Tiananmen Moon: Inside the Chinese Student Uprising of 1989 (Asian Voices)

This compelling book provides a vivid firsthand account of the student demonstrations and massacre in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Uniquely placed as a Western observer drawn into active participation through Chinese friends in the uprising, Philip J Cunningham offers a remarkable day-by-day account of Beijing students desperately trying to secure the most coveted political real estate in China in the face of ever-more daunting government countermoves. Tiananmen Moon takes the reader into the thick of the 1989 protests while also following the parallel response of an unprepared but resourceful Western media. In this revised and expanded edition, Cunningham recounts rare vignettes about life in Tiananmen Square under student leadership, including previously unpublished material. There is an account of the Goddess of Democracy being unveiled, a whimsical trip to the countryside that ends up on a collision course with PLA troops readying for attack, the tale of a near riot when a reporter is mistaken for Gorbachev, the saga of a tearful leader who quits and dictates her last will and testament to the author, and a dramatic account of futile resistance in the face of an unforgiving crackdown. The book chronicles the opportunistic and awkward tango between naive student activists and jaded foreign journalists, in which, after a month of mutual courting, the tables turn and the now-savvy students watch the journalists, seduced and confused, run circles just trying to keep up. During the hunger strike under the light of a full moon, China bares its conflicted soul to the world, the mournful cry for reform amplified by the footsteps of a million peaceful marchers. This remarkable testament to a searing month that changed China forever serves as a witness to the rise and fall of an uprising, capturing the plaintive and lyrical beauty of a dream that endures and continues to haunt the country today. Contents 6 Tiananmen: Trying to Remember, Trying to Forget 8 Preface 20 PART I: NEW MOON 26 MAY 3 (AM): Blue Skies over Tiananmen 28 MAY 3 (PM): In Search of the Real China 44 MAY 4 (AM): The New May Fourth Spirit 58 MAY 4 (PM): Running with Rebels 68 MAY 10 (AM): Ten Thousand Bicycles 82 MAY 10 (PM): People’s Daily 100 PART II: WAXING MOON 108 MAY 13 (AM): Democracy Walls 110 MAY 13 (PM): Hunger Strike 132 MAY 14 (AM): Sun and Stars 150 MAY 14 (PM): Overnight Vigil 162 MAY 15 (AM): Food for Fasters 176 MAY 15 (PM): Looking for Gorbachev 186 MAY 16: Working-Class Heroes 200 MAY 17: Rising Tide of Rebellion 216 MAY 18 (AM): Water Strike 238 MAY 18 (PM): Criminal Elements 254 MAY 19 (AM): The New Red Guards 276 MAY 19 (PM): Breaking the Fast 288 PART III: WANING MOON 298 MAY 20: Martial Law 300 MAY 22: Provincial Vagabonds 308 MAY 23: Egg on the Face of Mao 320 MAY 24: Tiananmen Headquarters 328 MAY 26: Radical Camp 334 MAY 27: BBC Does the Countryside 346 MAY 28: Last Will and Testament 354 MAY 28: Clandestine Interview 368 MAY 28: Going Underground 378 MAY 28: Midnight Rendezvous 394 MAY 29: The Goddess 410 PART IV: NO MOON 428 JUNE 2 (Night): Troops Are Coming 430 JUNE 3 (Morning): Behind the Great Hall 446 JUNE 3 (Evening): Point of No Return 468 JUNE 3 (Night): Of Tanks and Men 482 JUNE 3–4: Eve of Destruction 492 JUNE 4: The Sky Is Crying 502 Afterword 510 About the Author 522 This compelling book, now in a thoroughly revised and expanded anniversary edition, provides a vivid first-hand account of the student demonstrations and violent crackdown in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Uniquely placed as a Western observer drawn into active participation through Chinese friends in the uprising, Philip J Cunningham offers a remarkable day-by-day account of Beijing students desperately trying to secure the most coveted political real estate in China in the face of ever-more daunting government countermoves. He brings to life the story of the demonstrations, from the tentative early marches to the huge outpouring of support, from the hunger strikes and jostling for influence among student leaders, to the senseless bloody crackdown. This remarkable testament to a searing Beijing spring that changed China forever serves witness to the rise and fall of an uprising, capturing the plaintive and lyrical beauty of a dream that endures and continues to haunt the country today This compelling book povides a vivid first-hand account of the student demonstrations and massacre in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Philip J Cunningham offers a remarkable day-by-day account of Beijing students desperately trying to secure the most coveted political real estate in China in the face of ever more daunting government countermoves. He also follows the parallel response of an unprepared but resourceful Western media.