Massacre Marred Beijing
Streets 20 Years Ago

HONG KONG -- Despite the Chinese government’s attempts to dictate otherwise, tens of thousands of student-protesters who jammed the streets of Beijing in 1989 represented the best of humanity, say Hong Kong journalists who covered the fateful events 20 years ago.

“The students were very peaceful and had very reasonable demands,” said Joseph Tse Chi-fung, now a Radio Television Hong Kong executive producer. “I think of them as sacred. They reflected the glory of the best of humanity.”

Many of those students – at least hundreds, probably thousands – died in one of the 20th century’s most shocking massacres. In the early hours on June 4, 1989, Chinese soldiers mowed down their own citizens.

“What does ‘massacre’ mean?” asked Mak Yin Ting, former chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists’ Association. “That’s controversial wording, but the simple definition is to kill a lot of unarmed people so what happened then counts as a massacre.”

On Tuesday, Joseph and Mak joined a panel discussion organized by the University of Hong Kong Libraries Reading Club. Chris Yeung, an editor at the South China Morning Post newspaper, Ida Chan Yun Chi, a TV executive and the author of a new book titled June 4th: 20, and Lucy Chan Wai Yee, a media consultant, also spoke.

The panelists addressed a capacity crowd at HKU’s Main Library. They’re among 64 Hong Kong journalists who contributed to People Will Not Forget, a newly reprinted Chinese book about the 1989 crackdown. The number 64 holds significance because the massacre happened on June 4th (the sixth month, fourth day).

Today, on June 4, 2009, tens of thousands of people will gather in a Hong Kong park to remember and honor the massacre victims. The Central Government tolerates such events nowhere else.

Written and compiled by reporters who observed the Chinese pro-democracy movement 20 years ago, People Will Not Forget gives first-hand accounts from many perspectives.

“Never before did such a book-collaboration emerge from Hong Kong’s fiercely competitive media scene,” said HKU librarian Tony Ferguson. Like the student protesters, Hong Kong journalists proved “quite daring. Some risked their lives.”

Some reporters watched the military’s deadly activities from hotel balconies. But as soldiers entered Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, Joseph climbed onto the roof of a public washroom and reported from there. “At first, we doubted if the noises were gunshots,” he said. “They sounded like fireworks.

“As a journalist, I feel some guilt,” he confessed. Instead of staying and recording all the brutality, he later departed. “We were afraid the army would take our videotapes. Now I think that maybe I didn’t perform my core task to fully record the situation. For that, I want to say I’m sorry.”

Lucy worked for TVB. “After martial law was imposed, the authorities didn’t allow journalists to take videotapes back to Hong Kong,” she recalled. “We found other people to take them. Hong Kong people were good that way.”

First published a few months after the massacre, People Will Not Forget reflects the writers’ shared desire to uphold truth, despite the Chinese government trying to obscure it.

“The democracy movement had spread widely – from students to workers to policemen to all walks of life,” Joseph said. “Even some soldiers showed sympathy for the students. It spread to all the cities in China.

“Until then, I’d regarded the Chinese people as selfish. But with so many unafraid of the authorities, with some even lying on the streets to prevent military tanks from entering Tiananmen Square, they ended my thoughts of their selfishness. Did such peaceful, rational behavior deserve guns and tanks?”

The HKU audience heard samples of TV coverage from two decades ago. Even now, the reporters’ words cause chills.

“The army has started shooting…. Some even chased people riding on bicycles. This is what we witnessed. The civilians are unarmed. They just rode bicycles and tried to approach the army.”

“Q: How many casualties at your hospital?
A: Here, we’ve received 170 casualties.
Q: How many have died?
A: About 30, all shot to death…. Everything’s in chaos now…. Some are middle-school students, just children.”

Years ago, buyers snapped up 50,000 copies of People Will Not Forget. Now the book’s editorial committee reckons that many young people, swamped by mainland propaganda, know little about the 1989 pro-democracy protests. By reprinting, the committee hopes to enlighten students and society. “There can be different views,” Joseph said. “But this book’s about a nation, the black and white from people’s hearts.”

Last year, Ida interviewed some 1989 student leaders who escaped to live overseas. “They still miss their country very much,” she said.

Revenue from the book supports a fund to promote media freedoms. “What happened 20 years ago made me realize the importance of news freedom,” Mak said. “I don’t want the journalists in Hong Kong to become like those in China, who are forbidden to report on the June 4th movement.”

According to Chris, “We don’t enjoy remembering what happened, but we also don’t want to forget. We have a responsibility to let the new generation know.”

“I’ve heard many misinterpretations,” Joseph added. “I admire those who died in the incident. When I hear people distort the facts, I can’t control myself. I feel very angry.”

Many Hong Kong people want Beijing to reverse its official verdict on the events on June 4, 1989. But Lucy calls that unnecessary. “People know in their hearts who was right and who was wrong,” she said.


Mak Yin Ting, Lucy Chan and Joseph Tse
examine the reprinted collaborative book.



Tanks and soldiers clamp down
with brutal, excessive, deadly force.



Chris Yeung and Ida Chan review old
news reports from Tiananmen Square.



Mak Yin Ting signs an autograph. The 'incident'
made her realize the value of news freedom.


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