Tiananmen Wound Refuses To Heal

The stain left by the events of eight years ago is also discomforting for Chinas leaders as they seek to consolidate their authority after the death in February of Deng Xiaoping, the countrys patriarchal leader.

There are many people now who dont agree with the student-led movement. They say the movement was wrong - it affected social stability - but people were killed and that was a tragedy, says Wang Shan, a neo-conservative author with close Communist party ties. But the regime is constrained in dealing with Tiananmens legacy because of the presence in the leadership of Li Peng, the Prime Minister ordered the crackdown on the authority of Deng himself.

 

It seems impossible there will be a vindication of the movement in the next two years, says Professor Xu Liangying of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. the central government just dare not touch the issue. President Jiang Zemin cannot refute what his predecessor [Deng] has done. Nevertheless, pressures continue to build behind the scenes for a reversal of the verdict on Tiananmen which was judged a counter-revolutionary crime for which many of those involved received long jail sentences. Hopes flickered last week that the leadership might be edging towards a review when, in northern Jilin Province, four workers convicted in 1989 of organising a counter-revolutionary clique had their sentences quashed.

However, a lesser conviction of counter-revolutionary incitement was upheld, suggesting too much should not be read into the verdict. For Hong Kong, contemplating the imminent end of British rule and closer proximity to mainland control under the one country, two systems formula, the legacy of Tiananmen lingers.

An opinion poll by Hong Kong University published this week indicated 63 per cent of people believed Beijing had erred in suppressing the 1989 movement, and 75 per cent said Hong Kong people should push for democracy on the mainland. Hong Kong will be the scene this week of demonstrations marking the massacre. These are an annual event drawing thousands to a candle-lit vigil.

Chinese leaders, meanwhile, seek occasionally to address concerns about lack of political freedoms, and implicit is the promise of political reform, although no timetable is laid down.

Accrding to the constitution, power in the country belongs to the people, and the people exercise state power through the National Peoples Congress (parliament) and local congresses at various levels, said Qiao Shi, chairman of the NPC, in a recent newspaper interview. To ensure the people are the real masters of the country, that state power is really in their hands, we must strengthen these institutions and give them full play. At the same time, it is necessary to improve grassroots self-government so people can manage their affairs.

In spite of Qiaos remarks, however, Beijing will continue to be prickly about criticism of lack of political freedoms, especially around the June 4 anniversary. The official China Daily on Tuesday warned the west, in a long article repudiating criticism of Chinas human rights record, not to focus on single events or persons, a reference to the Tiananmen anniversary.