As a citizen hailing from a democratic nation, on hearing
the news of execution of eight persons who masterminded historic Tiananmen
Struggle in 1989 and the subsequent developments, it was natural that I was appalled
and angry against the Chinese leaders. Now that 25 years have passed by the
massacre is still etched on the walls of my mind.
The Tiananmen Square uprising was for the cause of democracy
by the then youth of China which was mercilessly suppressed by the forces loyal
to the Chinese govt under orders of the latter which was condemned by the nations
owing allegiance to democracy.
After the era of Mao-Tse-Dong, under whose tenure the iron
curtain stood as blockade by which the developments in China were unknown to
the nations the world over. It was said that the Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA)
ensured that no news leaked out of that nation and as a consequence how the
citizens come to know about the developments going on in that country.
Deng-Sio-Ping, who was his successor, upon ascending the ‘throne’,
as a first step in the right direction after demolishing the iron curtain
opened up its economy for the foreign nations and appealed them to invest in
China on a large scale. During Mao’s time Chinese economy was in a shambles
which was made known to the world only after Deng-Sio-Ping succeeded him.
Deng, who is called the ‘architect of modern China’ was criticized
by a few countries mostly authoritarian nations, for opening up the economy was
learned to have responded that ‘whether the cat is black or white what matters ultimately
is whether it is capable of catching the mouse’.
Thus gradually Chinese economy progressed step by step with
other nations trailing behind it. Following Deng those who succeeded him like
Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and Xin-Jing-Ping China has turned out to be the second
largest economy, the first being USA.
Deng-Siao-Ping and his followers though granded economic
freedom, individual freedom is still a mirage.
It was the freedom lovers who were in the vanguard to fight
for the cause of individual liberty. The masterminds who mobilized the former
grouped under one umbrella upon the Chinese govt rejecting their repeated
demands, decided to fight head on against the govt forces at Tiananmen Square
in 1989 who braved the Chinese forces and unfortunately hundreds of freedom
fighters attained martyrdom after facing guns, grenades, tanks, teargas shells
and such sophisticated weapons.
A number of freedom fighters were caught and imprisoned and
many of them are still languishing behind bars.
Another unfortunate fact is that today’s generation – students
and youth alike are unaware of the 1989 struggle and with the economic progress
in full swing many who might have read about it or heard about it from their
guardians and teachers are not at all interested in even discussing it.
These Gen Xt have no tears to shed for the freedom fighters
who were massacred and who still languish behind the bars.
Even these youngsters if not en-bloc, a few of them have no
qualms in justifying the Tiananmen Square struggle. Its something mind-boggling,
blood-chilling and heart-breaking….
No comments:
Post a Comment