Session 11 Discussion

Louisa Lim's book People's Republic of Amnesia looks like an excellent resource. Highly interested and would love to show students the book.
Lim refers to China's state sponsored sport: Amnesia. She said the book is about those who do not practice this sport. She risked a lot to be able to write this book.
I was shocked to learn that Chinese university students in 4 Beijing Universities were shown the image of Tank Man and only 15% had seen the picture. They were defensive. Some believed what the government had done was necessary. They thought it was justified. Many students had strong reactions--didn't want to talk about it.
Lim shared how there are many taboos--it's a difficult issue to discuss with people--this has changed me and caused me to be aware of the painful past.
On the issue of censorship and the government's attempt to hide or ignore the past. In China, you cannot search for Tianenmen on Baidu. Tiananmen cannot be found, nor words/numbers/pictures that are associated with the events at the square. They get banned. Students would be shocked to learn how censored the internet is in China.
Attempts to stop the Western Press from reporting on it. "Umbrella man" the attempt to block the camera from filming in Tiananmen Square. Even foreign press have difficulty reporting the news from China. This would be a very interesting video to show to students--the umbrella man blocking cameras on the anniversary of the tragedy.
It was heartbreaking to learn of the group of mothers who are campaigning for "Truth, compensation, accountability" and who do not receive any acknowledgement of how they've suffered.
One mother is prevented from remembering her son, who was killed while taking a photo of the troops going by. This is so sad and would be hard to present to students. Perhaps high school students could handle this. Middle school students might be too sensitive.
China prevents people from remembering the lost or commemorating the event. This means that the would will not heal. People will not have closure and it is so hard to move on with their lives. They do not give up, however, and go to great lengths to try to preserve the memory of lost loved ones.