June 4 did not fall from the sky. Before June 4, conditions were already brewing on the ground for June 4 to happen.
In 1989, ten years after the Reformation, China was coming to life. First, Hong Kong capital came in, then Hong Kong culture went north, and later McDonald’s and KFC came in, and the Western way of life penetrated little by little, planting the seeds of social change.
In order to promote economic reform, the Chinese Communist Party had to loosen its cultural control, and all modern Western thinking and new ideas, as long as they did not directly endanger the Chinese Communist Party’s rule, were squeezed out of the country and entered the mainland. The cultural scene on the mainland also flourished, with old writers and scholars coming out of the ground, the younger generation beginning to reflect on social issues, and young scholars tracking new knowledge from abroad. The cultural unbundling prepared the culture for June Fourth.
Many sharp political issues were raised during those years, starting with Wei Jingsheng’s large-character poster advocating the fifth modernization, which was suppressed because it was too far ahead of its time. More middle-aged scholars slowly introduced Western universal values, and Fang Lizhi and Yan Jiaqi and their generation enlightened the university and high school students. Many intellectuals who came from the Red Guards became the first generation of social awakening, including Wang Juntao, Chen Ziming, and Su Xiaokang, who had a high reputation among students. Fang Lizhi gave lectures at universities, promoting the Nordic social system, and many university students were fascinated and followed him, which prepared them for June 4.
As early as 1987, there were already some sporadic student movements in different provinces and cities, and students began to raise political demands. Deng Xiaoping sensed that the contradiction between dictatorship and democracy was brewing and therefore launched a campaign against bourgeois liberalization before Hu Yaobang stepped down. The undercurrent of popular discontent prepared the political ground for June 4.
The fundamental conflict between Deng, who saw the reform as a bunker, and Hu, who saw it as a breakthrough, began. Deng was held hostage by the conservatives in the party, Hu was driven by the desires of the Chinese people, Deng had an overwhelming advantage within the party, Hu had a social base outside the party, and in the end, the party was armed and the people were eventually crushed by the party.
June 4 was the day when an old Chinese woman, after a secret date with a foreign man, accidentally became pregnant with a hybrid fetus with freedom genes, but unfortunately it was aborted before it could take shape.
It is absolutely impossible to erase this highly symbolic historical event from history, and by erasing June 4, China’s contemporary history will be inexplicable.
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