On the 20th anniversary of Tiananmen Square, Xiao Qiang argues that people must talk openly about that day’s events if China is to rebuild its moral foundation:
China’s future needs to be built on this piece of history. If the country is to rebuild its moral foundation, it will depend on people like the Tiananmen Mothers, Cui Weiping, Xiao Han and Ye Fu who have the courage to recount the truth of what happened on the night of June 4th. Others who experienced Tiananmen must talk about it, tell their children, remember their history, and thus defeat their own fear, self-deception and cynicism. As Cui Weiping said, “We either have to endure the weakening and impairment of our spirit and soul caused by the awkward situation until we are atrophied and paralyzed, or we stand up, speak the truth, and take back our dignity as human beings.”
Confronting the truth of history requires strength and courage. But the energy it unleashes will be powerful enough to make China a truly humane, just, and open society. Without a basic grounding in the truth about Tiananmen, there is no moral foundation for China’s rise. Today, even the United States and Europe seek help from China to resolve the economic crisis and global warming. But if a government cannot come to terms with its own history and make peace with its own people, how can the world trust the myth of its “peaceful rise”?
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