Monday, June 06, 2005
Tiananmen Remebered
There was a vigil in Hong Kong and heavy guards in Beijing on Saturday's anniversary to the Tiananmen Square democracy demonstrations in 1988.
I was in China roughly 9 months after those sad events. Their significance on the Chinese people, and the then British controlled citizens of Hong Kong cannot be underestimated. What a startlingly different world it would be if the Chinese military had refused in a fashion similar to the Soviet military just three years later.
I am not sure we in the west can ever understand the relative disregard the Chinese have for human life in comparison to us. I believe that root value is what lies behind the difference between the Chinese and Soviet military responses in quite similar circumstances.
I truly believe that capitalism which is rapidly spreading in China will do much to bring democracy, but until that root value is addressed, which it can only be through religious conversation, it will remain an oppressive and nasty form of democracy. Hopefully enough democracy can be created economically to open the doors for real mission work.
I was in China roughly 9 months after those sad events. Their significance on the Chinese people, and the then British controlled citizens of Hong Kong cannot be underestimated. What a startlingly different world it would be if the Chinese military had refused in a fashion similar to the Soviet military just three years later.
I am not sure we in the west can ever understand the relative disregard the Chinese have for human life in comparison to us. I believe that root value is what lies behind the difference between the Chinese and Soviet military responses in quite similar circumstances.
I truly believe that capitalism which is rapidly spreading in China will do much to bring democracy, but until that root value is addressed, which it can only be through religious conversation, it will remain an oppressive and nasty form of democracy. Hopefully enough democracy can be created economically to open the doors for real mission work.
