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| October Meets Woodstock |
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The headlines in the Chinese Communist Party newspapers showed that the government was stepping up its slick propaganda campaign against the students. ?Children?s Day Events Off Around Tiananmen? read a headline in the China Daily, the English-language version of the People?s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party. The article announced (and then bemoaned the fact) that the Children?s Day and other events had to be cancelled due to the ongoing occupation of the square by the pro-democracy students. The author openly attempted to pit the college students from their younger brothers and sisters in grade school.
Children in Beijing will have to have a ?simple holiday? today for International Children?s Day as many activities which had been planned to be held in or around Tiananmen Square have had to be cancelled or moved to other places.
A national conference on population and birth control had also been scheduled at the Great Hall of the People, at which Premier Li Peng had been invited to make a speech.
All these activities have had to be cancelled and the committee decided to hold only one celebration ceremony, in the China National Children?s Centre, known as Guanyuan, some 5 kilometres away from Tiananmen Square, the official said.
Her statements were supported by an official from the Cultural Palace of Working People, in the northwest of the square, who said since Premier Li Peng announced martial law in Beijing, all ?public buildings and parks? around Tiananmen Square had been closed.
He listed the public spots as the Great Hall of the People, west of the square; Chairman Mao?s Memorial Hall, in the north centre; Museum of Chinese Revolution and Museum of Chinese History, on the east side; the Forbidden City in the north side, and Zhonghshan Park, on the northwest side of the square.
?International Children?s Day is coming and we are sorry that the activities scheduled here have been cancelled,? said the official, adding that no order had been received as to when all these places would be reopened.
Recently Beijing Daily published a letter from Fengtai No 5 Middle School calling on all the college students encamped in Tiananmen Square to ?return the square? to them, the ?Young Pioneers? who ?dreamed to see the raising of the national flag, and to ask the uncles of the flag team to teach them the revolutionary traditions.?
"However, it seemed clear that in spite of all the pleas, the college students will not be moving out for them."
I was thrilled over my planned dinner date at the Beijing Hotel with Wang, Liu and Yang, but first there was official business in the afternoon with Mr. Xing and China Central Television (CCT). My job was to review films from the archives for their suitability for public broadcasting stations in the United States. The morning was free, however, so I decided to ride my bicycle down Changan Avenue to scope out the Beijing Hotel.
Before leaving, I gave some mementos to the hotel staff on the 20th floor. My ex-wife had suggested that I take a few ?American? gifts to give to any Chinese friends I?d make in Beijing. She gave me a stack of major league baseball cards and a half dozen of those small American flags to take with me. The young men who cleaned the rooms every day didn?t speak a word of English, but they were friendly chaps, and seemed very pleased with the flags and downright fascinated with those archetypal representatives of American culture?baseball cards.
The further one got from Tiananmen Square, the more normal was the situation. That is, aside from the large congregations of citizens that had gathered at every intersection reading the pro-democracy proclamations or just listening to one another, Beijing was functioning as it always did. The working people were getting up and going to work on their bikes and buses; citizens were doing their shopping and visiting. Contrary to the government?s charge that the Tiananmen protests were causing chaos and wreaking havoc on the city, working people were running things just fine. Except for some travel jams caused by the demonstrations, Beijing?s citizens seemed to be handling things very well. And not a soldier or even a policeman was in sight. The only signs of governmental authority to be seen were the traffic monitors sitting in their booths at the crowded intersections.
"Beijing Hails the 1990 Asian Games" read the colorful billboards prominently displayed along Changan Avenue. The underlying message of the young, smiling Chinese athlete gracing the sign was unmistakable: let?s put the current turmoil behind us and look forward to a prouder moment when we host the Asian Games.
One thing was clear as I rode down the demarcated bicycle lanes on Changan?the strict Maoist Puritanism of years past that prohibited public displays of affection between men and women was nowhere in sight. Young lovers no longer were hiding their feelings for each other. Beijing?s young people looked strikingly similar to the teenagers hanging out in both New York and San Francisco?s Chinatowns?right down to the long, hip haircuts, cigarettes and blue jeans.
One cultural difference did jump out at this visitor from the United States. Beijing?s parents enjoy a short cut to the messy problem of diapers. The little ones were wearing these shorts with the bottoms cut out so they can just squat whenever and wherever nature calls. Despite the public sanitation problems, I had the feeling the concept would sound extremely attractive to American parents.
Mr. Xing?s taxi picked my associate and I up at the Minzu just before one pm and whisked up downtown to the CCT building. We took an elevator to the TV Ministry?s archives in the basement where we were met by Ma Jian, adviser to the China Teleplay Production Center. Ma?s demeanor was a good deal sterner than Mr. Xing?s; he didn?t seem happy with the events enveloping the capital. We spent the afternoon watching more footage of the People?s Liberation Army?s battles with the Japanese and Chiang Kai Chek?s Nationalist forces. Then we went further back in time to the 1911 Chinese bourgeois democratic revolution, when Dr. Sun Yat Sen led the revolutionary democrats against the reactionary forces of feudalism. The interesting took a turn for the grisly when we watched a political prisoner beheaded by an executioner?s sword. It was not a good omen.
After several hours of this, I was more than ready for the rendezvous with Wang and his friends. The friendly taxi driver dropped off Mr. Xing at his TV Ministry office and drove me back to the Minzu. Shortly before six I set off on my bike for the Beijing Hotel, a 15-minute ride down the Avenue of Eternal Peace. This Wednesday?s evening rush hour was even more chaotically congested than usual, and I was having difficulty keeping pace with the sea of bicycles. Three blocks from the Beijing Hotel my sneaker lace got caught in the right pedal, causing me to lose control. I spent three full minutes maneuvering the bike to a slow crawl before I went flying off the bike right in front of two elderly women sitting in their chairs. They started laughing, as did the crowd of people in the immediate area who had witnessed my fall.
Red-faced, I picked myself up off the ground and dusted off my pants. My initial emotion was one of humiliation. I had made a fool of myself in a foreign country. But the women were laughing in such a disarming, amusing way that they inspired me to turn the embarrassment into an advantage. They were inviting me to see them as laughing with me instead of at me. It would never have happened that way in New York.
I started acting like a circus clown, carrying on and mocking myself in English for my clumsiness; reenacting the fall with pantomime-like gestures. The audience roared its approval, and I came away from this misadventure ready to meet, Wang, Liu and Yang.
I finally arrived at the steps of the Beijing Hotel ten minutes past six to find they were nowhere in sight. I felt a pang of disappointment; perhaps something had happened to prevent them from coming. Five minutes later, I saw Wang, Liu, and Yang emerge from the front door. I waved to them and met them halfway down the front steps.
?Hello again, Nivek. This is Yang, Liu?s friend.?
I shook hands warmly with Yang, a large, engaging young man with a crew cut.
He spoke no English but we hit it off immediately.
?It?s not safe to meet at this hotel,? whispered Wang. ?One of the activists from the Beijing Workers Autonomous Union was arrested here. We shall go instead to an other restaurant. Better security there.?
Liu nodded in agreement and smiled, fully understanding what Wang had just old me. As a Tiananmen Square commander, Liu was in the most danger. We were taking no chances at the Beijing Hotel.
They took me to a family restaurant two blocks off Changan.
?You will not be disappointed,? Wang said to me, ?it?s the best food in Beijing.?
It was in a building that looked like one of those two-story motels on the New Jersey Shore. We were led to a table next to the only other dinner party in the restaurant. Liu immediately looked behind the curtains; I guessed he was checking for possible cameras or microphones.
There was only one ground rule governing the dinner conversation: Wang requested no political discussions at the table. We could not be too careful given Liu?s position. Wang promised we could talk all the politics we desired later at Yang?s apartment in Old Beijing.
Instead, I settled down for the best Chinese food I?d ever tasted and drank beer with my three friends. Liu thoroughly enjoyed drinking with this American journalist who had initially declined to drink, but was unable to refuse Liu?s friendly insistence. After a few rounds of delicious Chinese beer, Yang looked at met perceptively and remarked, ?Of all the people in the world to be in Beijing at this time, it should be you.?
Yang gave me his card which indicated he was a photo journalist with the China Market Publishing Corporation and the China Prospect Publishing House. Everyone in China possesses their own cards. As an American visitor who couldn?t return the favor by giving one of his own, I felt embarrassed, as if I were violating a universal norm. Liu, the former student-turned truck driver, had a card which said he was manager of an arts and stamp store in Beijing?s free market district, another byproduct of Deng?s decade-old reliance on private enterprise and market mechanisms.
After an hour and a half, we got on our bikes and made our way through the twists and turns of the back alleys and rundown tenements of Old Beijing. This part of the city had not yet enjoyed the benefits of Deng?s pro-capitalist tilt; the poverty had increased for these workers. If Beijing looked like a hybrid of New York and Hanoi, Old Beijing was leaning heavily toward Hanoi?s side. Most apartments consisted of only one room with no kitchen or bathroom; the public urinals were outside the apartments.
The sight of three Chinese taking an American through the streets of Old Beijing drew stares from the people in the neighborhoods. I had the distinct feeling that they knew exactly what was going on and who I was?a Western journalist who would tell the truth about their fight for democracy.
At last we arrived at Yang?s modest but comfortable one room apartment. Yang quickly proved to be a hospitable host. He fired up a pot of tea on the stove and invited me to make myself comfortable on his couch. The tea would flow nonstop the entire evening.
Liu began by showing me a stack of photographs from the earlier Tiananmen demonstrations and the May 23rd citizens blockade that prevented the army from taking the square.
I asked Liu to explain his role in negotiating the agreement with the army not to attack the people.
Liu?s face brightened. ?The students talked directly to the soldiers. We told them that the People?s Liberation Army belonged to the people. How could the soldiers attack the people? It was a contradiction they could not answer.?
?This is the workers independent union,? Wang proclaimed, pointing to the photograph of the union?s tent and banners in Tiananmen.
?That?s the banner of the new union?? I asked him.
?Yes, that?s a sign. That?s from May 19th,? he replied.
?What kind of factories do the workers of the new union work in?? I asked Liu.
Liu answered through the interpretive abilities of Wang, who showed no signs of weariness from Tuesday night?s extensive duties.
?From every area, almost every factory in Peking,? said Liu.
?Is that one of the machines from that factory?? I inquired, pointing to a machine in the photograph.
?Yeah, yeah,? Liu affirmed.
?Tell me more about the Beijing Autonomous Workers Federation. When and how did it begin? What are its goals?? I asked.
?The independent union was first seen May 15th. A tent was set up in Tiananmen Square. One hundred workers were there. They marched in the May 17th demonstration, in support of the students on hunger strike. Support grew for the new union. On May 19th, workers formed the Beijing Autonomous Workers Federation.?
?How many workers did it represent??
?The federation represented workers from more than 40 industrial regions, from all over China. Perhaps 100,000 from Beijing,? Liu said.
?Is Liu a member of the independent union?? I asked Wang.
?No, he is not a member. But he knows a lot of people. He is a commander in the square. You remember he was a truck driver before a shop owner. Before that he was a student, you know. So the students and the workers know and respect him,? Wang said smiling broadly.
?What are the independent union?s demands?? I asked.
?The workers have many grievances,? Liu began. ?Their living standards have been very bad. The lack of democracy in the workplace, in the plants. The workers have no say in decision-making. There is also a big gap between the workers and the managers of the plants.?
I asked how the union was getting out its message to the people.
?They have been broadcasting over the speakers in Tiananmen, from their tents,? said Liu. ?They have been distributing leaflets at the square and in the streets.?
?What did they say in the leaflets??
?They criticized the official union, the union controlled by the Party. They called for more democracy in the labor movement. Much has happened this week. The arrest of the three union activists that you know about. One of them was in the Beijing Hotel, where we were to meet tonight for dinner.? Liu laughed, then turned serious.
?Just a few days ago, the union published its statutes. They called for an independent, autonomous, democratic organization to defend the workers interests. They set up decision-making bodies, a general meeting, a standing committee, and an executive committee. The statutes have a pledge for all members: ?I voluntarily will follow and observe the constitution and the law of the state, will observe the regulations of this organization, will carry out persistently the work for the interest of the working class.?
?That doesn?t sound like it came from counterrevolutionaries,? I said with a smile.
?No, not from counterrevolutionaries,? Liu quickly agreed. ?The autonomous union wants to organize a democratic workers union. The workers do not want to challenge the Party?s rule. They want the union to be legal, to conform to the constitution of the People?s Republic. They do not even demand the right to strike.?
?Can you tell me more about the types of workers represented by the federation??, I asked.
?In Beijing, all kinds of workers, from the factories, from the offices, journalists. Office workers were joining the students in the Tiananmen demonstrations in early May. Workers from the Capital Iron and Steel Factory, the Capital Hospital, No. 1 Machine Tool Factory, Beijing Petrochemical Company, Pipe Music Instruments Factory, Beijing Electric Utilities Co., Railways Ministry, Xidan Supermarkets, People?s Bank of China.?
?Wow, that?s some cross-section of workers. In such a short period of time.?
Wang nodded in agreement. ?Yes, we hear that several hundred workers have signed membership cards at the union?s tent in the square. The government is worried. That is why they arrested the three union activists.?
I asked them what the attitude was of the official labor unions toward the Autonomous Workers Federation.
?At first, the Party union [the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU)] supported the demands for democracy. On Friday, May 26th, it supported the demonstrations by the students and said they were patriotic. We hear some workers from the ACFTU marched under the independent union?s banner at Tiananmen demonstrations. Can we continue with the photographs??
?Yes, sure. Please go on.?
Wang showed a photograph of a huge mobilization in Tiananmen Square.
?Several hundred thousand people,? I remarked.
?Yeah,? affirmed Wang and Liu. Yang poured another round of tea in our cups.?
?Was that around the time when Zhao Zhang or Li Peng spoke to demonstrators in Tiananmen??
?Yeah, that morning Li Peng made a speech in the square,? said Wang. ?And a lot of people angry from the meeting.?
?That?s the Monument of the People?s Heroes, right??
?Yeah.?
?That?s the army, that same truck, the army looks like they?re supporting the students.?
?A huh.?
He showed me a picture of an observation helicopter hovering above Tiananmen Square.
?I heard about them. Haven?t seen any of them since I?m here, though.?
Wang pointed to a picture of Liu with his walkie-talkie in the square.
?This means he?s a commander,? he said proudly. ?So this picture is of Zhou en Lai,? he said.
?Does this indicate support for Zhou??
?Yes,? answered Wang. He pointed to a banner shown in the next photograph.
?Take it easy and nowhere to go. Passion.?
?Passion??
?Passion.?
?Keep cool. I understand.? I wasn?t sure I did, however.
Wang explained, ?This is said by very great people in China in the 30s and 40s. This is a great writer in our history. This is a sign that says: ?Workers and students together.??
?Yeah, that?s what I like to see,? I said enthusiastically.
?You understand Chinese?? asked Wang, misinterpreting my spirit.
?No, but I like that.?
?That?s from the independent workers union,? explained Wang.
?Does Liu know the union activists who were arrested this week?? I inquired.
?No,? Liu answered.
As we reviewed pictures of the massive Tiananmen crowds in mid-May, I remarked to my hosts, ?I?m struck by the incredible discipline and organization. It has been very inspiring. I noticed there are many cameras covered up in the square. Did the students cover them so the authorities couldn?t take pictures??
?Yeah,? said Wang. ?And a lot of the kaas. You know kaas??
?Kaas??
?Made from paper,? clarified Wang.
?Kaas,? I repeated, still not sure what he was referring to.
?The leader of the association of kaas in Peking with 300 people, members, everyone with 1 kaat on the square, and let it fly.?
Wang could see the puzzlement in my expression.
?Gone With the Wind,? he offered.
Not long ago, while watching TV news footage from the Beijing Spring, it finally dawned on me what Wang was trying to say. The film showed hundreds of kites let loose above a large Tiananmen demonstration. Even the association of kites had gotten into the act and been infected by the spirit of the pro-democracy campaign.
?We were talking about the army,? I said, content to leave the ?kaas? matter alone.
?So before martial law, a lot of troops come from everyplace to Peking, so not for the students, but for the situations in the top levels of our party and the leaders. I think a lot of persons want to make some change with the army. So you have your army, I have my army. So, this is battle between high leaders, not the students. But students and citizens of Peking, do no allow one soldier into Peking.?
?Even now??
?Even now. It?s different situation. One situation is between the soldiers and non-soldiers, students and citizens. And the other case is our leaders. It?s complex.?
He reminded me of Mr. Xing?s constant refrain, ?It?s all very complicated.?
?Oh, here?s the Goddess of Democracy and Freedom,? I exclaimed, pointing to the statue in a series of photos. ?That was a brilliant tactic. It seemed as if the government, on the surface, was wearing down the students. Here?s a headline in the Herald Tribune,? I said, pulling out the newspaper article, ?that turned out to be wrong. ?Tired Students Wilting Under Li?s Pressure.? That was before the statue. I don?t think this headline applies now.?
Liu reacted to the headline. ?Not true, not true.?
Wang continued: ?Because a lot of reasons, you know, students thought citizens have a lot of support, send them food, every day and night. Citizens get tired. And masses got pressure from the factories, from the government.?
Liu interjected, ?I think the actions taken by the government is in answer to the movement.. For two reasons. One is as the result of the problem inside of their group, the Party, someone to hold the power and someone to go away. This is one important problem, and the other problem is that the government thought the citizens can support the students for one or two or three days. Every person can give money, 10 or 5,000 yuan, one time, one day to the students. But what happens after three days?? Perhaps the citizens work hard supporting the students.?
Wang pointed to a muscular-looking man standing next to Liu in a photograph.
?This is a guard for him [Liu].?
?He knows martial arts?? I asked.
?Yeah, yeah,? Liu answered.
Wang, pointing to Liu, said to me, ?He?s been in the square every day.?
?He?s an activist, maybe not a leader.?
?Yeah, because he has a friendship with the students. Because he was a student, too.? Wang handed me the next picture and said, ?This is the Bhuddist, last night.?
?The one we saw last night supporting the students??
?Yeah. Liu?s number is 008 on the square,? Wang explained, pointing to the numerals on Liu?s back in a photo.
?I have a question. Throughout the day, every day, I see large and small groups of people looking at the mimeographed messages on the walls. The demonstration that was called, the arts and crafts festival that was held Monday night. Was that event written about on the mimeographed messages??
?No,? replied Liu. ?They are some messages just for the situations in Peking, in the movement.
Wang laughed as he showed me photos of a Chinese rock band jamming at one of the Tiananmen demonstrations.
?Rock music. There?s a disco.?
As Yang poured another round of tea, Liu began speaking again.
?After the martial law, after the events of May 22, the fighting with the army, about 45 students were hurt by the army.?
This reminded me of Professor Bai?s story.
?Right, yes. I heard about that. I met the dean of that foreign language institute. He?s a good man.?
?He leads 300 workers from center of city to the place supporting the students,? Wang explained.
?Yes, I know. He himself told me that. He led 300 workers to support students who were injured by the army? My first day here, Sunday, he sent two interpreters to meet me at the demonstration. We were able to interview a student leader from Inner Mongolia. The authority of the student leaders. How was it decided that those two are in charge of finances and you and you are in charge of supplies. Did the students have meetings to decide on assignments??
Liu replied, ?After the movement from every college and university, the students meet together and decide, who, which university, which college in charge of financial or the guards, or communications.?
?Let?s talk about the press, the Western press. My first day here, Sunday, I had press passes and it was difficult to get straight answers. The students were rather guarded, afraid to talk to me. I finally got the interview with the Inner Mongolia student, and it was a good talk. But what kind of relationship with the press does the leadership have? Is the leadership looking to have the press cover what at?s going on? And what are your feelings about the press? The other night we talked about how when the woman asked the journalists to sit down, when the students were building the Goddess, they seemed to be not caring about the students? welfare, but they just wanted to get those pictures. I myself last night, at the press conference up by the monument. Remember there were greetings of solidarity given by the British Labor Party activists and the woman from the Canadian New Democratic Party. I overheard comments by the press. Someone said, ?Oh, British Labor Party. If he?s for the students, I?m for Li Peng.? I was very angry to hear that. I detect a feeling among some of the press, they don?t really support the students; they?re there . . .?
?Just to get the news,? finished Wang.
?Yeah, they don?t really care; everybody should be serving them to get their story back.?
Liu spoke. ?It is the students? opinion now, the press in China is controlled by the government and the military. So there is no way to show their feelings, to impress, what they think to the society, to the people. So every press from the Western countries to come here, even some press only for the story, to take pictures, don?t care. But it?s still good for the movement.?
I said, ?So the students recognize that whatever the shortcomings of the press here, they need them to get the story out; they recognize the press is a valuable tool for getting the word out to the world. I was glad to hear the solidarity messages from the British Labor Party and New Democratic Party representatives. I want to say to people here, that, I know some people such as President Bush, but I want to say to the working people in China, the students, intellectuals, farmers, you have no friend in the United States government, in the imperialist governments. Your friends, your support is from the working people around the world. Have no illusions that you have friends in Washington, DC.?
?I understand that,? Liu told me.
I continued, ?The government in Washington likes dealing with people like Deng Xiaoping, Gorbachev, Breshnev, Li Peng. They can do business with them, they can make deals, have detente. They would not like to see socialist democracy in China. That would be a threat to them.?
Liu replied, ?Every government just cares for their own business, not for their people. The Chinese students and people know that.?
I continued, ?Keep in mind that the Stalinists in Moscow, Beijing, Warsaw, with them in power, the U.S. government is able to say to the American people: ?That?s communism. It?s bad. You don?t want that. If there were socialist democracy in these countries, that would be a model for the American people to look to and say, ?That?s what we need here.? So they like having the Stalinists in power. Because the bureaucrats in Peking or Moscow are not really revolutionary internationalists, like the Communist Party in Cuba. Fidel Castro. If you notice, Washington, can?t do business with Fidel; they hate him, they hate the Cubans, because politically they represent a threat; the Cuban Revolution shows that socialism can work, that working people can run the country. They can make detente with Moscow and Peking, but they can?t with Havana, because Havana is run by revolutionary Marxists who don?t sell out.?
Liu responded, ?The governments, even Moscow and Washington, Peking, whenever there are meetings . . . Students understand that situation. Students here don?t believe American government can resolve problems of Peking movement. No way. They understand them. They hope every friend, from tourists, the press, to make the people of our country understand what?s happening in Peking. And now, a lot of money comes from Hong Kong and other countries. Tourists and friends have been in Peking and understand what?s happening in Peking, and they come back and tell people what?s happening in Peking. And they come back and support student movement.?
Liu paused for a moment, then spoke again.
?If the Congress starts meeting, students will stay in the square.?
I said: ?I know that earlier, the political demands being raised by the students, which are good ones, an end to corruption, an end to privilege for the Communist Party, more democracy, more freedom of the press, recognition of the student union, of the students as a movement. And I know earlier, one of the demands was to broadcast negotiations openly between the students and the government. The government doesn?t seem to be seriously responding to that. And I?ve asked students in the square if they want to talk to the government. The students seem to have lost all faith in the government; they don?t believe the government wants to talk to them. On the other hand, the government seems very shrewd, conscious of the support the students enjoy from the people, so it is careful to describe the students as patriotic. ?We appreciate the students? good intentions and patriotism,? they say. They seem to be distinguishing between the students as a whole and the small group of leaders, those they condemn as the troublemakers.?
?Troublemakers,? Wang repeated.
?But they?re saying it in a language which is alarming. When they call people counterrevolutionaries or traitors, that is not a good sign. Usually that is a preparation for a crackdown.?
Wang responded, ?Now our government as a result of their own problems between their own factions, different opinions in different groups. And to keep peace in the government. . . deal with the students, deal with the workers. Up to now, ten workers arrested and some students also arrested. So students understand the situation and they decide to stay in square or come back to universities or colleges. They want to make dialogue. If government doesn?t want to make dialogue, they will make another demonstration.?
I asked Liu how the students viewed the infighting occurring within the senior leadership of the Communist Party.
Liu replied, ?The students? position is that we wait for the government to straighten themselves out and unify their position. When they are ready to speak with us, we are ready.?
Liu paused briefly, smiled, and continued talking. ?If there are troublemakers in the student movement, it?s only the government lying, playing a game. The students are against some things that happened in the last 10 years, especially for the privileges, officials and high leaders and their families have more power. The party bureaucrats have been taking more and more privileges for themselves. That is why there are troublemakers. So this made the ordinary people angry with that. So this is what happened, the real reason for the movement and the troublemakers.?
?Liu, what are the short and long-term goals of the students?? I asked.
?The short-term goals of the student movement are: 1) make a dialogue with the government, the other is for the government to recognize the students as a movement, the third is according to the recent situation, the students ask that the government reverse the Premier?s [Li Peng] position. These are the short-term goals. And for long-range goal?democracy. Democracy for all the people, not just the students. A democratic revolution, not just to oppose corruption.? He paused, took a breath, and continued.
?In our society there is some trouble . . . Every student knows that the statue is not forever, that she will not stand on the square forever. It might be one week, or 30 days, it?s okay, it?s enough. Because everyone knows in every people?s heart she will last forever. Our government said something about the square tomorrow. Children?s Day. This afternoon, an announcement by the students, said to the children, ?You can come to morrow. Sing some songs, children will come from everywhere to square.
?So there will be a Children?s Day tomorrow? I read in the paper that the government had to cancel it because of the demonstrations. But the students support it, they say ?come.??
?Yeah, come,? added Wang.
?So there should be a big crowd tomorrow??
?Yeah,? Wang confirmed. They broke out in laughter, and Yang poured yet another round of tea.
Wang announced, ?There will be the Children?s Day tomorrow. This afternoon, students in Tiananmen Square say children will come to square, little brothers and sisters, we?ll celebrate Children?s Day together. So students stay in Tiananmen Square, and ask the government to make dialogue with students. The students plan to stay in the square until the convening of the National People?s Congress on June 20th. This is important because soldiers and officers from around China will come to see what is happening in Tiananmen Square, and to ask the government to hold a dialogue with the students. If the National People?s Congress opens, and a lot of students stay in square, that situation will be very difficult for government. And this is true, a lot of the students? teams from Peking University and other universities and colleges to every province to the south, to the west, to the east. Up to now there?s four, you know four times, second time, third time, four times to send teams.?
?Different teams??
?Yes, different teams. And this money from the people, even from the Hong Kong people. A lot of the people send money to students and students use this money for the teams. And now, a lot of the students who stay in Tiananmen Square are students who come from outside Peking City, but the students in Peking City go outside Peking. They change.?
?Wang, the students? meetings, are they held on the square, or in secret someplace else??
?Both. Some meetings are held in the guarded tents in the square and a lot of meetings are held in the colleges and universities.?
?Wang, where did the authority of the student leaders come from? How did the leaders get to be leaders? Is it just that, the people came forward, as in any struggle, the leaders lead, and the people recognize who the leaders are because they prove themselves in struggle? This all happened so fast. There was no struggle, at least on the surface before April. All of a sudden you have the leaders. Did they come up spontaneously??
Liu answered, ?It began earlier than April. After the Chinese festival, there were meetings, and they decided to make democracy movement at the time of the May 4th movement, the movement that happened 70 years ago; they wanted for the memories of the celebration of the movement, they wanted to make meetings and speeches for the demonstrations, and for the freedom. This only happened in the case of the death of Hu, this is the Secretary General of our Party, Hu YaoBang. This is the reason why it happened.
Wang spoke next. ?The leader?s name, Wang Dan, he comes from Peking University, Department of History. He formed a seminar for the democracy movement between the students every week or every month to discuss some things about China, about political problems and economic problems, long before the movement. And they formed organization. At first, the students went to the official student union in universities. They asked the union to do some things the students asked. But the official union did not agree, so the students decided at last, a lot of students didn?t agree with the union, so they formed another union, before the demonstration.?
?Wang, I want to ask you about the role of women in the student movement. They seem to be playing leadership roles; I?m thinking of the young woman who is always speaking through megaphones in the square. Monday night she kept telling the journalists to sit down while the students were building the tower for the Goddess.?
?Oh yes, women are very active in the student movement,? said Wang, smiling broadly. ?Women?s liberation here in China as well. That woman you speak of, is Chai Ling. She was elected commander of all Tiananmen Square, you know,? he said with pride.
?Commander of the square?? I asked in amazement. ?Wow, I?m impressed, Wang. How important do you view the formation of this independent union we talked about earlier? What prospects are there for its growth, given the pressures on the unions, given the control of the Party, the pressure it exerts through the factory managers? Is there the recognition, for the fight for democracy in China to continue and grow, that some kind of workers? organization will have to be formed in alliance with the student organization now? Do the students feel they can lead the fight for democracy, and that they are the social force to win? Or, is there the feeling that, ?Hey, we started it, but sooner or later, we have to make alliances with the workers.?
Liu, through the translation, thought I was still talking about the independent student union.
?One question about the students? independent union, I think they could stand up for longer and do some things to take room in the society, in the universities, and make agreement with the government. That is their goal. But who knows what will happen. And a lot of students recognize there must be an alliance with the workers union. But you know now, in our country, the workers unions are controlled by the Party and the independent unions are very weak, and therefore the educational level for the workers is very low.?
?So how significant is this independent workers union? It?s a good sign, right? Are there prospects for it to grow, or will it be a small group, repressed by the government??
?Small is better than nothing,? Wang said, with all the wisdom of an ancient Chinese scholar.
Liu added, ?So anyway, the students always to make the rule to stand on the truth. It?s the only thing they can do. If workers didn?t come out and follow students, the movement means nothing. Everybody understands that, even Chairman Mao. Workers are the strong force in society, so, there?s a long way to go.?
?So, the union is viewed as a very important beginning of the movement for democracy.?
?Yeah, very important beginning,? agreed Wang.
?It?s been a victory, because the government has declared martial law, but at least up until now, there is no martial law. They tried to send the army, and the people stopped them, and the army did not fire. That?s martial law on paper.?
?On paper. On paper.? Wang laughed. ?That?s great. Is there any place in the world, in history, like martial law in Beijing??
?I don?t think so, not like this,? I responded. ?But it?s a situation that cannot go on. There?s going to have to be some kind of resolution, or the struggle will have to be taken to another level. Wang, have you lost all faith in communism?? I asked.
?We still believe in communism,?replied Wang. ?But Deng and Li are not the right communists. They?re Stalinists.?
For the first time Yang spoke up, and Wang dutifully interpreted. ?He said, concerning another question you asked before, about the independent union. There?s a case like in Poland.?
?Solidarity,? I offered.
?Yeah. After eight years, now the government acknowledges the union. So it takes a long time.?
?The difference is that unlike China, the leadership of the pro-democracy movement in Poland originated with the industrial workers, with the unions. Perhaps that?s because, fundamentally, the industrial working class is stronger than in China. China has been an agricultural country, a poor, peasant country up until the last few decades. The industrial workers have grown, and are stronger now since the last few decades of industrialization, but they lack the tradition, the years of industries in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Maybe that?s why in China, it was the students who took the lead in fighting for democracy, whereas in those countries, the industrial workers did.?
?Yeah, I agree with you,? said Wang.
?In Poland, right from the beginning, the Solidarity movement was able to pose the question: who runs society? They were able to call for specific measures in their documents on how to run the economy, how to organize a planned economy, how to organize the different branches of the economy. The industrial workers were able to do that. But the students make no pretenses that they can pose an alternative. Indeed you say so: ?We?re not talking about overthrowing the government. We want to reform it.??
?But with no plan, right,? Wang concurred.
?No plan,? I continued. ?The students say, ?We are students. We want democracy. We want to contribute to society, but we?re not saying we have all the answers, or that we can run the economy. We?re not in a position to. That?s one difference between Poland and China.?
Wang said, ?Peking?s workers, it?s a problem for them to keep coming to the demonstrations. Because they are easier to be controlled by the government than the students. They must get their salary, and to have the parents and the children, and things like that.?
The evening was winding down. Yang seemed to indicate it was last call for tea. Wang showed me the last batch of Liu?s photographs.
?This one says about Li Peng: This May 15th he said, ?Stop the trouble.? And May 21st, he said every previous leader must say, ?yes or no.? And May 23rd, this says he lies to all the students. And May 25th, there?s a question mark next to him.?
Wang paused before moving on to the next picture. ?There?s a picture of him hung.?
With that solemn remark, and noting that it was after ten, I began saying good night to my three friends. ?Oh, Wang, before I forget. Remember last night you said Liu wanted me to have the agreement he negotiated between the army and students??
Wang conferred briefly with Liu and then spoke. ?He only has the original and does not want to part with it. But maybe we can get a copy for you. That gives us a reason to meet again, say, Friday night??
We decided to meet Friday evening at 5 in a park near Beijing?s free market district. Then we would go to Liu?s shop in the district, before hitting another restaurant for dinner.
Wang offered to show me the way out of Old Beijing and ride with me for part of the way back to the Minzu. The Avenue of Eternal peace was humming with pedestrian and bicycle traffic, but halfway between Zhonghanan and Tiananmen we came upon a near riot. Wang told me the object of the crowd?s wrath was the Beijing Municipal Building.
?It is where the government is holding the three union activists arrested the other day. The people are demanding their freedom.?
The crowd of several thousand was extremely agitated; the mood was tense. For a while it looked as though the demonstrators were going to storm the building. Like so many of the street mobilizations that week, the protesters included students, workers and the omnipresent transients. But they were united in their anger at the government and the support for the autonomous workers federation seemed genuine.
After almost an hour, it was clear that nothing was going to occur at the municipal building. Wang bade me good night and I thanked him profusely for all he had done. We both looked forward to meeting again Friday night.
Before returning to the Minzu, I made a midnight stop by the Goddess of Democracy and Freedom in the square. There were still tens of thousands of demonstrators there, most of them congregating around the revered statue. Many were silently gazing up at the Goddess. The scene was surreal with a full moon reigning supreme in China?s sky. Suddenly, I realized that coming from one of the tents beneath the Goddess was the unmistakable sound of Elvis Presley singing, ?It?s Now or Never,? followed by an encore of ?Love Me Tender.?
The peace sign. We Shall Overcome. The Statue of Liberty. And now Elvis. One could almost hear the boiling anger of Deng Xiaoping and Li Peng in the top level meetings of the Politburo. The bourgeois American influence has become too strong; it is corrupting our naive, idealistic youth. It must be stamped out.
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