December 5, 2000

I have to apologize not sending this sooner.  I had anticipated sending it shortly after the return from our tour of China that was about the time we started experiencing computer problems.  I’ve had several people e-mail and wonder if I’m still alive so I’ll give you the condensed version.  The computer will dial into the local server, but for whatever reason it will no longer connect to web sites.  Not wanting to be cut off from the outside world the students and I frantically (some more than others) tried anything we could to get it to work.  Finally we gave up and asked help from Shuman.  He tried for a couple hours and then took it home for several days.  Unfortunately, he can’t figure out why it isn’t working either.   Luckily everything else seems to be working fine so I have to use the lab or Chad’s computer.

October 30, 2000

Today we continued our tour of Beijing and like any visit to the city a prerequisite is to visit Tiananmen Square.  For those in my generation we all remember hearing and watching the student demonstrations in 1989.  For others they may also remember this as the place where Chairman Mao proclaimed the People’s Republic on China on October 1, 1949.

As you walk through the square today, it is difficult to brush away the throngs of vendors selling you postcards, kites, and all sorts of Mao memorabilia.  Despite the relative tranquility of the place, it is difficult to not get a lump in the throat just thinking about some of the chilling moments of it’s history.  The throngs of soldiers and police throughout the square also reinforced my own feelings of its past.  In our wildest dreams, however, we never would have imagined that we would be witnesses to another act which we would consider unjust by our democratic standards.  The following excerpt is dedicated to a brave man that I will never know.

We had just visited the Tiananmen Gate and stood on the same balcony that Mao made his declaration over 50 years earlier.  After crossing the street we entered the north end of the square and suddenly I noticed a man begin to run through the square.  It appeared that he had papers tied all over his clothing and suddenly he started throwing papers into the air.  I am positive he was hoping that the wind would disburse them throughout the square; unfortunately for him it was a relatively calm day.  He ran for maybe 100 feet and then stopped as if he were expecting to be stopped.  He then turned back to look towards the papers he had strewn about.  Suddenly, one of the many soldiers came running across the square.  In full stride he kicked the man square in the back violently knocking him to the ground.

I had looked down at the papers he was distributing and I noticed that they were all in Chinese so I didn’t bother to pick them up.  I wanted to, but instead I concentrated on the man and the many soldiers and police who came to suppress the his thoughts.  When the excitement subsided a little, our local tour guide asked if any of us had picked up any of the papers.  Andy showed her the papers he picked up and she explained that it was illegal for him to have them.  After seeing the treatment of the man, Andy was more than willing to give them up.  A few minutes later an officer came our way and wanted any papers we had collected.  A Chinese lady was quick to point to Andy because she had noticed him pick it up earlier, so the officer tried to check in his jacket.  Our local tour guide explained that he no longer had it, so it was no longer an issue.  At about the same time, we noticed a British tourist running through the square after he had picked some up.  He was running with the papers high in the air as he attempted to keep the papers away from some other Chinese people, but suddenly someone came up from behind and snatched them out of his hands.

We were all shocked onlookers with cameras in hand.  Once we began to see what was happening, some of us began to take pictures of the papers strewn across the square, the man on the ground and finally the man being put in the police wagon.  At first we were all a bit nervous about taking pictures, but a few of us started snapping away.  No one was paying attention to us - only the man and his papers.  I was trying to zoom in on the man in the back of the police wagon and then suddenly the scene changed.  I had drifted 10-15 feet or so away from the group.  Suddenly everyone surrounding the police wagon turned towards me.  Now that the man was in protective custody, the police could concentrate on the other aspects of the scene that needed to be taken care of - namely suppressing the incident as much as possible.  When I saw those 25 or so people divert their attention my way, it seemed as if the whole city of Beijing was looking at me.

I immediately put my camera by my side and just turned and walked away.  I had heard about journalists in various countries having their film confiscated, so I figured they would probably do the same.  One of the officers started to come my way, but just then another “good citizen” took it upon herself to point out that Shane had a video camera.  Immediately, the officer’s attention shifted his way.  Immediately a throng of people began to surround Shane and a few of us, including our excellent English speaking tour guide, Peter.  Peter was there to interpret the situation and the officer made Shane show him whatever footage he has accumulated.  I wasn’t immediately next to Shane so I slipped back to the second ring where some of our group had gathered.  We all began to speculate about exactly what they were going to make Shane do and we also began to wonder if they would want the film from our cameras.  I had taken a couple pictures with the digital camera, but I had taken quite a few with my 35mm and I really didn’t want them to get lost.

When I looked at Peter, he appeared serious, but unworried.  It seemed he had the situation well in hand so I saw this as my chance to switch my film.  I told the others I was going to stroll away from the crowd and try to blend for a few minutes while I took the last couple shots and then switched rolls.  I took a minute or two and then returned to see that Shane continue to show the policeman his footage.  It turns out that he had barely gotten anything, but the officer made him delete in nonetheless.  When he let Shane go I figured he would come our way and confiscate our film.  Much to our surprise he just walked on by and we were free to go.

After the incident, we were speaking with Peter and he said that he had read some of the papers as they were on the ground.  He said that they explained how the man felt the government had done something unjust to his family.  Peter also believed that the man would only be sent to jail for about 15 days or so.  I really hope he is correct, but I can’t help to think that he might be subject to a much harsher punishment for protesting the government.

Looking back on the incident, none of us really felt in any sort of danger, but we all felt rather uncomfortable and harassed.  We all said that we wouldn’t have wanted it to happen any other way.  What really seemed to strike me was the severity placed on such an action.  Each evening on the news we can sit back and hear about protests all over the country and we don’t think twice about it.  This man had the courage to speak out, despite the fact that he knew he would be punished.  He must have reached his breaking point and decided to let other people know that he felt he was being treated unjustly.

In my “Rattling along on the way to Beijing” installment, I had mentioned that I was reading a book about the Cultural Revolution.  Many people were killed and many others faced prison and unjust treatment for even hinting about their disagreement with the government.  The Cultural Revolution was nearly a generation ago, but the people cannot forget such oppression.  I have had some Chinese people voice their displeasure with certain things behind closed doors, but it is a rare few who are willing to bring it to an open forum.  That is all the more reason I admire this man.  Some may call him foolish and in a way he probably was, but I cannot let his story go untold.  I believe a much larger crime would be to let his protest be in vain!