It is 0030am past midnight. Today is June 4th, a day any Chinese who witnessed what happened 20 year ago in Beijing would have mixed feelings. Today is the 20th anniversary of the 'June 4th Incident', the party line label of that fateful day at Tiananmun Square or 'People's Square' where the PLA opened fire on the very people they were to protect. While we may never know what really transpired in this life time, 20-year old images of burning tanks, screaming students, horrified citizens, bloody bodies etc are still vivid. The mixed feeling comes from marveling how modern China delivered the now legendary 2008 Olympics on the one hand, and wondering when the ruling party will bring closure to June 4th on the other.
Earlier in March I was with my brother-in-law Joe Spitzer in Berlin, the city where his parents settled before WWII. Like many Jewish families, they fell victim to the Nazis. We made a special trip to Buchenwald, the first of the notorious concentration camps the Allied Forces opened to the world as evidence of atrocities. However, modern Germany has closed that chapter with dignity and let history move on. On the other side of the globe we have Japan who is still in denial over what she did to China, notably in Nanjing. With such polarity in attitudes on the world stage, I wonder which way the PRC government will turn, and when?
On a much less significant scale June 4th is also a landmark for me at LCB. My courses in Cuisine & Patisserie will finish in exactly 4 weeks, on July 4th. I am in the middle of Week 6 here. I cannot believe I am counting down already, since I have just gotten used to the pace of a full time student with 6-days of intensive classes & kitchen sessions a week. Unbelievable!
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