From Shen Tong’s Almost a Revolution
To say that Shen Tong had serious reservations about the ability of the Chinese government to encourage the democratic expression of thought, would be a gross understatement. The book chronicles the events leading up to the June 4th incident in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Tong is especially lucid on the reasons why he like many others got drawn into the uprising. He does give credibility to the sacrifices made by his predecessors to ensure that the revolution that they believed in would be successful; though history showed that this revolution did not bring about the results that were envisaged. It is this failure of the revolution that forms the cornerstone of the rebellious outpourings of students like Tong.
Tong’s book tries to highlight, albeit a bit low-key, the kind of economic reforms that the State tried to engineer. In an effort to gain acceptance by other world powers (read other Democratic countries), the Chinese government projected over-estimated accounts of expansion plans in various sectors of industry. In reality, this was far from the truth, with the opening up of China’s economy still a distant dream for many.
The book’s highlight is the student movement – its genesis, progress, high points, and finally the burn-out. The euphoria of the times was so consuming that there was little time or inclination to go into the real issues that the students were fighting for. This was mainly due to the differences of opinion that were inevitably raised towards the end of the demonstrations. The passionate involvement of Tong and his fellow students seemed to intensify, only to suffer a heavy blow dealt by the government on that fateful day. Tong’s own reservations about the movement are best described thus: “I felt that we had started a car that was now driving off in a dangerous direction.” (Tong, 1990).
From Ian Johnson’s Wild Grass
With Post-Mao China as a fitting backdrop, Ian Johnson paints a picture of state oppression, traditional beliefs and practices, and the intense struggles of three protagonists (from different walks of life) to break free and create a truly democratic China. There is a dormant-volcano kind of “sub-terranean tensions” (Johnson, 2004) that seem to herald the beginning of the end for communism in China.
Johnson speaks of the great sense of disappointment and disillusionment felt by the common man in post-Mao China, where the state is portrayed as yet another opportunist. There is very little hope insight for those who are trying to beat the system with their integrity. Though three simple people – a farmer turned clerk, an architecture student, and a bereaved daughter – stand up to the tyranny of the government, there is still a long way to go for the people of China who are trying to come to terms with the changing political and social landscape. Though the pleas of these three people are justified, there is very little solace in the form of justice in their individual cases offered by the state machinery. Economic reforms have only a marginal impact on the plight of these three people who put their lives in jeopardy in the firm hope that justice will eventually prevail.
The challenges that face the government today might have undergone a change in hue and intensity, but there is no doubt that they continue to be echoes of the past. Rising corruption in land deals, police repression of student protests, and efforts to quell traditional/cultural practices like Falun Gong are signposts that only serve to reiterate the challenges that face China today. Global investments and the opening up of the Chinese economy are probably the primary targets of the State; nevertheless, the long and bloody history of uprisings and repressive measures are too deeply embedded in the collective Chinese psyche to be erased by superficial acceptance of capitalist ideas and systems.
References
Tong, Shen. Almost a Revolution. Houghton Mifflin. 1990.
Johnson, Ian. Wild Grass: Three Stores of Change in Modern China. Pantheon Books. 2004.