In the months leading up to the 20th anniversary of the crushing of the pro-democracy movement in Beijing, CLB Director Han Dongfang, gave nearly one hundred interviews to media organizations from the United States, Canada, Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Scandinavia, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, well as the Middle East, Latin and South America.
While the interviews largely focused on events 20 years ago, they gave Han an invaluable platform to talk about the changes that have taken place in China and the challenges and opportunities that face its workers and ordinary citizens today. As Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, wrote in the influential Huffington Post:
My friend Han Dongfang, one of the heroes of Tiananmen, explained to me that the Chinese people aren't fighting under a banner of democracy this time. They are defending their land from unlawful seizure. They are fighting corruption at the local levels. They are fighting against the poison that is being dumped into their air, land, rivers, and lakes. They do not have the proper channels to address their grievances. They are calling for a government that is accountable to the people. They are calling for openness and transparency. They are calling for justice. All of these things are what we mean when we talk about fighting for human rights.
Several publications gave belated recognition to the role workers played in the movement two decades ago. As Peter Ford’s article in the Christian Science Monitor, points out::
Twenty years after Chinese troops dispersed pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square with murderous gunfire, some 50 protesters still languish in jail. Most of the prisoners were workers at the time. None of them was a student.
While the world remembers the six weeks of mass rallies in Beijing's central square as a cry for freedom by idealistic students, the workers and other ordinary Chinese citizens who bore the brunt of the repression remain largely forgotten.
Many other news agencies, newspapers and blogs picked up Han’s commemorative commentary on the CLB website Keeping the Flame Alive.
A short selection of Han Dongfang’s interviews follows below.
Al Jazzera, 3 June 2009: Tiananmen remembered - Han Dongfang.
France 24, 4 June 2009: Vingt ans après, que reste-t-il de Tiananmen?
German Press Agency, 1 June 2009: Chinese union leader fights on for workers rights.
Der Spiegel, 1 June 2009 : Former Activists Still Hoping the Truth Will Emerge.
The Times, 26 May 2009, Tiananmen Square, 20 years on.
The Guardian, 3 June 2009: Tiananmen Square: briefly, anything seemed possible.
Daily Telegraph, 4 June 2009. Twenty years after Tiananmen, China needs law, not democracy.
Straits Times, 22 May 2009: Tiananmen Incident, 20 yrs on.
Swissinfo, 3 June 2009: Les souvenirs de Tiananmen passent par la Suisse.
AND, 5 June 2009: Líderes del movimiento estudiantil muestran confianza en el futuro de China.
O Globo, 2 June 2009: Vinte anos depois de massacre, juventude chinesa quer sucesso e dinheiro.
AFP, 4 June 2009: Hong Kong : 150.000 personnes commémorent Tiananmen.
Le Point, 4 June 2009: La grande amnésie de la Chine.
LeSoir, 3 June 2009: Hong Kong et Taiwan n’ont pas oublié le massacre
ARTE, 3 June 2009: Han Dongfang, 47 ans, Syndicaliste.