25th Anniversary of Tiananmen Square Protests

Alright. I was going to have this written up in time for the anniversary on June 4th (yesterday for me). I was going to have a big historical rant about the context from which the protests rose, the impact it had on future government policies, and my thoughts on how a groups of students my age could bring a nation to its knees. But then I was locked out of the internet.

To clarify, China has some of the most strict internet censorship policies in the world. China has taken a strong stance against western social networking websites because of their potential to stir up social unrest (Arab Spring anyone?). In fact, Google even bought into the Chinese market by agreeing to censor such touchy topics as Tibetan independence, the Taiwanese independence, and the Tiananmen Massacre. Click here for a BBC article about this.  However, most of the Chinese university students and educated elites have purchased their own BPN, and have no problems getting past "The Great Firewall of China." I've never had trouble with internet access, and spent all of last summer happily blogging, chatting, and googling whatever Wikipedia pages I wanted.

Until last week, when I noticed that my apartment's internet connection began to slow down, photos wouldn't upload, and I was bumped off of Facebook more frequently. Eventually, I could not open anything. I tried different coffee shops around town, using different VPN connectivity, using an app versus a simple web search... I got nothing. Chinese social networking sites froze up whenever Tiananmen, June 4th, or 25th anniversary were typed in. My roommate faced the same problems, and at a meeting in the consulate, my boss mentioned that Google and Gmail connections were become worse. Aware of the date that was looming, we all assumed the worst.

Yesterday, I pretty much had the day to myself, so I began wandering about town. Scattered in front of the consulate were an assortment of regular PLA guards, plain-clothes cops, and suited up SWAT team members. At every subway exit and entrance a few policemen were stationed. Tianfu Square, the central plaza of Chengdu, was empty, except for a few battalions of PLA guards, policemen, and more plain-clothes cops. Other than the police and I, there was basically no one on the square.

As I wandered back to my apartment, I meandered through Sichuan University. This is the top school in western China, and one of the top ten schools in the country. It was a bit like a ghost town. Only a few years ago, this was the sight of one of the biggest protests in the country, now almost none of the students were aware of the anniversary, and none of them were about to do anything about it.

After that, I decided to go back to the consulate to see if any news was coming out of Beijing. I checked all of the major Chinese news sites. Not as single mainland Chinese website had mentioned the anniversary. Some Hong Kong and Taiwanese sites had one or two small pieces, but these was no mention of ongoing protests. Even the BBC and Wall Street Journal seemed frustrated at the absolute lack of news to report.

The whole situation has been uniquely frightening. That a government can not only operate a military and social suppression of an event that reflects poorly on them, but also mostly erase it from public memory is terrifying. China, of course is not the only nation to do this... how much Native American history do you know, how about the Japanese-American interment camps during World War Two, or about the Afghani and Iraqi aids that risk their lives to help our soldiers, but rarely receive US protection? No nation has a perfect track record, but to ignore the times of conflict and error is to deny generations part of their inheritance. Without knowing about past mistakes, how are we to manage future issues?


P.S. for more information on the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or what happened (or didn't happen) yesterday click here, here, and here.

China: Take Two

Hi everyone, I'm excited to be taking off in just a couple of days. For this next trip, the International Academic Program office has asked me to write some blog posts for them. To make life a little easier, I will add these posts to my previous blog. The content and style of these posts will be slightly modified, but I also hope to write some more personal posts that will also be added here. Anyway, below is my introduction post, which hopefully explains some of my rationale for choosing to go away for a year.

Hello everyone! I am just three days away from the longest flight of my life, and I couldn’t be more excited. My name is Abby, and I will be spending my senior year as an exchange student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology studying Genetics and East Asian Studies, and will be working at the US Consulate in Chengdu, China for the summer. I’m incredibly excited to be able to share these experiences with you, and hopefully inspire a few people to branch out and go abroad!

But, before I get into the details of each program, let me explain how I got here. Last year after returning from the summer History and Modern Development program, and after I got over my ridiculous jet lag and a mild cold, I began madly researching ways to get back to China. Although I wanted to study abroad again, I did have some serious challenges. After consulting (several) advisors, reading my DARS approximately a billion times, and many late nights staring at the IAP website, I came up with a short list of absolute requirements:

Chinese language immersion

I’ve spent the past three years struggling to learn Mandarin. It has been wonderful, but if I want to be able to use the language in a professional setting, I need to continue my studies. Although Hong Kong natives primarily speak Cantonese, almost everyone also speaks Mandarin. Additionally, HKUST offers a variety of Mandarin courses and language exchange programs.

Biology courses (in English)

I am, first and foremost, a Genetics major. I will be returning to UW for a semester to complete my capstone, but I also need to fulfill additional biology elective credits. Fortunately, HKUST is a world-class institution, and offers a variety of interesting and challenging biology courses, all taught in English.

Chinese history and culture courses

Although I hope to absorb more Chinese history and culture simply by being immersed in the culture, I really enjoy having courses to structure my learning. HKUST has a variety of courses that fulfill this requirement. Additionally, they offer a variety of courses focused on Hong Kong history, which is distinct and interesting.

Tuition near UW-Madison prices
By definition, an exchange program has the same tuition as UW Madison.

Opportunities to give back to my community

In addition to blogging (which I hope you all enjoy and find informative), I will also be participating in the Classroom Connections program, which matches a UW student who is studying abroad with a local classroom. I am partnered with a class of 11^th and 12^th graders from Oregon, WI who will be traveling to China at the end of the school year. I hope to help them understand Chinese history and culture, and get them excited for their upcoming trip and all future trips.

Opportunities to explore career interests

This is the major reason I applied to the State Department summer internship program.  Last summer, I developed an interest in China-US relations, sustainable agriculture, and international development. Although I don’t officially know what my exact duties will be at the consulate, I am confident that my supervisor will include these passions into my project, and help me connect to others who may help me in the future.

And so, after months of planning, I am just days away from what promises to be the biggest adventure of my life. It is impossible to describe the exact mixture of anxiety, excitement, bewilderment, and absolute joy that is rumbling through my mind. Hopefully, the next time you hear from me, I will be happily settled into my apartment in Chengdu.