1989 Tiananmen Square Protests vs. 1964 Free Speech Movement

Aixin Huo

Blog 2

ASA 2 - Section A01

October 2, 2015

In the Berkeley Free Speech Movement’s article, the author said, “the Berkeley activists who led the Free Speech Movement pioneered a new brand of student politics. They brought the daring, non-violent protest tactics of the civil rights movement to campus and proved that these tactics could be as effective in fighting political censorship” and “its victory fostered a new spirit of activism among students by eroding the fears they had inherited from the tense.” In 1964 Berkeley, students in UC Berkeley gathered together to fight for their own rights and they got the success. People later considered this event as “movement”. However, in 1989 Beijing, Chinese college students also gathered together to fight for their democracy and freedom. But the result was such a tragedy. People later considered this event as “protest”. The Chinese government, the media in China, even Chinese people all “forgot” this “students protest”; no one talks about it. One of my mom’s classmates at that time attended the protest and she returned back to China recently from United States. She has a lovely family in United States and yes, a happy life. But some others students at that protest were died on June 4^th accident. No one commemorates them or honor their braveness in public. The students in Berkeley on 1964 and the students in Beijing in 1989 were basically doing the same thing: fight for their rights. But the outcome was totally different. I have no rights to judge the reaction Chinese government had at that time to the student’s movement, because I had no idea what exactly happened in front of the Tiananmen Square in 1989. But I do feel deeply sad for the students who died in the movement.

The difference between these two student’s movements properly can show the reason why many Chinese or even Asian loved to immigrate to United States. At least, they won’t die because they want to speak out loud their thoughts.

But what is the connection between UC Berkeley FSM and Asian Americans?