8 May, 1999 -- After the building of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade is accidentally hit by NATO bombs the media report of popular anti-American demonstrations in front of the American Embassy in Beijing. Some demonstrators had banners that said "NATO go home".
It is ironic that the Chinese government that does not allow the minimum freedom of expression to their people is suddenly so unable to control them and cannot protect American property in China. This reminds me of an anecdote which "si non e vero, e ben trovato".
In the early 1940s Spain was under the dictatorship of General Franco and the government had tight control of everything that happened inside the country. The world war was at its worst and Spain's sympathies were with Germany and anti-Britain.
One day a big "popular" demonstration in front of the British embassy was claiming Gibraltar for Spain. The demonstrators were getting out of hand and there was fear for the safety of the British personnel inside the building. The Spanish minister of the interior called the British ambassador on the telephone and asked him if he wanted him to send more policemen for his protection, to which the ambassador replied: "Rather than sending more police I would rather you just send fewer demonstrators".
During the communist regimes of Eastern Europe their peoples were denied any political freedom but it was said they "voted with their feet" as they risked their lives to flee to Western Europe. The lines of Chinese trying to get visas at the American consulate to come to America are legendary. A few days before and after all this rock throwing the Chinese were there in large numbers trying to get a visa to come to the US. In view of this maybe the Chinese official motto should be "NATO go home... and take me with you, please!"
4 June 99
Today is the 10th anniversary of the massacre at Tiananmen square. The Chinese army broke into the square with tanks and killed a large number (estimated in the thousands).
The government has never informed the Chinese people of what happened there and the video that has been seen so many times in free countries has never been seen by the Chinese people.
The Chinese authorities have further restricted news access these days. The internet is more controlled, chat rooms have been shut down, etc. Most of China does normally not have access to foreign news but even in hotels where foreigners can see CNN etc, foreign channels have been shut down for "maintenance".
What kind of moral authority does a government like this have? They lie to their own people and manipulate the information they receive. Under these circumstances the value of Chinese public opinion is zero. How can you have any kind of valid opinion with incomplete information or plain lies?
Many people tend to separate the government from the people but I disagree. The Chinese may not have a formal democracy but they have the system they have given themselves as a people. There may be dissidents but, as a whole, they have the system they have elected.
They chose to remain ignorant of the truth and that has consequences. You can ask the Serbs or the Iraqis or the Cubans (or the Germans during the Nazi regime). They too have given themselves governments that manipulate and control the information. They stir nationalist and aggressive feelings in their people. They start wars of aggression and then they lie to their people saying "we are winning". But finally the truth is inescapable. They are not winning: they have lost everything. Then those people declare themselves victims of their own governments but the truth is they bear the responsibility of having given themselves such governments.
The Chinese people still have not been able to give themselves a political system where they can live with each other. During the cultural revolution they killed each other by the millions. In Tiananmen by the hundreds. And they have the nerve to complain about the bombing of their embassy which was after all a mistake?? Give me a break!!
If the Chinese were at war they would have infinitely less regard for innocent victims. They have shown that with their own people and with Tibet which was invaded and annexed. The Chinese government has zero moral authority when it comes to human values. They have no concept of this.
The Western democracies may not be perfect but they undoubtedly have the high moral ground in their disputes with China. Still, I know people are stubborn and will continue to defend their beliefs long after the information they have tells them it is time to change.
I mean, look at the Cuban people. When are they going to say to themselves "Man, we've tried this system for 40 years now and it's just NOT working... how about we try something else?" NO! They have given themselves a government that controls them and they are suffering the consequences.
And that is the great truth of life: you can lie to others, you can even lie to yourself if you are stupid enough, but you cannot escape the consequences.
Of course the positive note in all this is that we all know that Western values are prevailing and will prevail ultimately. We know this, China knows this, Saddam Hussein knows this and it seems the Serbs must be beginning to realize this just about now.
Some links to sites containing information about the Tiananmen square massacre:
Belfast Queen's University School of Law Legal studies
The man with the courage to stand up to the tanks in Tiananmen square.
Explicit pictures
Many Photos