ISU Chinese Student Protest June 4 1989

twelve fellow students idle comrades who that innocently in canvas Square in Beijing China close to 200 students gathered on the Iowa State campus to ask for moral support of the people of Iowa Iowa State President Gordon Eaton spoke on behalf of the university we expressed to you our grief our bewilderment and indeed our anger I think our anger comes from the fact that the world has for a very long time known the problems of this kind are not solved in this way they perhaps are put off for a while by desperate people the students are hoping that public pressure will force the American government to take some type of action against Chinese rulers the military cooperation and military aid to China to stop the high tech transfer of high tech to China and I think imposed economic sanction I think those are very important issues but while violence happened in the streets of Beijing a delegation of Iowa State University officials is in the city to help educate residents of that country learn how to do business with the state of Iowa dr. John Wong told us by phone that his delegation is in no danger Wong says he and his delegation have been treated well by the marketing officials there in Beijing and they have been apologetic for all the disturbance going on during their visit Wang says if all goes as planned he still should leave the country by Wednesday with Winston Lord the former US ambassador to China first when we return a political power struggle this set off today learning clutches in Beijing and how the Bush administration is responding describing them as has worse than common criminals and so on we have very harsh actions today will we see in there is a course back to the nineteen seventies where out a year has rejoined us now what kind of situation does the China situation for the United States in so tremendous dilemma Maria because the original us-china opening was strategic in nature we still benefit from that if the relationship now collapses and it's certainly going to get weaker they will benefit the Soviet Union most of all on the other hand we cannot pretend that these events leave the run on your on your show some extraordinarily tough proposals by a right-wing senator and a Liberal Democrat there in the house I don't know where we come out on the SCAF but the crisis that we have in terms of what we do next just a moment check check check check well I think I was very shocked I think when I was watching yours I start getting tears and I thought lots of people did and it was because in China so many years we haven't had a major bloodshed like this was last time was in 1976 and you know at that time was people didn't really quite understand the situation and it was thought that we still have a hope with the new leadership and you know later on but this time is different this time was the government is actually using the force using machine guns tanks heavy you know octillery's to talk to against the people to shoot the people this is a I think is this I would call this government a fast assist no I don't think so I think that democracy will always live we will live forever I think this time is the first time that the democratic ideas now has rooted in people deeply and I think will be there and I don't think people will give up I think in the short term the official government newspaper says that they have had a great victory and I think that maybe they did and in the present time but they will never have a great victory and I think people were what prevail in the future I have tried to contact my aunt in Beijing and she told me that earlier that her sons and daughters has tried to go to Cameron's car and help the students with food and drinks but I have great difficulties get how do you know contact them through phone it just cannot you can't just get through there at all ta ng 10 yeah the mean de M ing last names who w you and first name spell as xiao8 and shouting all right you were president of the local Chinese Student Association okay okay first of all you were able to get through to your family your family lives where my family is in Beijing and I called my parents local time they stopped to know at three o'clock and it's pretty easy to cut it through and I asked if you know my family members okay they said there are okay and I asked what they're you know they're what do you think about the Saints happened last night they said they are shocked and and also they say the people in Beijing know you know who is Right who is wrong and not like the government propaganda says you know the people in 10 min square is counter-revolutionary actually the government itself this time is counter-revolutionary count if they are against the people against the view of the people against the future of the China okay so do they feel like there is going to be more bloodshed over there I actually they really don't know what will happen but we will think that the the army will country all parts Beijing and as for the carriages my parents since our you know my our home that the buildings overlook road to a hospital they themselves see six bodies really yes it's a road been congested with traffic going to the hospitai here the hospitals are overrun with people I think so yeah you know okay so were they concerned about any time for their safety with all the shooting going on how far are they from the square oh it's about four miles no I don't think so I think the shooting actually started somewhere near my my my family somewhere near there because I watch the new this is why stopped a man's car about four miles that's about where my family is so your family are they concerned about the future of living there under the government the way it's turning now I will sing the people temporarily probably will you know just some it will go out some will stay home but for the long run the people won't stay silent they will do something and I don't think the government will succeed in a long term okay very good thank you very much k ng and DNG from central China I guess first thing is there anything that the American community to answer this of course we think I mean every people will be surprised by what what was happening in China and we think and we hope and the people around the world will make a strong response to what they did against our people and we deeply hope the I mean the US government to make some some I mean strong response to to the crime that our government did against our people and I think I mean no matter what without it could be but I think it will help our people I think I mean finally you know the democracy will prevail against the dictatorship so you know we and also we want to try every means to help our people - I mean protest to protest against our government right right everyone I mean it's very very angry actually you know when we heard the news this morning and then we get that together to discuss and to watch what is going on in our country you know we are we are from our country although we are far from our country right now but you know we are I mean I mean keep we are keeping a close eye to what what the situation right now is in our country and we were shocked by the situation right now in our country you know since so many people were shot by the government by the victory victory and they just use weapon to against the people without any weapon you know so I think I mean everyone in the world will know which one which is right and which is I mean actually counted the people counted actually the democracy and who will take the responsibility for this crime and we really want to strongly strongly condemn the crime they did against our people you know if I go back of course I will join the movement of the students or right now actually should be the movement of the people against that detect dictatorship of the government so now since I was I mean getting through encounter breaking Cultural Revolution and I saw what was happening over there and I believe I mean over that time at that time the the people just sometimes just fight against each other but right now they are killed by the government use web using weapon and every means to suppress the people so I think I mean and we hope I mean every country in the world should protest the crime made by our government yeah I think that's gonna do it yeah barn is something further what I did last night basically what what are we doing here today as far as getting the message out to Iowa yeah well it is you know all the people are outraged by what has happened in China and we are very sad and there were so many lives have been lost in China and we first we want to pay tribute to those have died for democracy and also we want to show our strong which to honest strong the protest be the government to action the brutality of the government which is using the machine guns and tanks and and just to randomly or other people and so far I have learned that the unconfirmed news have 2600 people as killed in China and also there are military personnel and unplug the life support in hospital of those wounded and I think I just don't think you know anybody who has a consciousness of democracy or have any just for the humanitarian purposes you can stand this kind of barbaric action in China so basically you you you said you told me last night you'd like to see real sanction economic sanctions I do wish see a real economic sanctions I think that's everything that we could do I think first of all I could ask the human rights committee if US government to investigate what has happened in China we can also bring this up to un ask UN to also the some other tomorrow you know those human rights associations to investigate this what happened in China we can also ask the US Congress and the Senate to address this issue in the in the floor and to stop the military cooperation the military aid to China to stop the high-tech transfer of high tech to China and I think impose economic sanction I think those are very important issues there was also one thing that I think even some of the American Senate as I thought about it I didn't was asked the unlimited extensive stay for the students who remain the United States and I do I also want to tell those people during the gathering gathering students from China and I you know we all gonna fight for democracy we all going to United together fight for this cause for our causes very good turnouts it's dimming right DeMint am very good thank you very much okay well again I just wanted to ask you now first of all you were president of the tell me of the Association again Chinese student and scholar Friendship Association now I guess basically you today here you what are the real purpose of getting this together today our purpose is show so our feelings to to the people the media and our sadness our strongly against the action by the government and we just feel we have to show our feelings and we we want people in the world to know people in the Iowa to know our feelings and we want people to show their support to have you feel you feel the people here on campuses in the state of Iowa have lent you a sympathetic ear yes I feel that we have several friend called when they call they already have the tears in there as we I can tell from the voice and we have several people take the newspaper here and you know to show that what happened the inner you´d China by the way pricing they either dusk in price let me just ask you what what we could kind of get you around this way what's what's the situation as far as the Iowa State's concerned with the goings-on in China this week well did you know when you have a number of students from China and these students are very much our students just a student from Iowa or and I've come over here this afternoon to share my expression of grief and condolences with them many of them probably have lost friends perhaps even members of their family I think they don't know at this point in time but certainly their expression of bewilderment and outrage is something that's readily understood by us all I think now what is the I wasn't asking what's the implication for Iowa State University you think that by having a people like this could really affect the wrong term relations for not only this this university but the country's two country well there's there is that possibility we've been reaching out and they've been reaching out toward us increasingly we've had growing numbers of visitors from there we've been looking at faculty exchanges and student exchanges and all that it seems to me is up in the air at this point so what about that you have the delegation is over there there are no way and not in any danger but basically what are they trying to do over there well one of them a group of them is over there is a trade delegation and we've been trying to improve direct trade between our for Iowa commodities and products with the Chinese government and that's very hard to understand what's going to come of that I think it's a little too early really to begin to imagine whether whether that would be impacted and if it is how old be impacted so I need to ask you sure they feel worse about how I tell you today about feeling well fellow students title comrades who died innocently lieutenant Square in Beijing China there's there's a report page 500 monitor hundreds and orange dye and the official because they 2609 and main menu wounded we use the list we take this already and demonstration to show the people of Iowa to show the people of the world our feeling how angriness and first we have American friend and media took our day to meet anthem to have this deviltries known to the people of our in our cases today is first we we sent you and women sent for me to show our our planet to about people died and thankfully the presence of Iowa State University doctor even will say a few words first and then the representative of deviant speech and the damning Tom is English foreign speech and and then to show thank you I come to you in grief and sadness this afternoon to express to you who are members of the Iowa State University family but who will come to us from the nation of the People's Republic of China our grief and our condolences you as much as any student at this university may have been born and brought up here in the state of Iowa or a part of our family and when a tragedy like this before people whom you know perhaps to whom you are related it's a tragedy for the institution so on behalf of your other fellow students those from Iowa those from other states across this country those from the other 120 lands with a representative by members of the student body at this University we express to you our grief our bewilderment and indeed our anger I think our anger comes from the fact that the world has for a very long time known the problems of this kind are not solved in this way they perhaps are put off for a while by desperate people who cannot see stand up