"Sun and moon have no light left, earth is dark; / Our women's world is sunk so deep, who can help us? / ... Unbinding my feet I clean out a thousand years of poison, / With heated heart arouse all women's spirits."
In 1971, amid growing threats from the Soviet Union, both the U.S. and the People's Republic of China were interested in a strategic alliance. But before any public gestures could be made, both sides had to make sure, privately, the other was receptive.
Twenty-three years ago, Hong Kong was handed over from Great Britain to China. "We shall not forget you," said Charles, Prince of Wales. "From now on, the Hong Kong compatriots will truly become masters here," said Chinese president Jiang Zemin. What has become of those promises today?
While the reformers themselves all ended up exiled, in prison, or dead, many of their policies were eventually taken up by the very person who crushed them.
This Week in China’s History is a recurring column on SupChina: Each week, James Carter, Professor of History at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, will look back to one event from China’s past. Last week: The Time Jesus’s Younger Brother Led A Revolution In China.
Despite his unorthodox beliefs, Hong Xiuquan’s power was undeniable. The Taiping at its peak controlled almost a third of China’s heartland, and seemed poised to topple the Qing dynasty. It was a novel coalition of Confucian gentry, regional militia, Western armaments, and squabbling within the Taiping ranks that enabled the Qing to stave off this threat, though not before wide swathes of China were laid waste.
China's official response to Tiananmen has evolved over the years. What began as the Communist Party framing of the event as a success of government leadership eventually gave way to collective amnesia that involved the complicity of the entire nation. This year, the one place that has always remembered — Hong Kong — may soon forget, too.