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Voices from Tiananmen Square: Beijing Spring and the Democracy Movement

by Edited by Mok Chiu Yu and J. Frank Harrison - £12.99  Black Rose Books (1990)
paperback    ISBN 13: 9780921689584 | ISBN 10: 0921689586

During May and June 1989, just a few months short of the 40th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, a desperate cry for democracy rang out in Tiananmen Square.
 
Until June 4th, hope had been high that it might be possible the crisis would pass without bloodshed. The Chinese press had favorably covered the wave of peaceful demonstrations that had swept through most major cities. Troops had refused to enforce martial law, choosing instead to mingle with the students and workers. But there was to be no special Chinese solution- only the old solution of State violence. The central government, which had been without a voice for days, reflecting the profound division at the highest level of the State, finally gave the order that moved the tanks. The horror that brought the demonstrations for democracy in Tiananmen Square to an end sent shock waves throughout the world. Not since the time of Stalin had truth and lies shifted in such swift review as in Deng Xiaoping’s China.
 
In this century, mass non-violent and libertarian movements have astonished governments again and again. With their special combination of courage and patience, the Chinese people will make their way to a better future, one where “a hundred flowers blossom” and “a hundred schools of thought contend”. This saga continues.
 
This book - which consists of original documents (translated for the first time into English) of speeches, handbills, posters, manifestos and interviews from leading activists including Chai Ling, Wu’er Kaixi, Fang Lizhi, Ma Suifang, Liu Xiao bo and others - captures the personal and political struggles of today’s Chinese revolutionaries. It situates the Democracy Movement in its historical context and covers its development inside and outside China to the present day. The authenticity, scope and depth of this collection makes it an indispensable resource document.

(Price & availability last checked: October 2018)