I saw and did a lot during a package tour of Beijing in the summer of 2010—the Gate of Heavenly Peace, the Marco Polo Bridge, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Great Wall and more. On the second-to-last day of our trip, the itinerary called for us to see and experience Tiananmen Square, the heart of the Chinese capital and a place just redolent with history. Built during the Ming Dynasty, at 440,000 square meters it is one of the largest public squares in the world. All of us, it is safe to say, were looking forward to this.
Our guide, Lilly, was a nice young woman who had plenty of experience in escorting foreigners around Beijing. By then, she knew that I tended to ask questions about historical matters. For that reason, I am convinced, she practically skipped Tiananmen Square. Following behind her, we did not actually go onto the square but just along the sidewalk to its east. At previous venues we had stopped and listened to her talk at length, and questions were welcomed; but not this time. She merely pointed to the right and indicated, “There's Tiananmen Square.” It seemed that she wanted to move on to something else, anything else.
Of course, I wanted to gain a better understanding of what had transpired there from April to June of 1989. Tell us why all those students, intellectuals and others were protesting, Lilly. Did the demonstrations really spread to more than 400 cities around the country? If so, is that not indication of widespread dissatisfaction and a yearning for liberty? Was there a chance that the People’s Republic of China—a deeply corrupt government without freedom of the press, freedom of speech, democracy and much more—might have fallen? Where had that courageous man stood in front of a line of tanks? What finally happened when the 300,000 soldiers stormed in? How many people died, Lilly?
Although I hesitated to put her on the spot, I wanted some facts. What's this all about? Explain it for us. She clearly did not want to address any of the above-stated issues. I saw three possible reasons for her odd behavior. First, she did not know much of what had happened there in ’89. Maybe. The Chinese government has been rigorous in stamping out discussion of those events and their underlying causes. Ironically, far more objective information about the Tiananmen Square protests and subsequent crackdown is available outside the country than inside. Still, Lilly had taken numerous groups of inquisitive foreigners there in the past. She knew there was a lot of curiosity about it.
Second, perhaps she knew but deliberately chose not to delve into such a sensitive topic.
Third, and most likely, she may have been told to stay away from any meaningful dialogue about Tiananmen Square. The Communist Party is in control of virtually everything in China, and that includes what people say, do and even think. Had she taken us onto the square and given a no-holds-barred talk about those fraught days, she would have been inviting serious trouble. She wanted to retain her job and not be tossed into prison on some bogus charge like “spreading counterrevolutionary ideas.”
Lilly kept her mouth shut, we learned nothing, and the PRC government maintained a stranglehold on the truth. When I came back to Korea the next day, I told people I’d had a nice time, saw some interesting places—who does not want to visit the Great Wall of China?—and ate delicious food. But I would not and could not live there due to the lack of freedom.
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