“Unburying Tiananmen”
I can relate to the Chinese student in Dan Southerland’s June 2 op-ed, “Tiananmen: Days to Remember,” who did not know about the 1989 massacre.
I, too, grew up in an authoritarian regime -- in Taiwan, only 100 miles from China -- where government strictly controlled and manipulated information. It was not until I came to Washington to pursue my graduate studies 10 years ago that I learned that Chiang Kai-shek, a man who was revered in Taiwan and to whose statue I bowed every day when I was young, had been a dictator. I also learned the details of the massacre that took place on Feb. 28, 1947, when thousands of people from Taiwan’s elite were murdered by Chiang’s troops. My grandfather narrowly escaped the massacre.
I hope the people of China will know the truth soon, just as I do now.
The writer is communications manager for the Formosan Association for Public Affairs, which advocates Taiwan’s independence.
