLY TO LIMIT OR STOP THEIR ACTIVITIES.
// OPT // IN THE SECOND HALF OF LAST YEAR, SEVERAL PEOPLE TRYING
TO FORM AN UNAUTHORIZED OPPOSITION POLITICAL PARTY IN SEVERAL
CHINESE CITIES WERE ARRESTED, AND SOME WERE SENT TO PRISON. IN
RECENT MONTHS, POLITICAL DISSIDENTS HAVE BEEN DETAINED AND TOLD
TO SIGN AGREEMENTS PLEDGING NOT TO ENGAGE IN ACTIVITIES TO MARK
THE JUNE 4TH, 1989, ARMY CRACKDOWN. // END OPT //
ONE DISSIDENT IN EXILE, WANG DAN, IS HOPING TO GET ONE-MILLION
SIGNATURES ON A PETITION DEMANDING THE GOVERNMENT REVERSE ITS
VERDICT THAT THE 1989 DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT WAS AN ANTI-GOVERNMENT
REBELLION. WANG DAN WAS ONE OF THE STUDENT LEADERS OF THE
TIANANMEN SQUARE PROTESTS AND WAS NUMBER ONE ON THE "MOST-WANTED
LIST" DISTRIBUTED JUST AFTER THE CRACKDOWN. HE WAS IMPRISONED IN
CHINA UNTIL LAST YEAR, WHEN HE WAS ALLOWED TO LEAVE FOR MEDICAL
TREATMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. HE IS NOW A STUDENT AT HARVARD
UNIVERSITY (IN MASSACHUSETTS.)
AT A RECENT CONFERENCE AT HARVARD, WANG DAN, SPEAKING THROUGH A
TRANSLATOR, SAID IT IS IMPORTANT THAT BOTH THE PROTEST
PARTICIPANTS AND THE GOVERNMENT RE-EVALUATE WHAT HAPPENED
10-YEARS AGO.
// WANG DAN / TRANSLATOR ACT //
RIGHT NOW WE HAVE BEEN ENGAGING IN REFLECTION, BUT WE
HAVE HEARD NOTHING OF THAT SORT FROM THE GOVERNMENT, SO
I THINK THAT IT IS RIGHT TO CALL FOR A THOROUGH REVERSAL
OF THE VERDICT.
// END ACT //
ANOTHER ADVOCATE OF POLITICAL REFORM, DAI QING, DISAGREES. MS.
DAI IS A JOURNALIST IN CHINA WHO OFTEN WRITES ABOUT SENSITIVE
ISSUES AND QUESTIONS GOVERNMENT POLICIES. AT THE HARVARD MEETING
SHE SAID, THROUGH A TRANSLATOR, A PETITION DRIVE IS TOO
CONFRONTATIONAL AND PUTS THE SIGNATORIES AT RISK.
// DAI QING TRANSLATOR //
FIRST OF ALL, I AM OPPOSED TO THE PHRASE "THOROUGHLY,
PROFOUNDLY REVERSE THE VERDICT." AND THE REASON I AM
AGAINST THIS IS THAT I THINK THAT THE PROCESS OUGHT TO
BE ONE IN WHICH THE LEADERS OF THE GOVERNMENT AND THE
LEADERS OF THE STUDENTS BOTH START TO TALK TO EACH OTHER
AND LEARN TO COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER AND TO ARRIVE
AT A KIND OF COMPROMISE, BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS THE
ONLY WAY IN WHICH CHINESE SOCIETY CAN REALLY MAKE
PROGRESS.
// END ACT //
THE DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN DAI QING AND WANG DAN OVER STRATEGY
ILLUSTRATES THE DIVISIONS THAT EXIST WITHIN THE CHINESE POLITICAL
REFORM MOVEMENT.
// OPT // ANOTHER POLITICAL ACTIVIST IN EXILE, WANG JINTAO, SAYS
THE CHINESE PROTEST MOVEMENT SERVES AN IMPORTANT PURPOSE BY
SHOWING THE WORLD THERE IS SERIOUS OPPOSITION ON CHINA'S
POLITICAL STAGE. BUT MR. WANG SAYS THE MOVEMENT PLAYS A MARGINAL
ROLE IN CHINESE POLITICS.
// OPT // WANG JINTAO ACT //
I THINK (IT IS) BECAUSE MOST OF THE POWERFUL POLITICAL
FORCES AND GROUPS DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM AND HAVE NOT
CONSIDERED THEIR ROLE.
// END ACT //
// OPT // MR. WANG WAS CO-FOUNDER OF A PRIVATE ECONOMIC RESEARCH
ORGANIZATION IN BEIJING IN THE LATE 1980'S. THE GOVERNMENT
ACCUSED HIM OF BEING A "BLACK HAND" SUPPORTING THE TIANANMEN
DEMONSTRATORS AND SENTENCED HIM TO 13-YEARS IN PRISON. IN 1994,
WANG JINTAO WAS ALLOWED TO LEAVE CHINA TO SEEK MEDICAL CARE IN
THE UNITED STATES, AND HE IS NOW A GRADUATE STUDENT AT COLUMBIA
UNIVERSITY (IN NEW YORK.) // END OPT //
FORMER WASHINGTON POST BUREAU CHIEF IN BEIJING, DAN SOUTHERLAND,
SAYS IT IS NOT SURPRISING TO FIND DISAGREEMENTS AMONG THE CHINESE
DISSIDENTS. BUT MR. SOUTHERLAND CAUTIONS AGAINST PASSING
JUDGMENT EARLY ON THE DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT.
// SOUTHERLAND ACT //
I DO NOT THINK THE SPIRIT THAT ANIMATED TIANANMEN IS
DEAD, AND I DO THINK IT IS INTERESTING TO OBSERVE
DISSIDENTS INSIDE CHINA SHOWING A GREAT DEAL OF COURAGE.
... IT IS AMAZING HOW MUCH NETWORKING THEY DO, HOW THEY
HAVE LEARNED TO USE METHODS OTHER THAN STREET
DEMONSTRATIONS TO TRY TO ACCELERATE THE MOVEMENT TOWARD
A MORE OPEN CHINA.
// END ACT //
MR. SOUTHERLAND -- NOW VICE PRESIDENT OF PROGRAMMING AT RADIO
FREE ASIA -- SAYS PRESSURE FOR CHANGE IS COMING FROM VARIOUS
SECTORS OF CHINESE SOCIETY -- NOT JUST STUDENTS. HE POINTS TO
SPORADIC UNREST IN RECENT YEARS BY WORKERS AND FARMERS, WHO HAVE
STAGED PROTESTS OVER LAYOFFS AND WORKING CONDITIONS, AND AGAINST
CORRUPTION BY LOCAL OFFICIALS.
THE FORMER BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF FOR C-N-N T-V, MIKE CHINOY,
AGREES MANY CHINESE ARE UNHAPPY ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENT AND
CORRUPTION. BUT MR. CHINOY -- NOW C-N-N BUREAU CHIEF IN HONG
KONG -- SAYS THE DISCONTENT IS EXHIBITED IN SPECIFIC WAYS, NOT AS
A BROAD CONDEMNATION OF THE WHOLE SYSTEM.
// CHINOY ACT //
I THINK IT PERHAPS IS A MISTAKE ON THE PART OF AMERICANS
OR OTHER WESTERNERS TO ASSUME THAT JUST BECAUSE THERE
WERE A MILLION PEOPLE IN THE STREETS 10-YEARS AGO THAT
THERE IS A DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT JUST WAITING TO BURST
FORTH. A LOT OF THE ISSUES THAT DROVE PEOPLE INTO THE
STREETS 10-YEARS AGO ARE STILL THERE -- ISSUES LIKE
CORRUPTION, ISSUES LIKE HIGH-HANDED ARBITRARY ABUSE OF
POWER BY COMMUNIST PARTY OFFICIALS, CONCERNS ABOUT
UNEMPLOYMENT. THE DISCONTENT IS BEING MANIFESTED IN
DIFFERENT WAYS. THOSE ISSUES ARE STILL THERE.
// END ACT //
MR. CHINOY SAYS CHINA'S GOVERNMENT HAS OFFERED PEOPLE A TRADE-OFF
IN THE PAST 10-YEARS. THEY CAN DO WHATEVER THEY WANT IN THEIR
PERSONAL LIVES, HE SAYS, AS LONG AS THEY DO NOT CHALLENGE THE
COMMUNIST PARTY. MIKE CHINOY SAYS THAT EXPANDED SENSE OF
PERSONAL FREEDOM HAS PARTLY NEUTRALIZED THE OPEN POLITICAL
CHALLENGE TO THE PARTY THAT ERUPTED 10-YEAR AGO. (SIGNED)
NEB/SMN/RAE
31-May-99 11:56 AM EDT (1556 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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