Looking Back At Tiananmen
Wang Dan felt there were many things that could have been changed about the movement, and he has raised these issues, both during and after the movement. In an interview with the New York Times published 2 June 1989, Wang states, I think that the student movements in the future should be firmly based on something solid, such as the democratization of campus life or the realization of civil rights according to the Constitution,… Otherwise, the result is chaos. Another issue Wang raises is the involvement of intellectuals in the movement, expressed in the New York Times interview as well as a 2008 interview titled “Tiananmen Remembered.” In this source he believes that intellectuals were not used early enough in the movement, and their involvement may have changed the course of events. Despite pointing out failures, Wang feels the protests had an impact on the mentality of many Chinese people, arguing the hunger strike was necessary as it allowed greater attention on the movement. (Document 1) In addition to this Wang feels that the crackdown, and the promotion of democracy got the attention of the entire nation, educating many people on democracy, a completely new idea for many Chinese people.
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