国際教養学部AO入試 補助教材, Tiananmen Square

The Guardian view on Tiananmen, 30 years on: hope and terror
Editorial May 31, 2019
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/31/the-guardian-view-on-tiananmen-30-years-on-hope-and-terror

Questions

1       Research and write below what happened at the Tiananmen Square, Beijing, 30 years ago. What was the start of the incident? Who started it? What was their goal? How did the state (the Chinese government) react? How did the world react to the move? Has there been a change since then?

2       The article says, “ the rise of authoritarian governments around the world has made China appear less an outlier than a norm-setter”. What does this mean? Give examples of authoritarian governments that have risen lately.

Answer Keys

1       In 1989, University Students in China started a peaceful demonstration in the Tiananmen Square asking for freedom. The Chinese government sent tanks and killed many protesters there. This incident shocked the world because it was a massacre by a state on its own people. Press gathered in China, but investigation was difficult because of the control by fear. China has continued to liberalize its economy, but it has not liberalized its people. Now many Chinese have not even heard of the incident due to censorship. China recently deployed its armed forces to Hong Kong, where demonstrations against extradition law developed into massive protests calling for democratization,

2       That the rise of authoritarian governments around the world has made China appear less an outlier than a norm-setter means that countries that used to be rather liberal before have become less liberal with current politicians who act like dictators, ignoring democratic process of the services. Trump administration in America is one of the examples. President Trump has antagonized the press by shutting them up not to hear what he did not want to hear, fired the head of FBI to escape from investigation, separated children of Mexican immigrants from their parents and incarcerated them. The Russia has been under Putin’s control for almost twenty years. The Philippines has got a president who sounds more like an autocrat than his predecessors. The current Japanese government is also suspected to be somewhat undemocratic especially concerning the amendment of Article Nine of the Japanese Constitution not to speak of some politicians’ statements that reflect their authoritarian ideas.