Hearing about the repression of the Chinese memory is deeply saddening. The Chinese government's refusal to acknowledge the events on June 3 and 4 at Tiananmen Square is appaling. It is unthinkable to contemplate this kind of repression of memory. The masacre of students in Beijing and Chungdu reminds me of the masacre of Tlatelolco in Mexico City. The government turned against its own people, student protesters. The events were denied, repressed. However, in 2000, records were opened. There is a memorial in Mexico city, memorializing the students who died in 1968. China needs to acknowledge these events, and give the grieving closure and the "truth, compensation, accountability" they have been pleading for.

There is no doubt of the enormous contribution media has played in support of the June 4 Incident in Beijing! The world was able to view the protests erupt and follow it until its end because of media. What is shocking is that it appeared there was much footage available and the Chinese government did not shut down media sooner! Perhaps there was no one in government that managed international publicity. Thanks to Mike Chinoy for sharing his experiences through his documentary and Q&A.

I am also very thankful for Louisa Lim's lecture. I was completely unaware of student protests that occurred outside of Beijing in 1989 until Lim shared her research! It is not surprising that Chinese are reluctant to talk about these incidents, for negative issues like death and issues that would cause embarassment or loss of face are often suppressed. I am surprised, however, that her inspirational source for the search for information about the Chengdu protests, the mother who suffered the death of her son in the cause, would not share more information about others who had also lost family. Perhaps it is too difficult to talk about and it is best to suppress these negative memories.

Who knows what other stories and historical events have been suppressed by the government...

Getting to view the documentary with Mike Chinoy present was remarkable. After majoring in history and teaching World History for 8 years, I really thought I knew the full story of Tiananmen. However, this week's presentation showed me just how much of the story I was missing. I had little knowledge of the weeks leading up to the night of June 4, and I was totally unaware of the Gorbachev visit that led to the accumulation of media in Beijing. Similarly, I was fascinated with Mike's stories of the early age of live feed television and media coverage of the event. Overall, I plan on using excerpts, especially the footage of the student protests and the infamous "Tank Man", from the documentary with my World History class.

Watching Mike Chinoy’s documentary series ”Assignment: China” only confirms the power of the students. Much like the young people who structured a hierarchy in Tianamen to deliver their dissent from the Chinese government, I am reminded again of the impact our students can have in making history. They, like those college students, are fervent, and quite often, tenacious.

The apathy my students express causes me to be dismissive of their wants, their views, and sometimes their beliefs. Yet, if I hold onto this cynical view, why then am I in the classroom? Chinoy’s work serves not only to show how collaborative efforts must be in delivering news,, but also to highlight the power of students – common, everyday idealist whose views must be recognized.

Time and time again, students have been at the forefront in reform protest and they are able to garner public support as these students are not strangers but sons, daughters – individuals whose proximity strikes us and whose youth cause introspective reflection of ourselves. The students, then and now, continue to shape the narrative of our history.
edited by crhude on 12/16/2015

Session 10 and 11 have been such a thrill to be a part of. It was a great start to have an introduction of the film by a journalist who lived the documentary, Mike Chinoy. His and the experiences of the others who were there filming the events are invaluable. I was so excited to learn more about the events at Tienanmen and I love how the documentary is covering two stories. One story is the story of Tienanmen itself which I knew so little about. The other story is the story of the reporters and how their work was cut in China. Truly a fascinating series that I would love to watch all of! This is also a great resource for our students to see how history is recorded and how the facts can be changed. The way China has chosen to deal with the events in T-Square is so beyond what anyone from this country would expect in a government. I think many of our students would love to see stories like this about governments that are so starkly different from what they have grown up around.

I know there is someone in our class that teaches Spanish. Comparing T-square to anything former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has done may be an interesting lesson in corruption.

Thank you Professor Dube for posting the different articles on how news transmission was impacted during the Tiananmen Square protests. It was interesting to see how the government forced the tv transmissions to get off the air, and the drama CNN and other outlets went through in order to try and get and the news reported. Again, I am shocked with the amount of censorship China has/had on their people and the information they distribute, and would be interested to learn more about how current Chinese society feels about the censorship today. Is this concerning, normal, or worrisome for them? Do they care or not? And if so, could there be protests similar to those at Tiananmen Square in the future? Or would this be taboo?

Re: The Use of Tienanmen Square in the classroom
Jennifer I know you teach 6th grade which is a far reach from modern Chinese history, but I wonder how you can use all these resources to teach the difference between primary and secondary sources. I can see myself using these resources within my Cold War unit but I would use these resources were not within the scope and sequence of my content area, I would use them to teach about sources inspired by firsthand accounts and secondary sources. I think these also provide a great opportunity to teach about bias and motive. I thought the piece by Che Muqi provides a good counter perspective to many resources regarding the student protesters at Tiananmen Square.
edited by nramon on 1/12/2016

It is impressive the power that students have when united for a cause. In many countries university students protest against their governments like the Students in Tiananmen Square, China and end up very badly. Most times the students are subdued by the government with force, violence and some are killed. In Mexico there are students that went missing and today no one really knows what exactly happen to them. It is sad that we still see injustices in this world. Tiananmen Square left a legacy for the newer generations in China. Chinese way of life seems to have become easier and better now than it was before the Tiananmen Square incident. Let us not forget the students that gave their lives for what they believed was right.