Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Joseph Russell- Talk Radio News Service

The Heritage Foundation presented a discussion with special guest Dr. Wang Dan, a former student leader of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. The discussion hosted by Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Heritage Foundation Fellow Lee Edwards, focused on the future of liberty in China.

Brownback asserted that with the current global economic downturn “this may be one of the most important times for the Democracy movement,” both in China and around the world.

Dan believes there are still many in China who do not know about the massacre of students during the fight for democracy in Tiananmen Square nearly 20 years ago. The government has largely covered-up the incident and Dan believes it is not surprising that many Chinese youth today have little interest in Democracy. He said that Chinese youth “care more about money than democracy.” However, he said there is hope for liberty in China in the future and America definitely has a role to play.

The 1989 massacre in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square was the result of political protests by college students for democracy. Students protested the Chinese government’s violation of human rights before the government used force to stop the protest. The number of deaths is unknown because the government has censored such information, but it is thought be be around 2,000 students.