Lim - The Peoples Republic of amnesia : Tiananmen revisited

THE PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF AMNESIA

Tiananmen Revisited

Louisa Lim

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Louisa Lim 2014

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lim, Louisa.
The Peoples Republic of amnesia : Tiananmen revisited / Louisa Lim.
pages cm
ISBN 9780199347704 (hardback) 1. ChinaHistoryTiananmen Square
Incident, 1989. 2. ChinaHistoryTiananmen Square Incident,
1989Influence. I. Title.
DS779.32.L55 2014
951.058dc23
2013044312

1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper

To those who dare speak out

To write about present-day China requires an almost impossible calculation, weighing the risks and consequences of every sentence. It is like juggling in the dark, given the void of information into which these words fall. The very need for these acts of reckoning is also the reason why this book is necessary. As the boundaries of what is considered politically acceptable in China narrow, the subtle algebra of self-censorship has steadily diminished free expression both within Chinas borders and beyond. This process has quickened in recent years, as the Chinese government has expelled some foreign journalists and denied visas to others. Because my family has made China its home for the past decade, I could not help but contemplate these issues as I decided whether to write this book. But one question kept nagging: if Iwith all the freedoms available to mechose not to write about June 4th, then would anyone else document these stories for the historical record? Historical fact should not be held hostage, and the line between compliance and collusion is vanishingly thin.

I owe an enormous debt to those who have shared their stories with me, especially as most do not have the option of being able to publish their own accounts or to leave China. All were aware that they were taking a risk in talking about the sensitive topic of June 4th to a Western journalist. As I wrote these chapters, I wrestled with the question of whether to strip out their details to try to protect them, and for a very small number of my interviewees, I did indeed take that step. But most of those who spoke to me are so well known, and their experiences so unique, that their identities cannot be disguised. These people gave me permission to use their real names, and I know these decisions were not taken lightly. I hope that this book will honor the trust they have placed in me to tell their stories.

None of the people with whom I spoke inside China knew that I would write about the brutal crackdown in the city of Chengdu in June 1989. I only began to discover what had happened there during a chance meeting with Tang Deying, whose teenage son was beaten to death in police custody in June 1989. I did not begin further research on Chengdu until after I had left China. In writing this book, I hope to begin a conversation about the other Tiananmens that took place beyond the capital, to remember the victims of the crackdown, and to break the code of silence in China that surrounds discussion of 1989.

January 2014