TheJoan Shorenstein Barone Center

PRESS. POLITICS

. PIJBLICPOLICY.

HarrardUniversity JohnF. KennedySchool ofGovernment INrnooucrroN

What a pleasureto write an introduction for mont, a writer and former New York Times cor- Linda fakobson'sDiscussion Paper!Though I respondentin Latin-America,will supervise, had known her father, Max fakobson,a distin- researchand write this report.) guished Finnish journalist and diplomat, for Becausein our overallresearch so much of many years,I had only met Linda in the sum- the spotlightwas focusedon American prcss '88 mer of during a trip to Helsinki. I was imme- coverageof Tiananmen,fakobson felt that hcr diately impressedby her engagingpersonality, papershould focus on the Chinesepress. Horr' intelligence - and dedication as a journalist to did it coverthe "democracymovement"i the story of China. She'djust beenthere for a Indeed,did it participatein the movementl year, and was soon to return for another. It was "Lies in Ink, Truth in Blood" is the impressive to be a fateful return. result of her effort. |akobson interviewed dozens |akobson was in Beijing in April, May and of Chinesejournalists, scholars and other Iune 1989,when the Chinesestudents left their observers,read and watchedthe Chinesepress classes,occupied the back streetsand Tian- coverage/produced a lot of freshinformation anmen Squareand defied the Communist and put it all in a Chinesesocial and political authorities in a stunning display of raw courage context.Her paperprovides special insights in the face of tyranny. Who can forget the into the Chinesepress, which, for a flickering picture of one man standing in the way of a tank moment in time, functioned"freely," reporting column? As Stanley Karnow, a veteran China the news,criticizing the leadership,writing watcher, observed,this was not the first time editorialsthat were not echoesof Communrst that the studentshad stoodup to the dictator- dogma and even joining in the pro-democracy ship of the Old Guard, but it was the first time demonstrationswith placardsthat extolled: that their defianceand their bloody repression "Freedomof the Press."Did they really know had been televised and faxed from one end of the what it meant? If they did, how had they come globe to another. It was to be a casestudy of the to that understanding?Why were the placardsin "How impact of the pressand television on a major English? was it possible,"|akobson asks, "that foreign policy crisis. the pressrid itself of its chains?"It was a Linda fakobsonspent the rest of the year in heady time, but it only lasted for a month or so. China and then in early February 1990,after just Then, on |une 3-4, 1989,when the tanks rolled a brief stop in Helsinki, she arrived in Cam- through Tiananmen Square,the curtain again bridge,where she took up her responsibilitiesas fell on the Chinesepress. a ResearchFellow at the foan Shorenstein Barone It is a sadbut illuminating and somehow Center on the Press,Politics and Public Policy inspiring story. On behalf of the Shorenstein in the spring semesterof the 1989-9Oacademic BaroneCenter, I take pleasurein presentingthis year. Becauseof her eyewitnessexperiences in paper.Linda |akobson would be eagerto get China, her knowledge of the languageand the your comments. So would I. strong likelihood that she would be returning to China as a journalist, she was immediately invited to contribute to a longterm fSB Center Marvin Kalb researchproject, sponsoredby the Ford Founda- Edward R. Murrow Professorof Press tion and devotedto a study of U.S.press cover- and Public Policy ageof foreign crises.The first study in this Director project has been devotedto presscoverage of the foan ShorensteinBarone Center on the Tiananmen massacreand its effect on American Press,Politics and Public Policy policy. |akobson'sparticipation sparkeda researchpaper of her own on the role and impact of the Chinese presson the events in Beijing. (The secondpart of this researchprolect will be a comparative study of presscoverage of the U.S.invasion of Panamain December1989. How did the US, Mexican, Spanishand West German presscover the invasion? Henry Ray- "LrEsw lrux, Tnurn IN BLooD:" THn Rorn AND Impecr oF THE Cnrvnsn Mnon DunrrucrHE Burruc SpnrucoF '89

On May l8th, 1989,Chinese tclcvision viewers that day'sPeople's Daily lRenmin Ribaol, the witnesseda scenethat no one could have official mouthpieceof thc Central Committee of 'Pravda'of imaginedseeing on state-runtelevision one the ChinescCommunist Party- the month earlier. The news broadcastshowed the China. A report with detailsof the Sovietleader GeneralSecretary of the Communist Party, Mikhail Gorbachev'smuch awaitedhistorical ZhaoZiyang, and the Prime Minister Li Peng, visit had beenpushed down into the lower "leading accompaniedby other comrades,"Qiao cornerof the front page,while coverageof the Shi, Hu Qili and Rui Xingwen,visiting defiant hungerstrike and demonstrations- six page- studentsat a Bcijinghospital. The students one articleswith photographs- dominatedthe were being trcatedafter fainting asa result of their hungerstrike at TiananmenSquare. After zoomingin on the Party Secretary "Save and Prime Minister hoveringover a few paticnt- the Students, demonstraters,thc l'lroadcastjumpcd to a ncw Savethe Children," sceneshowing Qiao Shi, Hu Qili and Rui pleadedone headline. Xingwen talking with a hospitalizedstudent. The studentsaid; "Wc must recstablishthc Party'sprestige among the people.If the Com- munist Party has hope, China will havehope. Right now, somepeople think thcre is no hopc. top part. "Savcthe Students,Save the Chil- They all feel that the country hasno hopc. Thc drcn," pleadedonc headline. I had alrcadyseen Communist Party has no hope." thc official English-speakingCfiin a Daily, wrth I watchedthe news broadcastin the its conspicuousfront pagebold text headline: companyof a few Chinesefricnds, who grinned "A million march in supportof students." and cheeredupon hearingthe student'scotn- Though the footage of Zhao Ziyang and Li ments. The studentcontinued: "Therefore,I Pengvisiting the hunger strikers in the hospital think that, like thc United States,we should was not the first time that the student demon- restorethe peoplc'sconfidence that the state stratorswere on the air, I shook my head in can do a good1ob. Do you agree?"Hu Qili and amazement. What could Chinese viewersbe the other leadersnodded their headsand said: thinking when they heard the country's leaders "the "We fully agreewith you."r listening to a 2o-year-oldtelling them that Thc mood in my friend'sapartment was Communist Party has no hope?" For 40 years exuberant,very similar to the atmosphcrc there hasn't been any other hope in China except which prevailedall over the capital. On strect for the CommunistParty, at least accordingto corners,in shopsand in factories,people were cvery officially sanctionedmedia report. talking about the hungerstrikers and about the Already on April30th, when the govern- sympathyand supportthat hundredsof thou- ment gavein to the students'demandsand sandsof citizensfrom all walks of life had orderedthe mayor of Bcijing,Chen Xitong, to expressedfor them. Time and again,while meet with studentrcpresentatives in a televised bicycling or strolling alongthe streetsof Beijing, session,I had watchedin utter disbeliefwhile I heardpeople speak with admiration of the the studentsdemanded to know his income. students,who were openly challengingthe They alsochallenged him about the mistakes authorities. Ordinary peoplcwere cluickto selze madewith rcgardto the educationsystem.2 the chanceto vent their frustrationabout the Never in the 4o-yearhistory of the People's ills of society a{fectingtheir everydaylives, most Republicof China had governmentofficials noticeably inflation and corruption. beenpublicly humiliated in such a way in front My friendsproudly showedmc a copy of of millionsof telcvisionviewcrs.

Lindtt lakobson 1 Sincethe founding of the People'sRepublic Secondly,for approximately two weeks in the media has been controlled by the state. May, Chinese newspapers,radio and television News coverageis intended not so much to open carried stories about the demonstrationsand minds as to shapethem. Peoplehave been activities related to the pro-democracymove- taught that whatever the newspapersprint, and ment. Peoplein tens of cities around the whatever the evening news broadcastersays, is country marched to show their support for the in accordancewith the'ofiicial party line.' studentsbecause they perceivedthe movement When the state-run media started to openly to be officially sanctioned. The media helped to report on the student movement in the spring of mobilize the urban population in a way which 1989,it was interpreted by ordinary people to would not have been possibleif the presshad signify that the students had the authorities' not reportedon the students'actions.lJncen- approval. soredcoverage all over China reachedits peak in The Chinese pro-democracymovement of the days prior to May 20th, when martial law 1989,and particularly the imagesof the stu- was declaredin parts of Beijing. dents occupying the heart of Beijing, Tiananmen Why was the pressunleashed? Or rather, Square,caught the attention of millions of how was it possiblethat the pressrid itself of its peoplearound the world thanks to the presence chains? of the Western television cameras. Western In order to answer these questions and journalists were present in unusually large understandthe immense impact that the numbers becauseof the Gorbachevvisit and journalistshad on the eventsduring the Beiiing they were unquestionably instrumental in making the Beijing Spring of '89 a major interna- tional story. How was it possible But what about the Chinesemedia? How did the Chinese presscorps cover the pro- that the pressrid itself democracymovement and what effect did they of its chains! haveon the eventsthemselves? Pressfreedom was one of the students' demandsfrom the very start of the movement. Spring of '89, it is useful to first review the role The students were enragedwhen their activities of the pressin China, in particular during the during the mourning of the ousted Communist reform era of 'open door policy,' launched by Party General SecretaryHu Yaobangwere not Deng Xiaoping in late 1978. Though the Chi- reportedby the Chinese press. American media nesemedia coveredan increasingly wide range reports,both television and print, made note of of subjectsduring the past decade,it was not this demand for freedom of the press. But how permitted to carry stories which contradicted many American, or Western, viewers and with the'official line.' During the pro-democ- readers,realized that the actions of the Chinese racy movement in 1989,General SecretaryZhao pressconstituted an essentialpart of the drama Ziyang let it be known that he differed with the at Tiananmen Square? more conservativeleaders on the question of the The Chinesejournalists'role during the student movement. After that, for about a '89 Beijing Spring of was two-fold. They became month, there was not iust one'official line,'but participants in the movement when they foined two. The journalists choseto abide by the one the demonstrationsas the first non-student spelledout by ZhaoZiyang. Next, it is neces- group. On May 4th, about 200 journalists sary to examine the two roles of the Chinese marched for the first time carrying bannerswith presscorps - the journalists as reportersand "Don't texts saying: force us to spreadru- the journalists as participants. Lastly, I will "Our mours," pens cannot write what we want elaborateon the overall impact of the Chinese "News to write" and must report the truth."3 media on the events themselves. The journal- By taking part in the demonstrationsthe ists' actions were crucial in helping to transform iournalists encouragedother educatedgroups of the student movement into a mass protest. society to become active. If the journalists had not taken to the streets,it is highly unlikely that so many prominent intellectuals would have daredto step forward and show their support for the students' demands.

"Lies '89 2 in Ink, Truth in Blood:" The Role and Impact of the Chinese Media During the Beiiing Spring of The Media of the'80's: contain direct translations from foreign newspa- Increasing Openness pers and broadcastsas well as uncensored articles written by Chinese journalists about When I moved to China in 1987,I very soon sensitiveissues. realizedthat no amount of backgroundreading What you are allowed to read dependson and researchabout the People'sRepublic would who you are. The higher your position the easier have properly preparedme for the extraordinary your accessto more confidential and controver- degreeof opennessand diversity which I en- sial material. However, in reality, the general counteredwherever I turned in urban Chinese breakdown of control during the 1980'sled to a society. During the first months I was amazed situation where information not meant for the when readingthe China Daily, when listening public eye has had a way of finding itself to to the radio,watching the televisionand speak- many, unintended readers.a ing to people. Thanks to the successof economic re- Newspaperspublished reports of party forms, radios and television setsare no longer officials indicted for embezzlementand profi- unobtainable commodities. According to teering. Lettersto the editor describedthe official 1988statistics, the number of television unfair treatment by party members of ordinary setsowned by Chinesegrew 38-foldfrom 1978 people. In general,many commentariesand to 1987and numbered143 million.s During the editorials, both in the newspapersand on two years I lived in China (1987-891, the na- television,touched upon the failingsof society, tional television news used footagefrom West- and were frank and to the point. ern news agenciesregularly. It was particularly There were subjects(like the situation in surprising that violent scenesof clashesbe- Tibet) which were not reportedand yes,newspa- tween demonstratorsand police in South Korea persran long-windedcommentaries with and Burma were allowed to be aired. ideological liturgy. But for someoneused to the Despite the increasingboldness of the per{ormanceof the pressin the other Commu- official Chinese media - a reflection of the nist superpower,before the days of Gorbachev's growing opennessof Chinese society as a whole glasnost,the Chinesepress seemed remarkably during the 1980's- it still was not free to cover vigorous and daring. Deng Xiaoping's decision what it would, as it would. Though journalists to drastically reform the economy and open up from Western countries, especiallythe United the country to foreign trade led to a general States,Canada, Great Britain and Australia, easingof control in all sectorsof society. were invited as 'foreign experts' to teach profes- I alsowas taken abackat how well-in- sional techniques at the various schoolsof formed urban residentswere about what was journalism,students also received ample in- happeningelsewhere in the world. This was, to struction about the restraints of journalism in a large extent, due to the ever-wideningrange of China. subjectswhich the Chinesepress itself was When I gavea lecture about the pressin covering and to the increasingly lively contact Finland at the China School of fournalism rn with foreigners. But the immense flow of May, 1987, the Dean, Zhou Lifang, spoke at information was also a result of the popularity length about the social responsibility that of Voice of America and BBC broadcastsin both Chinese journalists must shoulder despitethe - Chinese and English especiallyamong young development of society and the reform policy. people- and partly becausemany Chinese "All "for of us are trying to build a modern were regularly seeingthe so-called internal socialist society together///Dean Zhou said. use only" ReferenceNews publications. The "We have a common goal, and therefore,a Chinese propagandaapparatus has many layers. Chinese joumalist must always contemplate Anyone, including foreigners,may purchaseor what kind of consequenceshis writing will subscribeto a wide selection of newspapersand have. If critical reporting results in something publications, from dailies like Renmin Ribao positive, that's fine. In fact, investigative (People'sDaily), lingii Ribao (EconomicDaily) reporting is encouraged,as you can seefrom our and the only English languagedally China Daily newspapers.But revealinginformation which to ladies', youth and sports magazines. In might have a negative effect on society is addition, there are numerous publications/ some useless,maybe even harmful." of them merely xeroxedpamphlets, which are For example,a story about an official being producedfor restricted consumption. They

Lindalakobson 3 punishedfor taking bribeswas considerec propagandafor the Central Committee of the positivebecause it servedas a warning for CommunistParty, Hu Qili, delivereda speech others. On the other hand,coverage of demon- at the headquarters of the Xinhua Nervs Agcncr'. stratorsprotestin€i the unfair trcatment of Hu Qili outlined five ways in which the ageno' Tibetansin Lhasamight leadto socialdisordcr should " ag;itate" for the Party's policies in its elsewhereand would thereforchave a negatlvc rcporting, when the reforms were officially effecton society. declared. Dean Zhou, who was formerly the London The Chinese government not only controls correspondentfor the Xinhua News Agency, the press - it makes full use of it. As fing |un took me to the video room of the China School pointed out, criticism is not rare, but it is of fournalism. One of the tapcson file was an strictly used to attack deviations from Party American broadcastshowing a VOA reporter policy.' beinginterviewed al'rout the news blackout in Yang Yulin, a Chinese political scientist China during the l9U6-87student demonstra- who used to work for one o{ thc country's most tions. Chinesejournalists werc wcll awareof liberal research institutes, decribed thc Chinese what was goingon, but they were not allowedto press of the 1980's in the following way: "When report on the students'protests."Thc authori- the reformers in the Party had the upper hand, ties in chargeof propagandafelt that publicizing thc press portrayed their more broad-minded the students'activities would not havea posi- vicws and especially the younger generation tive effecton society,"Dean Zhou saidwith a pushed the limits of what rs acceptable. When faint smile. thc conservatives were in control of the Party's Obligatoryreading for everyjournalism policies, the press was forced to accept a strictcr studentis a long detailedspeech "On the Party's approach, which was less tolerant of diverse fournalismWork," given by former Party opinions."n SecretaryHu Yaollang.It was thc deathan- nouncementof Hu Yaobangon April lSth which triggeredthe 1989pro-democracy move- ment. The Chinesegovernment Hu Yaobangstarted off by saying:"The not only controls the press party'sjournalism is the party'smouthpiece, - it makes it. and naturally it is the mouthpieceof thc full use of people'sgovernment, which is led by thc party." Later,comparing the differencesbetween journalism in China and capitalistcountries, he "In remindedhis listeners: our socialistmoth- Tht: systemof controlling the pressis erland,the interestsof the party and the govern- complcx. Basically,all journalistsmust 1'rearin ment areidentical with thoseof the pcopleand mind the Party'spolicies, though, as many the party'snewspapers are the people'snewspa- journalistshave reminded me, it is not always " pers. altogetherclear what the policy on a certain Hu Yaobangalso spelled out to what issueis. An official interviewedfor a story may extent Chinesejournalists, faced with the new demandto seethe text beforeit goesinto print challengesof reform policy, should "exposeand or beforeit is aired. The editor in chargeof criticize the unhealthy trends of society:" "Our putting a story into the newspapermay overrule newspapersshould give 80 percentof their space a story after it hasbeen written. A serious to reporting good things and achievementsand mistake can mean the end of a career.A critical give the remaining20 percentof their spaceto phonecall from the PropagandaDepartment of criticizing the seamyside of things and to the Party's(CCP) Central Committee, which is "(' exposingour shortcomings. in chargeof the day-to-daywork of checkingthe |ing |un, a former Chinese journalist who press/ensures that a similar story is not pub- worked at China Daily for five years as National lishedagain. News Editor, describedthe intricacies of Party The Xinhua News Agency and the People's control of the pressin his paper'The Working Daily lRenmin Ribaol,both directly controlled Pressin China." He cited an examplefrom by the Party'sCentral Committee, set the tone. 1984,when the governmentwas about to By reportingon an issue,and l'ryoutlining the launch its urban reforms. The man in chargeof corrcctinterpretation of policies,they give the

"Lies '89 4 in Ink, Truth in Blood:" The Role and Impact of the ChineseMedia During the Beiiing Spfing of greenlight to other media organizationsto editors-in-chiefof the major national newspa- follow suit. persare called to the PropagandaDepartment Xinhua News Agency is the most promi- headquarters,where they are briefed on the nent of all the media organizations,a notch following week'snews and editorialpolicies. abovethe others. Previously, Xinhua had The editors-in-chief,in turn, hold similar exclusiverights to covertop-level political meetings for their own editors, so that by meetings. In the 1980'sthe leadingnewspapers Tuesdayword has passedfrom the very top - managedgradually to introduce healthy compe- the Party's Central Committee Propaganda tition, thanks to the growing degreeof profes- Department - right down to the iournalists in sionalism. But Xinhua is still the flagship- chargeof running the everydayroutines of the though a newspapercarrying a Xinhua story newspaper. might write their own headline or cut the story Television and radio are administratively for lack of space,it would still not add to or controlled by the Ministry of Radio, Film and revise the text. Television, which in turn is under the Propa- While Xinhua News Agency is the author- ity when it comesto news/the People'sDaily sets the editorial agenda. Wu Guogang,who for- merly worked on the editorial staff of Peclple's Minister Ai Zhisheng would Daily, saysthat a certain degreeof antagonrsm usually perconally show uP existsbetween the People'sDaily and the at the CCTV newvoom and Party's PropagandaDepartment. "Mao Zedong usedto write the most important editorialsof preview the 7 p.m. Chinese the People'sDaily himself, and thc newspaper news broadcast. He was hasalways had very closeties directly with the known by the nickname very top leaders.Because of the specialrelation- 'Director ship betweenthe newspaperand the country's of News.' leaders,it doesnot like the ideaof taking orders from the Party'sPropaganda Department." It was interesting to hear from Wu Guogang,a Nieman fellow at Harvard Univer- gandaDepartment of the Central Committee. sity from 1989-1990,that as Party Secretary,Hu According to FengXiaoming, who worked for Yaobangpersonally gaveinstructions for impor- the English languagenews department at China tant articlesor editorialsconcerning policy and Central Television,CCTV, from 1985to August ideology. He also checkedthe finishedproduct. of 1989,Minister Ai Zhisheng would usually When ZhaoZiyang becameParty Secretaryin personally show up at the CCTV newsroom and 1987,hedid not personallyparticipate in the preview the 7 p.m. Chinesenews broadcast.He editorial work, but delegatedthe job to Hu Qili, was known by the nickname'Director of News.' another reform-mindedmember of the Standing Becauseneither the minister nor his aides Committee." spoke English, the English languagenews broadcast,aired 6 nights a week after 10p.m', In practice, censorshipis implemented "But with the help of specific guidelines,which are would be explainedto him in Chinese. for drawn up by a working group of the Party's the most part, he was only told headlines/not Central Committee PropagandaDepartment. details, and therefore the English Ianguagenews Five or six peoplemake up the working group, broadcastsenjoyed a bit more freedom than the which meets weekly, usually on Monday Chinesenews."ro morning. They decidewhich issuesshould be In retrospect,it seemsa bit ironic that Hu touched upon during the coming week and on Yaobang,who was reveredin the spring of 1989 which themes the commentary piecesshould by the students as a symbol of liberal thought, focus. In the spring of 1989 the working group was the man behind the previously mentioned the bounda- was led by Hu Qili. key speech,which clearly defines For example,the working group might ries of Chinese journalism and emphasizesthe decidethat a speechto be given by a senior senseof social responsibility that Chinese iour- leadershould be prominently displayedor a nalists should adhereto. state visit by a foreign dignitary should receive Hu Yaobang'sspeech, which he delivered specialattention. After this meeting, the as Party Secretaryto the CPC Central Commit-

inda lakobson 5 tee in February 1985,was a responseopposing after all,lost his iob and his chancesto become the suggestionsput forward by leading Chinese Deng Xiaoping's successorfollowing the student editors and publishing officials. They had held a demonstrationso{ 1986-87. The official Party symposium in Shanghaiin December 1984to obituary made no mention of why he was 'campaign discussthe contents of a formal presslaw. They removed from his post or o{ the proposedthat the same kind of responsibility againstbourgeois liberalization,' which followed system, which had been devisedfor enterprise his dismissal. managers/should be introduced for editors-in- According to Seth Faison,the Beiiing chief, and that articles would no longer have to correspondentfor the English languageHong- be submitted to Party officials beforepublica- kong daily South China Morning Post, two tion. reportersfrom People'sDaily lRenmin Ribaol "When Chinese journalists demanded confronted their editor-in-chief, Tan Wenrui, pressfreedom, they were not asking for inde- with an article about the April l8th march late pendent newspapersor private radio stations," that same evening,in the hope that he would former China Daily news editor |ing fun approveit for publication. The young reporters/ stressedwhen I interviewed him in May 1990. efforts were to no avail. In spite of his reputa- "They were not even thinking of news organiza- tion as an editor in favor of reforming the press, tions which would stand on their own feet Tan Wenrui was not ready to risk his 39-year economically or be independentof the Party careeras a Party journalist.12 administratively. They simply wanted to do It was no secretthat the govemment did away with censorship. They wanted the right to not want to encourageor support any actions of dissent. Since the news of Hu Yaobang'sdeath spreadthrough Beiiing, the university campuses had been abuzz with activities which had the air "The "They simply wanted to of protest and defianceto them. one who shouldn't die died, while those who should die do away with censorchip. still live on," proclaimed one of the many They wanted the right to hundred dazibaos,a Chinese large-character poster,which ordinary citizens have tradition- rcport on events ally used to voice their concerns. There was no f actually." doubt that "the ones who should die" were Deng Xiaoping and the other octogenarian leaderswho wielded power behind the scenes. To everyone'sgreat surprisethe newspaper report on eventsfactually."rr which was the first to break ranks was Science The Chinese students' rallying cry for & Technology Daily lKeii Ribao). Its April l9th 'democracy'didnot mean democracyin the way issue ran a news story with a factual account of it is known in the West. Nor was'pressfree- the sceneat Tiananmen Square,accompanied by dom' defined in the same manner by Chinese a photo showing students, some with clenched journalists as by their Western counterparts. fists. The article was naturally, as Seth Feison notes, merely a "tiny leak in the dike of official control," but it did not go unnoticed.13Though Media Coverage, Part 7: it has a limited circulation and had not previ- Keii Pushing the Limits ously coveredpolitically related stories, Ribao is a national newspaperand it set an example for others to have the courageto follow When a few thousand students,mostly from the suit. prominent Beijing University, marched to From the start, the media succeededin Tiananmen Squarein the early hours of April discreetly portraying the generalrespect which tSth and laid their wreaths under the Monu- was felt for Hu Yaobang and disapproval about ment of the People'sHeroes to mourn the death his ousting. Muted criticism of the present of Hu Yaobang,it was neither surprising nor "Hu leadershipwas evident in headlineslike unusual that the newspapersand television rnourned as great mar,," "Poland ends 7-year broadcastsmade no mention o{ either the march ban on Solidarity" and "110 Soviet party heads or the protest sit-in thereafter. Hu Yaobanghad, quit posts," or, in quotes run by Xinhua News

"Lies '89 6 in Ink, Truth in Blood:" The Role and Impact of the Chinese Media During the Beiiing Spting of Agency, that Hu Yaobang"did a lot for the paper. country's re{orm and his respectof intellectuals feanneMoore remembersthat the break- and education set a good example to all Chinese down in control was a gradualprocess. Bit by leaders." bit the editors in chargeof routine news deci- "But On April20th, the People'sDaily lRenmin sions becamemore daring. the fact that Ribaol ran a long article about its reporter'svisit there were always reporterson hand, ready to to the Soviet Union, where the "oppressive report what they had been out on their own atmospherethat had long weighedpeople's accordwitnessing, or photographs,like in the minds has been replacedby an open, relaxed and April20th example,available without anyone freeatmosphere. People have freely discussed having officially been told to take them, was variousproblems in political, economicand significant. There was a tremendous force social life without any fear."ta among the members of the staff, who were China Daily published a dynamic photo trying to put as much pressureas possibleon depicting solemn students,sporting dark head- the editorsto coverthe ongoingnews story."rs bands,with their arms raisedin front of a 6- Many Chinese journalists were among the meter high portrait of Hu Yaobangon the front onlookers during the night of April 2lst, when pageof its April 20th issue. Besidethis eye- more than 100,000students marched in organ- catching photo was the Xinhua News Agency's ized fashion through the city in order to reach official version of a clash which had taken place Tiananmen Squarebefore it was closedoff for betweensecurity guardsand demonstrators the official servicescommemorating Hu Yao- iust 'Internationale' after midnight on April l9th. The incident bang. They sangthe and carried "Long occurredoutside the gatesof Zhongnanhai, a bannerswith texts live democracy" and "Down sealed-offarea where most Chinese top leaders with corruption." While the leadersof live and work. the country attendedthe memorial service IeanneMoore, an American journalist who inside the Great Hall of the Peopleon April 22nd, three students - in a scenerich with symbolism - knelt on the stepsoutside with a scrolledpetition listing their demandsraised When authofities stopped abovetheir heads. Crowds of students standing in Tiananmen Squarechanted: "Li Peng,Come the normal distribution of out! " He didn't. The frustratedstudents the newspaperby mail, the returnedto their campuses. ournalists themselv es The students' disappointment turned to i angerwhen they discoveredthat their protest caftied bundles of the April and their demands were not reported by the 24th edition to post offices Chinese media, with one exception. Once again it was Science & Technology Dally lKeii arcund Beiiing. Ribaol which broke with tradition and pub- lished a factual account of the events,inside and outside the Great Hall of the People. Its article was working as an English language'polisher' at stated that about 100,000students gatheredat "to China Daily at the time, was on hand when this Tiananmen Square protest the Party's militant-looking photo was chosenfor publica- treatmentof Hu Yaobangand... (to demand)a tion. "No one on duty that evening felt good quicker pacefor democratization." After a about having to run the Xinhua version of the stormy meeting, the younger members of the Zhongnanhai incident. At the evening news staff finally persuadededitor-in-chief Lin Zexin conferencesomeone remarked that we should to run the story. When authorities stoppedthe have a picture of the day's events for the front normal distribution of the newspaperby mail, page. No one had been officially assignedto the journalists themselvescarried bundles of the cover the Square. The photo editor suddenly April24th edition to post officesaround Bei- disappearedand came back in an instant with iing.'u this remarkable photograph.Everyone marvelled Also the Shanghai-basedweekly World about what a good shot it was. None of the Economic Herald lshiiie lingii Daobao) refused news editors on hand wanted to be the one to to submit to silence. Bearingin mind the forbid its use, and so the picture went in the Herald's reputation as China's most liberal and

Linda lakobson 7 had forthright newspapersince its founding in 1980, 160,000 copieso{ the original version of its clash with authorities was to be expected. abeadybeen printed and severalhundred a few days Editor-in-chief Qin Benli was a veteran commu- them hastily distributed. Following on nist journalist, who advocatedpublicly that of heatedtug-of-war, liangZemin announced without political reform China's economic April26th that Qin Benli had beendismissed the reforms could not succeed. He had managedto atrd thrt a working group representing been ap- weather a seriesof storms and confrontations Party's propagandadepartment had with propagandaofficials becauseof his close pointed to overseethe Herald'soperations.rT ties with Party SecretaryZhao Ziyang. Survival Afterwards, there was some speculation in in China's thunderous political climate is that had Party SecretaryZhaoZiyangbeen been able to doomed without a highly placedally. the country, Qin Benli might have state The head of the Party's propagandadepart- keephis iob. But ZhaoZiyang was on a - which ment in Shanghai,Chen Zhili, telephonedQin visii to North Korea a circumstance unquestionably had an effect on the events taking place in Beijing. On April 24th, Li Penghurriedly called a They made sure that Deng Central Committee Politburo meeting to be Xiaoping was given the held in the absenceof ZhaoZiyang,.According Chen students to a report deliveredby Mayor of Beijing, impression that the Xitong, on 30th, Deng Xiaoping made a fune "his were trulY about to thtow speechafter this meeting expressing full the countrv into havoc' agreementand support" of the decision to publish an editorial condemning the student activities. China'sparamount leader supposedly alsogave his blessingto the decisionto use "put down the Benli on April2lst and askedto seethe final whatever force neccessaryto pageproofs of issueno.439, due out on April turmoil."rs been describedas 2gtd. thongh she had never askedto seethe Deng Xiaoping has often fought for 7O proofs before,Chen Zhili said she was curious a genuine revolutionary who has political system. He to know the contents of an issue with six pages yearsto establisha stable go down the dedicatedto Hu Yaobang. According to Kate was not willing to seehis work made by a bunch of Wright, who wrote a detailed article about the drain becauseof demands Crisis at Tian- World Economic Herald casefor the Australian 2O-year-oldkids. In their book quite of ChineseAffairs, Chen Zhili told the anment Yi Mu and Mark V. Thompson lownal "thought leadersof China newspaperstaff that she there would rightly point out that the older student be little problem with any of these things." sincerely believe that independent a threat to their However, she did ask Qin Benli to changea organizationsare not simply "crack foundation of social- specific passagewritten by the reform-minded power/ but a at the it. . . The kind of social- political scientist Yan fiaqi. ir- "t they understand only rein- In the controversial paragraphs,Yan |iaqi ism in which they were educated view that the referreddirectly to the student protests on April forced the traditional Chinese society . . . The 18th ("Yesterday,at TiananmenSquare, I saw state must control all facetsof is not that Deng our police and soldiersreally at one with the real tragedy involved here to power/ people.") and advisedthe Party to make a fair Xiaoping and his allies were clinging "II that their assessmentof the late Hu Yaobang. a correct but that they ultimately believe justified." appraisalis not made, problems may still arise... actions were fullY that Deng ff it (the Party) selflesslyrecognizes its errors I There have also been reports limited amount of feel China has prospects. If not, the old disas- Xiaoping had accessto a very wanted to use the trous road lies ahead." information. The hardliners pretext to get rid of First, editor-in-chief Qin Benli refusedto student demonstrationsas a - they made sure delete the requestedtext, assuringChen Zhili the more liberal ZhaoZiyang given the impression that he would take full responsibility. When that Deng Xiaoping was the to ShanghaiParty boss that the students were truly about to throw Chen Zhili tumed |iang re Zemin (presentlyleader of the country), Qin country into havoc. (Renmin Ribaol Benli was forced to give in. By this time some After the People'sDaIIy

'89 spring of g ,,Lies in Ink, Truth in Blood:" The Role and Impact of the chinese Media During the Beiiing publishedits harsheditorial on April26th, off by explaining that the government officials "candid calling for a {irm stand againstdisorder and had a conversationwith the students on accusingthe studentsof creating'national the issue of punishing official profiteers,clean turmoil'- in Chineseterms/ an offensepunish- government, educationaldevelopment, how to able by death - it was generally taken for view the current student strike, and other grantedthat the students had heard the voice of questions. They voiced their determination to the'emperor'and had beenfrightened into lying relay the students' suggestionsto the respon- low for a while, at least until May 4th. The sible comradesconcerned accurately." 70th anniversaryof the May Fourth Movement On May 3rd, Beiiing Television Service would provide a new official pretext to rally aired the entire pressconference which focused publicly. on the students' demandsand was held by State The students'historic 10-hourmarch on Council spokesmanYuan Mu for both Chinese April2Tth, just one day after the stern editorial, and foreign journalists. That day's issue of was finally coveredby major Chinese media People'sDally lRenmin Ribaol printed the organizations. The Xinhua News Agency Xinhua News Agency's story about student Domestic Servicein Chinesereported: "Carry' demonstrationsin Shanghai,making note of "We ing streamersand shouting slogans,tens of some of the banner texts, for example: thousandsof students from some schoolsof Want Democracy andFreedom." The momen- higher education in Beijing paradedin the tum of the media surgedin pacewith the streets today." The story later describedthe movement's. slogansas "Supportthe CPC (Communist May 4th has often proved to be a milestone Partyl, EradicateCorruption, Down with Offi- in Chinese history. The May Fourth Movement cial Profiteers,"to emphasizethe students' of l9I9 is honored in China as the first time loyalty towards the government.20 students initiated a mass movement not only to Though the media coverageon the April protest againstgovernment policies, but also to 27th march was minimal, with few details, and spreadnew ideas. Shortly after the founding of echoedthe authorities'demand that students the People'sRepublic it was declaredNational resumeclasses, it was apparentto any sophisti- Youth Day. cated readerthat a severebreakdown in public The students' demonstrationson May 4th obediencehad occurred.The studentsmarched drew hundreds of thousandsof onlookers,who defiantly despitethe previous day's warning. As cheeredand marvelled at the jubilant, but non- Yi Mu and Mark V.Thompsonwrite: ". . . the violent atmosphere.For the first time journal- Party was confronting an entirely new situation ists joined the marchersunder their own ban- "support in which society was escapingthe control of the ners demanding the World Economic "Reinstate state. Put more bluntly, peoplewere asking to Herald" and Qin Benli." Television take control of their own lives."2l and newspaperreports of the day consistedof straightforward coveragewith the use of pic- tures portraying the unbelievablescenes. Equally-if not more-significant as the Media Coverage, Part 2: May 4th demonstrations was the speech made Party SecretaryZhao Strai ghtf orw ar d Rep ortin g that same evening by Ziyangat the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Xinhua News Starting from April 28th, stories about the Agency's story citing ZhaoZiyang saying that students'protestactivities appeared in all maior the recent demonstrations did not indicate newspapersas well as TV and radio broadcasts. political instability was a clear sign to even the Stepby step, the pieceswere basedon factual less informed reader. Zhao Ziyang wanted to reporting and listed the students' demands. A 'dialogue' distancehimself from the April 26th editorial major breakthrough was the televised which had accusedthe students of instigating between student representativesand State turmoil. He wanted to make public his split Council officials on April 29th, the first one of with the conservativesin the Party. its kind in the history of the People'sRepublic, 's In a speechon May 24th, Chin Presi- followed by a secondone with Mayor Chen dent, General Yang Shangkun,suggested that Xitongon April30th. everyonego back and read very carefully Zhao The announcerof the'National News "Comrade Ziyang's speechat the ADB meeting. Hookup' program featuring the meetings started

Linda lakobson 9 ZhaoZiyang's speechwas a turning point, ernment was in disarray.The work group was "It Yang Shangkunadmitted. revealedall the not getting its guidelines from the top leaders differencesof members of the StandingCom- and therefore,instructions were not being mittee of the Politburo in front of the stu- passeddown to the newspapersin the standard, dents."22 institutionalized w ay." Yang Shangkunwas telling the truth. According to a cadreworking for the Every experiencededitor knew what Zhao Information Department of the CCP Propaganda Ziyang's speechimplied and by May 5th, it was Department, two weeks passedin the beginning clear which side they favored.Zhao Ziyang's of May without the Department receiving a words were splashedover the front pagesof all singlephone call from the Central Committee, the major newspapers.His speechwas broad- which in normal times routinely relayed in- cast on radio and television for three days. structions. TV news anchor FengXiaoming In the week that followed, newspapersand rememberedthat Ai Zhisheng, the Minister of Xinhua News Agency ran favorablecommentar- Film, Radio & Television, did not show up for ies, made by people from different parts of his daily preview of the 7 o'clock news broad- society, about Zhao Ziyang's speechand his castbetween May l5th and MaY l9th. attitude towards the student movement. Mayor The beginning of the hunger strike at a Chen Xitong, who in his report of |une 30th Tiananmen Squareon May 13th marked "counter- reviewed the events leading up to the resurgencefor the student movement and the revolutionary rebellion," said that the China start of an unprecedentedperiod in the history BroadcastingStation, CCTV, People'sDaily of both the People'sRepublic and the Chinese (Renmin Ribaol and other newspaperswere Communist press. The hunger strike hit a encouragedto do so by ZhaoZiyang's close aide nerve among ordinary citizens, which in turn Bao Tong.23The mayor accusedZhao Ziyang led to a spontaneousoutpouring of sympathy and his followers of manipulating the media. and support for the students. But it is also apparent thatZhaoZiyang's stance Anyone in China over the ageof thirty was in accordancewith the aspirationsof the remembersa time when most urban residents students and the presscorps. hardly had enough to eat and there was wide- By bringing the disagreementsamong the spread{amine in the countryside. The meaning out into the open,ZhaoZiyang of food in the Chinese culture is portrayed in top leaders " with a chanceto show their the common greeting: Ni chi fan le mal" provided the media "Have support for the student movement by reporting which literally means, you eaten?" it and the students' demands. All the Chi- though it is meant to expressthe same as the on "Hello, to admit that the American phrase, how areyou?" And neseiournalists I have spoken "Fine, was not merely attempting to do just as English-speakersrespond, thank presscorps " "I their job in the professionalsense and cover the you," Chineseanswer Chi f an 1e,"ot have news, though this was their primary aim. They eaterr,"regardless of whether they have or not. were also awarethat the movement would With the top leadershipparalyzed, and benefit from publicity. The editors-in-chief with Hu Qili's remarks regardingZhaoZiyang's knew they could cover up by saying that they views to {all back on, the media was free to were only publicizing the views of the Party report on the events taking place not only in General Secretary.2a Beiiing, but in cities all over China. Transla- Politburo member Hu Qili reportedly tions of articles and broadcastspublished by the visited eight major media organizations,evi- ForeignBroadcasting Information Service(FBIS) dently on May 5th, to relay a messagefrom alone would fill a thick book' Media reports ZhaoZiyang: "There is no big risk in opening from all cornersof the kingdom described up a bit by reporting on the demonstrationsand demonstrationsin support of the fasting and increasingthe opennessof news."2s fainting students in Tiananmen Squareand The split in the top leadershipaffected all activities related to the movement. layers of the government, including the ones Chinese television broadcastmoving "By intended to control the media. the time the imagesof suffering students,stretched out on newspaperswere publishing stories on the the ground in suffocatingheat or in the pouring student movement, something was deadly rain, determined not to give in. Xinhua News wrong," (former China Daily news editor |ing Agency's domestic service ran scoresof stories "The pouring in from the most |un analyzedthe situation). central Sov- about the support

,,Lies '89 10 in Ink, Truth in Blood:" The Roleand Impact of the ChineseMedia Duting the Beiiing Sptingof unexpectedsectors of societyduring the week- of opennesswould gradually come to an end. long hunger strike. It also noted that workers To speakof China's "three daysof pressfree- had joined the ranks of marching supporters. dom," which quite a few writers have done, is When I phoned the Ministry of Foreign hasty and inaccurate.2TChina hasyet to experi- Trade (MoFERT)to arrangeto meet a section encepress freedom. chief related to my researchwork, the reception- In the first place, Chinese newspapers ist apologized,"Sorry - he's out marching." were not free to report on any subject without Government officials, representativesfrom the limitations. They did not publish articles People'sLiberation Army, distinguishedmem- which, for example,quoted people calling for bersof variousParty-led organizations all joined the overthrow of the Communist one-party the "more than one million peoplefrom all system of rule, or who demandedthat Tibet be works ollife," who were trying to urge and granted independence.They reported on the pressurethe leadershipinto submitting to the movement which basically was intent on students'demandfor an "open and equaldia- reforming the Communist Party from within. logue." On the other hand, the period during which the The opennessof the media coverage media carriedstories of the students'protests reachedits climax on May l8th, when Prime was longer than the three days often cited. It Minister Li Pengmet with studentsin a dia- was closerto three weeks. loguetelevised nationwide. The impertinent Balanced,objective news storiesand behaviorof the studentrepresentatives, espe- analysiswere also scarce. There was no doubt cially the brashconduct of Wu'er Kaixi, who that the journalists' sympathy was on the side of the students. The students repeatedlydefined their demandsas modest, but what would they Chinese newspap er s wer e have entailedin reality? A negationof the April not to report on any 26th editorial was equivalent to asking Deng ftee Xiaopingto write a self-criticismpublicly. And subiect without to recognizethe unofficial student organization limitations. would have been interpreted as giving permis- sion to other groupsin society,most notably the workers, to organizethemselves independently. The government'sdilemma was acute.Also, criticizedthe Prime Minister for being late and Chinesejournalists did not darespeculate on told him off for quibbling with him, made a the intense power strugglegoing on among the lasting imprint on the minds of hundreds of top leadership. millions of viewers acrossthe country. The government's decision to agreeto such a meet- ing was surprising enough,but to give in to the Media Coverage, Part 3: students'demandthat it be televisedmade the The Party's Mouthpiece concessionall the more astonishing. During the dialoguethe student represen- Even after martial law was declared,hardliners tatives set two conditions for ending the hunger in the government did not regain control of the strike. First, the April 26th editorial was to be media immediately. As late as May 24th rescinded. In other words, their movement newspaperspublished stories and photos of should be officially acknowledgedas a demo- citizens setting up roadblocksalong main routes cratic, patriotic movement which was not in the outskirts of Beijing to prevent the troops creating turmoil. Secondly,televised dialogues from entering the center of the capital. should be held between the decision makers and Even though the director and editor-in- genuine leadersof the students,i.e., the unofficial chief of People'sDaily Ribaol, studentd organization. Li Peng,who at times lRenmin Qian Liren and Tan Wenrui, were removed from their seemedat odds about how to talk without a posts/and a'work team'loyal to the conserva- preparedagenda to the unruly students,did not tives in the Party took over, the staff managed agreeto either one.26 to publicize the protests for a few days. On May On May 20th he declaredmartial law in 23rd, the front pagecarried two photos, one of parts of Beijing. the students continuing their sit-in at Tian- The Chinese iournalists' short-lived period

Linda lakobson 11 had regainedcontrol of the press' All anmen Square,and the other of a child offering a Peng emphasizedthe government's popsicle to a soldier sitting in a blocked military media reports for the statue. it""k. A day earlier, a front pagestory and disdain May 29th, Beijing Radio Servicebroad- headline cited a Hungarian leadersaying that On cast a circular issuedby the Ministry of Radio, Stalinisttactics of violenceshould not be used "that Film and Television. It stressed radio and to suppressthe PeoPle. are the mouthpieces of the A gtonp of students visited the famous television services government, and people,and that state retired marshalsXu Xiangqian and Nie party, television stations must ' ' ' publicize Rongzhento ask {or their support' According to iadio and decision of the party Central Com- the [eiiing Domestic ServiceRadio broadcast, the brilliant on ending the turmoil . . . and educate the students spoke of their fear that the troops mittee to conscientiously safeguardthe were going to rr." violence againstthem' The the masses "the of stabilitY and unitY." marshalsassured the students that army situation 'stability' and'unity'- thesetwo words comradesare, under no circumstances,willing "quell- time after time to justify the to seea bloody incident." In the days following were used the counter-revolutionary rebellion" in the declaration of martial law, the media carried ing of The Chinese media coverageof the severalreports citing prominent Party members neliing. of 3rd and 4th is well-known' It warning againstthe use of force' events )une one-sidedgovernment version of a On May 23rd, television viewers were reflectsthe led by a handful of people,and of heroic shown shots of the mass demonstration with revolt, risking and sacrificing their lives to about one million people demonstrating against soldiers "Down the stability and unity of the nation'2e martial law. The slogan with Li Peng" ensure Do the citizenso{ Beijingbelieve what the could be faintly heard in the background' has told them about the'incident?' Xinhua News Agency's English Servicewire government "most is wholeheartedlY,no' story mentioned that of the sloganswere My answer The tens of thousandswho were on the directed againstthe chief leaderof the State that night saw with their own eyes,how Council." Li Peng'sname was not mentioned' streets at maior intersections along An increasingnumber of articles quoted outragedcivilians tried to prevent the soldiers prominent members of society, who praisedor the rnain boulevard reachingTiananmen Square. The people, endorsedthe decision to declaremartial law and from first refusedto believe that the People's appealedto the students to return to their who at Army would fire at its own citizens, had only sticks and stonesand'Molotov cocktails'at equippedwith Beiiing their disposal. The soldierswere Do the citizens of machine-gunsand armoured PC-vehicles' The believe what the government severitv oJ the situation was clear even to those distance' hastold them about the witnessing the chaosfrom a safe 'incident!' Rickshaws racedup the side-streetstransporting MY answer is the bloodied bodies of the wounded and deadto wholeheattedlY,no. hospitalsand morgues. But do people in other cities, not to speak " of the countryside, believe that a small handful of thugs and ruffians were trying to overthrow goiernment?" That is a question which is campusesto ensurethe stability of the country' the "normal more di{ficult to answer accurately' sut ihe peacefulsituation and order" in rnrr"h in China have grown accustomedto all parts of Beijing were also getting a lot of People changesin policy and they are wary -.di" attention, which was clearly intended to "onii.t.tont of ferociouspolitical campaigns. They know undermine the government/sattempts to create "counterrevolu- that the offiiial version of the an image of disorder. Reportsmentioning the rebellion in Beiiing," the one the media continuing sit-in at Tiananmen Squarewere tionary even in is putting out, is what they are suppo-sedto still being published as late as May 30th, - And they have learned that believing People'sDallY (RenminRibaol.28 think. "Goddess one believes- in the official By the time the statue of De- at least saying Party line is a way to stay out of trouble' mocracy" was erectedon May 30th, it was evident that forces loyal to Prime Minister Li

'89 ,,Lies Media During the Beiiing Springof 12 in Ink, Truth in Blood:" The Roleand Impact of the Chinese The lournalists loin the Demonstrators journalistic work and the rules of journalism, Already months before Hu Yaobang'sdeath, the published in Zhongguo lizhe (|ournalist of China), a month beforeHu Yaobang'sdeath. 70th anniversaryof the May Fourth Movement "Newspapers had been targetedby a handful of student carry a lot of reports that are not activistsas the start of a new studentmove- news/ while genuine news reports that the ment. According to ShenTong, a biology major readerslike to seeare pushed aside."3r journalists at Beiiing University and one of the many The decision on the part of the studentleaders, small informal'democracy to take to the streetsand demonstrateon their groups'wereset up during the winter of 1988-89 own behalffor'freedom of the press'wasmade politi- in a meeting on May 3rd at the Lu Xun Museum to discussstrategy and ways to promote "Ever cal reform. in Beijing. sinceHu Yaobang'sdeath and "My group,which was calledthe Olympic the escalatingactivities of the students,many Institute, contactedpeople from many different lournalists had met informally in private homes partsof society,especially of courseintellectu- to contemplate action," Zhang Dandan of the lingii Zhoukan (EconomicWeekly) recalled in als, in order to establisha network of relation- "We ships," ShenTong explained in an interview in an interview in May 199O. have all read a journalists April 1990. "I think I was one of the few who lot about the work of Western and realizedthe importance of getting the journal- their role as'watchdog'in society. We felt the ripe fight for that right ourselves. ists involved in our movement. Already in |une time was to 1988I met with someof the journalistsat, for We were terribly excited and moved by the students'brave actions."32 example, Renmin Ribao, [ingii Ribao (Eco- the approxi- nomic Daily), ZhongguoQingnian Ribao (China ZhangDandan was among mately 200 journalists who demonstratedon Youth fournal),Keii Ribao, Beiiing Ribao (BeijingDaily) andGuangming Ribao." May 4th. They were the first non-student group ShenTong saidthat the studentactivists to publicly rally on behalf of the students, were well aware of the shortcomings of the though they also had their own agenda. Their 1986-87movement. "We were too isolated.Not bannerswere preparedby ShenTong and two even the intellectuals stood up to endorseour other students,who, in the pre-dawn hours of cause.All of us knew that without freedomof May 4th, took them to the gatesof Xinhua the presswe would not be ableto arouseinter- News Agency. est and support for our ideas. That's why it was After that day, the columns of protesting journalists one of our major demandsfrom the begin- becamea common sight whenever ning."30 the students were on the move. As Canadian journalistsScott Simmie and Bob Nixon write I remember pricking up my earson a street "the corner near the Beijing Llbrary, where I was in their book, Tiananmen Square, students watching groupsof singing students march by and the media thrived on a symbiotic relation- on April 27th. I recognizedthe tune of "Fr€,re ship.";a During the hunger strike, the different media organizationsmarched under their own |acques",and after a moment or two, I burst banners,and even the older editors could be into laughter when I managedto decipher the "We words: "People'sDaily, People'sDaily, very beenchanting, want to be able to tell the strange,very strange. Always printing lies, truth." On May 9th, a petition requestinga always printing lies. Very strange,very 'dialogue' strange." on freedom of the presswas delivered Also among the journalists, especiallythe to the All-China |ournalistd Association. It was journalists younger oneswho had been educatedafter the signedby 1,013 from 30 news units. Cultural Revolution in an environment which In that same day's issue o{ Worker's Daily promotedcompetitive standards in education, lGongren Ribaol, an article vehemently de- there were peopleadvocating that the pressbe fendedthe citizens'right to know what was permitted to report on news stories factually. goingon from the domesticpress. As mentioned earlier, the suggestionsput The government did not take long to journalists' forward by leading editors in late 1984were too succumb to the demand for a'dia- much for Hu Yaobangto swallow, but the logue.' On May 1lth, the Politburo member in strugglefor professionalismwas not abandoned. chargeof propaganda,Hu Qili, and the head of "There is too much interference," wrote the CCP Central Committee PropagandaDe- Mo Ru in a blatantly critical article about partment, Wang Rezhi, went to the office of the

Linda lakobson 13 points to the widespreadsupport China Youth fournal lZhongguo Qingnian First, he from peoplein all Ribao\to meet with members o{ the media. which the students received "Second,and perhaps The Xinhua News Agency reportedthat oificials fields of urban society. internally over maintained that "it is high time to carry out more important, the party split which pressreform, which is an important part of its responseto the student movement/ on, and political reform." The wire story did not carry preventedeffective repressionearly key elements of the "tty q.,ot"t. According to the Hongkong media, which eventually led to party and, most crucially, the one of the iournalists, Li Datong, exclaimed in capital's apparatus "We openly certain student his presentationthat feel profoundshame!" mass media to support of mass support and and added,"Tournalism means recording the demands. The combination to a massive, facts." party fragmentation led rapidly in scoresof To understandthe effect the iournalists' nonviolent rebellion that echoed participationin the demonstrationshad on the cities throughout China in the movement as a whole, one has to appreciatethe While the iournalists'participation effect on the educated specialcharacteristics of Chinesesociety. demonstrationshad an - terms/ the intel- Throughout history, university students have partsof society in Chinese - trre attention of the been a distinct group apart from the rest of lectuals it hardly caught is what mobilized society. On the one hand, they are looked upon workers. The media coverage When the newspapers as'children',who sometimesdo not know the'man on the street.' report on the protests better, but on the other hand, they are also and televisionstarted to them trouble- priviliged members of the community, who by the students,without branding as something offi- havethe right to havepure and idealisticviews' makers, it was interpreted Yulin Not only the students were elated when cially sanctioned.Political scientistfing 'no "it giving peoplethe they discoveredthat they were longer alone', summarized, was like that it was as good as thanks to the journalists'protestmarch on May green light, showing them to support the 4th. Other intellectualsalso felt inspiredand permissible, certainly risk-averse, encouragedthat responsibleadults who had students." television shots families to support - peoplewhom any edu- It was hard to ignore beggingtheir offspring catedcity-dweller could, at leastto a certain showing wailing mothers not to starve themselves extent, relate to - had summoned enough at Tiananmen Square carrying signs: courageto speakout about their frustrations' to death, or small children "Don't brothersdie!" Once the journalists, even members of the let our big sistersand the slightest bit Party's mouthpiece People'sDally lRenmtn Even those who were not politics felt touched. The public Ribao),got away with their public show of interested in hunger strike was discontent, the most determined members o{ relations value of the "The helped to magnify other intellectual groupspushed aheadwith enormous. reportage and involvement, and for a plansto ioin in and show their supportfor the public sympathy appearthat the demon- itudents' movement. The iournalists' march plvotal period, made it in toppling the hard- servedas a catalyst. As Andrew Walder, Profes- strationi might succeed Walderasserted' sor of Sociologyat Harvard University, agreedin line leadership,"Andrew "The which the general an interview for this research, Chinese In the Wist, the shock gory journalists were absolutely central in stoking public experiencedafter watching the television has been widely the fire." iro"nt, ofJune 4th on publicized. Few envisionedthat the authorities would use brutal force to crush the movement' which led to the reactions The Impact of the Media on the Events The underlying forces of the Chinese public have receivedless atten- tion. Would the unimaginably stubborn resis- Andrew Walder is one of the few American tance which the army encounteredon the night academicswho has studied the role of the '89' between 3rd and 4th have been so persis- Chiense media during the Beijing Spring of fune tent had it not been for reports by the Chinese In an article published in Problems of Commu- media citing high-ranking people saying that nism, Walder describestwo new developments violence should not be used against the stu- that distinguishedthis movement from previous dents? Might these reports not have eggedthe ones and led to an unprecedentedpopular people ott, ginittg them the illusion that they rebellion.

'89 ,.Lies Media During the Beiiing Spfing of 14 in Ink, Truth in Blood:" The Roleand Impact of the Chinese might somehow come out of the struggle inhabitants in Anhui province, said everyone victoriously? Neither the Western nor the was very awareof what was going on in Beijing. Chinesepress seemed to believethat Mao,s The college students in the city stagedtheir famous expressionabout power coming from own demonstration in support of the hunger the barrel of the gun still held true. strikerson May 18th. "We Li Lu, whose official title during the would all gather around the television 'deputy movement was commander of the in the teachers'dormitoryand eat our mealsin hungerstrike committee,' did not hesitate front of the television. The local newspapers when askedabout the impact of the Chinese were also reporting on the student movement. Everyonewas very impressedwhen the local television station broadcastthe two-hour "Verification dialoguebetween students from Hefei Science of the killings and Technology University and provincial sryeadin true Chinese leaders. The sincereway in which the leaders ashion,by wod of mouth." respondedwas remark able." f Voice of America and the British Broad- casting Company becamethe primary sourceso{ information once the Chinese media was "It media: was extremely important - it silenced. The American teacher/who askednot brought the movement onto a national scale. be identified becauseof plans to return to China According to the government reports,protests in the near future, said that one could hear the spreadto at least8I cities. In addition,because blaring VOA broadcastsall along the city,s one of the media'simpact, the studentmovement and only main street. News of the bloody becamea people'smovement." Li Lu is a suppressionreached her collegeon 5th. "My |une physicsand economicsmajor from Nanjing Uni- students,who were all extremely upset/ versity. He arrivedin Beijingon April2Tth and kept asking me, can we believe the VOA reports stayedat the Squareuntil the students marched about the massacre?When one of the studentd out in the early hours of fune 4th.3s brothers returned from Beijing, verification of Xiang Xiaojie,who led the students' the killings spreadin true Chinese fashion, by dialoguedelegation together with Shen Tong, word of mouth."37 agreedthat the Chinese media was instrumental Nicholas Kristof, Beijing correspondentfor in changingthe nature of the movement. the New York Times. felt that VOA and BBC "Initially, "enormous the students had no intention of had an impact," while the Chinese "quite mobilizing the city dwellers. We wanted to media had a bit of significancefor the limit the movement to students. The workers, Chinese." He and his wife Sheryl WuDunn re- demandswere too rash and we knew that ceived a Pulitzer award for their reporting endorsingthem would lead to trouble. Also, the during the Beijing Spring of '89. SandraBurton, students did not have enough experienceto Bureau Chief in Beijing for Time, thought the organizethe workers. But, as a result of the Chinese media was "very significant," while Chinesemedia, the masses'attentionwas Time Beliing correspondent|aime FlorCruz aroused." addedthat the Chinese joumalists'input was Xiang Xiaojie was a graduatestudent at the considerable "in giving the movement a second University of Politics & Law in Beijing. ,,In the wind." long run, maybe the articles which were written In other interviews dealing with the effect during that spring will have a more lasting effect the Chinese presshad on the movement, Ameri- than the student movement itself," he ventured. can journalists echoedthe view that "People becauseof can keepthe newspapers."36That is Chinese media, the whole nation knew what exactly what has happened- in many a home was going on in Beijing during May. David which I visited during the autumn of 1989,I was Holley, of the LosAngeles Times, opined that shown a cardboardbox full of clippings from the this was one of the reasonsthe govemment had "So May issuesof Chinese newspapers. that not a much harder time explaining the crushing of even my children will ever forget," a friend the movement/ and " in part, it is why China explained. remains in such a neat crisis situation today.,,38 An American who was teaching English in Going through the major American media - a by Chinese standards- tiny city of 850,000 organizations'coverageof the events,one finds

inda lakobson 15 "the leadership,in handling the protests the D espiterelentless attemqts way it did, actually strengthenedand expanded the opposition. A new vitriol burns in those to use the media to iustifY who were oncemerely disdained."a0 its actions following the The Chinese media's ability to spreadthe news of the student-ledmovement and its u ackdown, the government supportershas a direct bearing on all three of has not succeededin these changes. The pressmobilized the urban 'demobilization.' population all over the country for nearly a month, and despiterelentless attempts to use the media to iustify its actionsfollowing the crackdown, the government has not succeeded 'demobilization,'as numerous referencesin both print and televi- in far as the spirit which the sion reportsabout the demandfor'freedom of movement left behind is concerned. the press' and also referencesto the opening up As I preparedto leave China, one of my of the Chinesemedia. The World Economic more politically active friendsassured me: "Our Herald'slshiii lin9ii Daobaol casewas described fists will remain clenched,though for the in detail by major American publications. But time being they arehidden in our pockets." The only after fune 4th, when the government had disgust and ragewere naturally the most vehe- taken full control of the propagandaapparatus, ment amongthose who personallywitnessed did American newspaperspublish more in-depth the ruthlesskillings. But evenin cities outside analysisof the role of the Chinese media during Beijing,I senseda deep-rootedlonging for the actualmovement.3e change,though an air of hopelessnessalso While the drama was unfolding, the prevailed. immenseimpact which the Chinesenewspaper, In conclusion, I quote one of the first radio and television coveragewas having on the letters which I receivedfrom China after having country/ and on the events themselves,did not arrivedin the United States.It is from a teacher receivethe attention it deservedby the Ameri- friend of mine, who enjoyedexplaining old can media. American network news broadcasts Chinese sayingsto me. Even in everyday and morning shows did use footageobtained by conversation,Chinese often refer to hundreds of - Chinesetelevision (CCTV) and Wei Hua, the well-known proverbsto expressthemselves female anchor of CCTV English News, becamea understandingthem is an important part of familiar face to many Americans, thanks to the getting to know the Chinese culture. My friend airing of some of her reports from Tiananmen had beento Beijingand had heardmention of Lu Square. But American network reportersfailed Xun Museum, the museum where the Chinese to elaborateon the fact - to the degreethe journalistsgathered and decidedto ioin the situation warranted - that the same dramatic demonstrations.Lu Xun, who lived at the imageswhich were being relayed to American beginning of this century, is reveredas one of living rooms were also being seenby hundreds China's greatestwriters. "Visiting of millions of Chineseviewers. Lu Xun Museum made me think "I Basedon my own encountersand observa- of you," my friend wrote. think you should 'Lies tions in China until late November 1989,when learn this sayingby Lu Xun: written in ink t left neijing, I agreewith Nicholas Kristof's can not conceala truth written in blood'." assessmentthat China has changedin three fundamental ways, despite the fact that the "democratic conflagration" of the Beijing Spring has been extinguished on the surface. His piece "Ominous Embersfrom the Fire of 1989"was published exactly one year after the death of Hu Yaobang. First, Kristof writes, "democracy is an issue on people'sminds in a way it never was "the before." Secondly, rulers and ruled alike came to seethat their discontent was much broaderthan anyone realized." And thirdly,

"Lies '89 76 in Ink, Truth in Blood:" The Role and Impact of the ChineseMedia Duting the Beiiing Springof Brief Chronologyof Events

April 15 Hu Yaobangdies.

April l8 Few thousandstudents march from BeijingUniversity to TiananmenSquare. Later in the day about 10,000students stage sit-in in front o{ Great Hall of the People.

April 19 Keii Ribao (science& TechnologyDaily) publishesfirst accountof April lSth march. Other newspapersdo not.

April22 Hu Yaobang'sofficial memorial servicein Great Hall of Peopleat Tiananmen Square.About 100,000students gather outside. Three studentskneel on stepsof Great Hall holding a petition demanding a dialoguewith the leaders.

April24 Keii Ribao is only newspaperto pul'rlishfactual accountof students'partin Hu Yaobang'smemorial service. GeneralSecretary Zhao Ziyang leavesfor statevisit to North Korea.

April25 Prime Minister Li Pengcalls Politburo meeting in absenceof Zhao Ziyang. Decisionis made to publish an editorial condemningstudents and accusing thcm of creatingturmoil.

April26 People'sDarly lRenmin Ribaol publishesharsh editorial. Editor-in-chiefof Shanghai-basedWorld EconomicHerald is fired for refusingto deletetext re- ferring to student demonstrationsand criticizing government for ousting Hu Yaobang(in 1987).

April2T In an unprecedentedshow of civil disobedience,hundreds of thousandsof studentsmarch to Tiananmen Squareand demanda'dialogue'with govern- ment.

April28 Xinhua News Agency and major national newspapersrun articles about April 27th march. From this day until May 20th, Chinesemedia graduallyopens up and starts to run increasingly detailed articles about movement and stu- dents'demands.

Apfil29 First televised dialoguebetween students and government officials.

May 3 Televised pressconference about student movement. State Council official brands unofficial student organization illegal.

May 4 70th anniversaryof May Fourth Movement. About 20,000students march to Tiananmen Square.A few hundred journalists join in as the first non-student group of demonstrators.They demand the right to "tell the truth" and that fired editor-in-chief in Shanghaibe given back his job.

ZhaoZiyang makes important speechat Asian Developing Bank meeting. Saysstudent movement will not causechaos in China. Makes it clear that he doesnot agreewith April 26 editorial. During following week major media organizationsprint stories with favorablecommentaries about Zhao's sneech.

Linda lakobson 17 "no May 6 Zhao Ziyang briefs leadersin chargeof propagandaand saysthere is risk for the pressto openup a bit by reportingon studentdemonstrations."

May 9 Petition with 1,013signatures of journalists deliveredto governmentrepre- sentatives.fournalists demand dialogue to discusspress reform.

May 13 Beginning of hunger strike at Tiananmen Square.Students demand that April 26th editorial be retractedand televiseddialogue with Party leadersbe held.

During following week detailedreports of hungerstrike publishedin newspa- persall over the country. National televisionairs footagewith dramatic shotsfrom Tiananmen.

May 15 Sovietleader Gorbachev arrives for historic visit. illay 16 Deng Xiaoping'sand Gorbachev'smeeting overshadowed by hungerstrike.

I{ay 17 About one million march through Beijingin supportof students. Membersof government organizationsalso ioin in.

May 18 Once againabout a million peopledemonstrate.

In early morning, Zhao Ziyang, Li Pengand other leadersvisit hospitalized students- Chinesetelevision covers visit. In the afternoon,Li Pengmeets with defiantstudents for al'loutan hour in a discussionl'rroadcast live nation- wide.

May 19 Zhao Ziyang visits Tiananmen Square.Chinese television crew is present. Zhao apologizesfor having come "too late" in his last public appearance.In the eveningstudents decideto stop hunger strike.

May 20 Martial law is declaredin partsof Beifing. Media organizationsare gradually taken overby forcesloyal to the hardliners.Number of reportson students' activitiesdecline. However,reports of ongoingsit-in can still be found and numerousarticles are pul'rlished citing prominent memberspleading for restraint.

More than 100,000students continue their sit-in at TiananmenSquare despiteauthorities' strict ordersto leave. Hundredsof thousandsof citizens gatherat major intersectionsall aroundthe capitalto block the troopsfrom 'people marchingto the Square.Beijing becomes intoxicated with power.' Picturesof civilians lecturing soldiersand warning them not to hurt the studentsshown on television.

May 30 Statue"Goddess of Democracy"is erectedat TiananmenSquare. Media reportsare critical in tone and warn that the country will fall into chaosif the students do not leave the Square.

fune 3 In early evening martial law troops begin to force their way through the streetsof Beijing towards Tiananmen Square,firing indiscriminately at civilians. The troops are clearly unpreparedfor the fierce resistanceof civil- ians who try to prevent the soldiers'passage.

"Ljes '89 18 in Ink, Truth in Blood:" The Role and Impact of the ChineseMedia During the Beiiing Springof fune 4 As dawn breaks,martial law troops allow remaining students to march out of Tiananmen Square.

The media is completely controlled by the 'hardliners' and publishes reports describingthe "quelling of a counter-revolutionary rebellion" in Beijing.

Linda lakobson 19 Endnotes l. TV Coverageof Zhao, Li Visit. Quotesfrom text I2. Detailsof People'sDaily reportersconfronting providedby ForeignBroadcasting International Tan Wenrui from chapterabout the Chinesemedia Service(FBIS-CHI-89-095, 18 May 1989,p. 39). written by Seth Faison,Beiiing correspondentof SouthChina Morning Post, for an upcoming book '89 2. Text of meeting provided by ForeignBroadcasting about the Beiling Springof to be published by International ServiceFBIS. Li, Chen Meets Students, M.E. Sharpe,edited by Anthony Saich of International Beiiing Television Servicein Mandarin, from the Institute of SocialHistory in Amsterdam. "National NewsHookup" program(FBIS-CHI-89-083, 2 May 1989,p.9). 13. Detailsconcerning April 19th issueof Keii Ribao from chapterwritten by Seth Faison,see endnote 12. 3. Bannertexts from report'Tensof Thousands'foin March. ForeignBroadcasting International Service, 14. Headlinesfrom China Daily, page I of April Hong Kong, Zhongguo Tongxun Shein Chinese. l7th, l8th and2Tthissues (1989). Xinhua quoteby (FBIS-CHI-89-085,4 May 1989,p. 19). Guan Yushuo, senior lecturer at Chinese University of Hongkong,used by China Daily, April 19, 1989, "sorrow 4. BetweenApril 1987and April l9fl8, I spokewith a p.1 expressedaround nation." Reportergives number of Chinese iournalists about their work and impressionsof visit to USSR,Renmin Ribao,April Chinesemedia organizationsfor my book about 20,1989.Translation by FBIS,4May 1989,p.9 (FBIS- everydaylife in China lMureneva muufi, Vuosi ki- cHr-89 085). inalaisena),published in Finnish in October1988. 15. Interview with American journalist feanneMoore 5. Statistical Yearbookof China 1988. {May 1990).feanne Moore worked as an English languageexpert at China Daily for 14 months in 6. Text of Hu Yaobang'sspeech "On the Party's I 988-1989. fournalismWork," publishedin Renmin Ribao (People'sDaily) April 14, 1985,translation by FBIS,15 16. Detailsabout April 24th issueof Keii Ribao from April 1985,p. Kl. chapterby SethFaison {see endnote l2) and articleby Kate Wright: The Political Fortunesof Shanghai's "The 'World 7. Working Pressin China" by fing fun, Economic Herald,' Australian loutnal of November 1985,pp.8-13. Paper submitted to Harvard ChineseAff airs, no. 23,lan 199O,p. 128. University, Dept. of RegionalStudies/East Asia. 17. Article written by KateWright about the World 8. Interview (May 1990)with political scientistYang EconomicHerald (see endnote l4). Yulin, who is currently a researchfellow at Harvard University. Until 1986Yang Yulin worked as 18. Explanation of Deng Xiaoping's speechmade in Director {or the Dept. of International Cooperation report by Mayor of Beiiing, Chen Xitong, to National at the Economic SystemReform Institute of China, PeoplesCongress on fune 30, 1989. Text translated known to be one of ZhaoZiyang's think tanks. in Appendix I of Crisr.sTiananmen, Yi Mu & Mark V. Thompson,China Books,San Francisco, 1989, p. 9. Interview with Wu Guogang(May 1990).Wu 206. Guogangworked on the editorial staff of Renmin Ribao from 1983-1989.He was granteda Nieman 19. Quote by Yi Mu and Mark V. Thompson from fellowship at Harvard University in 1989. Crisisat Tiananmen,p. 29. Information concerningDeng Xiaoping having 10. Interviewwith FengXiaoming (May 1990).Feng limited accessto information about student "Inside Xiaoming worked for five yearsin the English demonstrationsfrom Story Revealedon 26 languagenews department of the China Central Apr 89 Editorial," basedon material for restricted '89 Television CCTV. During the Beijing Springof his consumption, in Hong KongTangtai, 8 April 1990, position was news anchor of the English News FBIS3 May 1990,FBIS-CHI-90-086, pp. l6-18. Service.He was awardeda Benton fellowship at University of Chicago in September1989. 20. Xinhua, Domestic Servicein Chinese,27 Apil 1989(FBIS-CHI-89-081, 28 April, p.l4). 11. Interviewwith fing fun (May, 1990).fing )un Hereafter,unless otherwise specified,all quotes worked for the China Daily from 1981-1986.His last from Chinese newspapers,radio and television broad- position was national news editor. He is presently caststaken from translations provided by Foreign working towards his Ph.D. in social anthropology at BroadcastingInformation Servive,April l5th to |une Harvard University. l5th. 1989.

"Lies '89 20 in Ink, Truth in Blood:" The Role and Impact of the ChineseMedia During the Beiiing Spfing of 21. Quote from Crisls at Tiananmen,p. 30. 30. Interview with ShenTong, currently a student at BrandeisUniversity (April 1990). 22. Speechby Yang Shangkunat meeting of Central Military Commission on May 24, 1990. Quote from 31. Zhongguo lizhe on fournalistic Work, l5 March translation provided in Apendix One of Crisis at 1989,p.1. Text translationfrom FBIS(FBIS-CHI-89- Tiananmen,p. 184. 084,3 May 1989,p. 56).

23. Report by Mayor Chen Xitong, seeendnote 18, 32. Interview with Chinese journalist Zhang,Dandan Crisisat Tiananmen,p. 2O9. (May 1990). Zhang,Dandan was a staf{ reporter of lingii Zhoukan (EconomicWeekly) during the Beijing '89. 24. One precaution taken by iournalists was the use Spring of Sheis currently living in Canada. of the anonymous byline: "By our staff reporters." In addition to the Chinese iournalists identified in 33. Tiananmen Square,Scott Simmie & Bob Nixon, my discussionpaper - all of whom are currently Univ. of WashingtonPress, 1989, p. 75. living outside China - I have discussedthe perform- anceof the Chinesepress during the pro-democracy 34. Interviewwith Andrew Walder(May 1990). "The movement with one elderly editor from Renmin Quotes from Walder'sarticle Political Sociology Ribao, two younger generationXinhua reportersand of the Beijing Upheaval of 1989,"Problems of Com- one middle-agedlingii Ribao reporter. All four munism, Sept-Oct.1989, p. 30 and p. 38. wished to remain anonymous. 35. Interviewwith Li Lu (May, 1990).Li Lu is one of "How 25. New York Times Magazine, the Hardliners the student leaderswho escapedChina after the Won,", Nov. 12,1989,by N. Kristof,p. 66. crackdown and is-studying at Columbia University. He has written his own account of the Beijing Spring 26. Excerptsof the dialoguewere published in all in Moving the Mountain, published by Macmillan in maior Chinesenewspapers on May 19, 1989. Transla- GreatBritain, /une 1990. tion of full text providedby FBIS,l9 May 1989,pp.14- 2r. 3(r. Interviewwith XiangXiaojie (April 1989).Xiang Xiaoyiealso managedto escapefrom China (with his 27. For example, well-known Chinesejournalist Liu wife) and is currently working on his Ph.D. at "three Binyan spokeof the daysof pressfreedom" in Columbia University. His 4-yearold daughter China at a conferenceheld at the Univ. of Minnesota remains in the care of her grandparentsin China. in October 1989. Liu Binyan has written his own "Tell version of the events in China in the World." 37. The American referredto worked as an English Liu Binyan, PantheonBooks, New York, 1989. teacherfrom August, 1988to fune,l989.

28. Renmin Ribao,30 May 1989,p.l. Text contains 38. Interviews dealingwith the role of the Chinese "However, passage: there was no sign that the pressconducted by Amy Zegart on my behalf tn petitioning students at Tiananmen Squarewould Beiiing in May 1990. finish their sit-in and withdraw..." FBIS,30 May 1989,p. 73 (FBIS-CHI-89-102). 39. Data according to the National Newspaper Index. With the exception of 4 articles dealing 29. There were a few Chinese journalists who suc- with the World Economic Herald case(1 by the ceededin publicizing news of soldiersfiring on N.Y.Times Aprll 27, I by Washington PostMay 2 civilians as late as fune 4th. On page I of Renmin and 2 by Christian ScienceMonitor April 25 and Ribao's fune 4th issue,there is a news report filed at April 28),no separatearticles reporting on the 5 A.M. listing hospitals that had'teen callirig our Chinese media performance were published until May newspapernon-stop to report on the casualties of those hospitalizedsince the middle of the nightl' 31. lL.A.Times,No'Goddess'Shown on China TV). In addition, Beijing Radio'sEnglish seryice After the crackdown on fune 4th, the L.A.Times announcer read a news report, written by the son of published 1 more article (fune 13)and the N.Y.Times former Foreign Minister Wu Xueqian, describing the 2 articles (fune l2 and fune 221,which focusedon the "tragic "to incident" and appealing all its listeners to Chinesepress and its role during the Beijing Springof join our protest for the grossviolation of human '89. Of course,the Chinese media was touched upon rights and the most barbaroussuppression of the in generalnews storiesduring May by all of these people." According to TV news anchor Feng newspapers. Xiaoming, the announcerwas not permitted to go abroadto study, as previously planned. The son of 40. New York Times, "Ominous Embers From the the minister was still in police custody when Feng Fire of 1989i' Aprll15,1990, p. l, p. 8. Xiaoming left China in August 1989.

Linda lakobson 21