34 years passed since the complicated year of 1989 when Europe was a silent piece of theatre. 34 years have passed since the Revolution of 1989 when all European states were confronted with the dilemma of choosing the road of freedom, reform, human rights, and hope. 34 years have passed since the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, starting with the peaceful wave of revolutions in Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia, ending with the violent revolution of December 1989 in Romania. All of the former Soviet satellites were opened to a road that led to European integration. Peace, human rights, rule of law, freedom of expression, and free market were inalienable European values and principles, which could only be achieved if an oppressive government could transform into a liberal democratic government. With the help offered by the Western world, after the turn of the millennium, Eastern European countries were integrated into two of the most powerful international organizations: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU).
Romania is the only country within the Eastern Bloc, where the revolution ended with more than 1000 victims. According to a Resolution of the European Parliament of 19th December 2019 on the commemoration of the 30 years since the outbreak of the revolution, it “tragically resulted in the loss of 1 142 lives, 3 138 people being gravely injured, and over 760 individuals being illegally detained and tortured”[1]. At the same time, it urges the Romanian authorities to bring light to the events of the revolution, “an absolute necessity for the country, the Romanian people, Europe and the European Union”[2]. 4 years after the resolution and 34 years after the Romanian revolution, we are still waiting…
However, there were also some other parts of the world where 1989 represented a bloody repression against the demonstrators.
Moving from Eastern Europe to the East, there was one event, which is very rarely spoken of, namely the Massacre of Tiananmen Square of 1989, in the People’s Republic of China. After the massacre of approximately 65 million people by Mao Zedong[3], maybe the most ferocious dictator of the 20th century, Deng Xiaoping came to power, establishing a more subtle communist doctrine regarding the relationship of China to the United States and the Western democracies, namely “hide its capabilities and bind its time”[4]. On 15th April 1989, there began a series of demonstrations to underline the death of Hu Yaobang[5] because of his more moderated communist views. On 26th April 1989, an editorial in People’s Daily, the propaganda newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, was written about the demonstrators that “Blatantly violating the Constitution, they called for opposition to the leadership by the Communist Party and the socialist system”[6]. This demonstration transformed into a call for anti-corruption and democracy within the socialist system[7]. Hundreds of thousands of people started to march for democratic values, many of them engaging in hunger strikes all across the country, determining the communist authorities to establish martial law[8] in May 1989.
Because the protests were gaining momentum, the authorities sent the army over in order to stop the demonstrations which could threaten the very basis of the communist regime: “the Chinese authorities responded with overwhelming force to repress the demonstrations”[9]. On 4th June 1989, the government of communist China violently suppressed the peaceful demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, the most famous scene being the “Tank Man”. He was lifting 2 shopping bags, blocking the tanks of the army moving forward. However, no one knows what happened to him[10].
When it comes to the deaths in the Tiananmen Massacre, the People’s Republic of China reported some 200 deaths in June 1989. According to some released UK documents in 2017, the deaths surpassed what China reported, the real number being more than 10000[11].
In my opinion, we are speaking of two different worldviews. On one hand, there is a free liberal worldview, in which human rights are guaranteed, respected and defended by national and supranational authorities, after the fall of communism; at the same time, a place where individuals could vote and speak freely about what needs to change. On the other hand, we have a different worldview, one buried in a totalitarian past, where propaganda, human rights abuses, disinformation, and military assertiveness play an important role within the society, which is guided by a repressive communist party towards uniformization.
In conclusion, the year 1989 represented the year that Europe changed its face. After the Second World War, Europe was divided between the communist world, controlled by the USSR, and the free democratic world, led by the United States. After 1989, 16 European states joined the EU and, thus, Europe used the chance to speak as one voice. Even though there are some differences between the Eastern member states and the Western member states, the essential voice of the EU speaks with dignity, freedom, human rights, the rule of law, and the free market.
[1] “Commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Romanian revolution of December 1989. European Parliament resolution of 19 December 2019 on the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Romanian revolution of December 1989”, European Parliament, Official Journal of the European Union, C 255/58, 19th December 2019, p. 2, accessed at https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/3000bd8a-d875-11eb-895a-01aa75ed71a1/language-en on 19.12.2023
[2] Ibidem, p. 2
[3] Stephane COURTOIS, Nicholas WERTH, Jean-Louis PANNE, Andrzej PACZKOWSKI, “The Black Book of Communism”, Harvard University Press, London, 1999, p. 4
[4] Hiroki TAKEUCHI, „Domestic politics of Chinese foreign policy: where will Xi Jinping bring China?”, Asian Security, 2019, p. 5, accessed at https://doi.org/10.1080/14799855.2019.1594782 la data de 19.12.2023
[5] “Tiananmen Square, 1989”, Office of the Historian, accessed at https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/tiananmen-square on 19.12.2023
[6] “IT IS NECESSARY TO TAKE A CLEAR-CUT STAND AGAINST DISTURBANCES”, People’s daily, 26th April 1989, accessed at http://www.tsquare.tv/chronology/April26ed.html on 19.12.2023
[7] Zhao DINGXIN, “The Power of Tiananmen. State-Society Relations and the 1989 Beijing Student Movement”, the University of Chicago Press, US, 2001, p. 158
[8] Zhao DINGXIN, p. 163
[9] “What really happened in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests”, Amnesty International, 18th May 2023, accessed at https://www.amnesty.org.uk/china-1989-tiananmen-square-protests-demonstration-massacre on 19.12.2023
[10] “Tiananmen Square: What happened in the protests of 1989?”, BBC, 23rd December 2021, accessed at https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48445934 on 19.12.2023
[11] “Tiananmen Square protest death toll <<was10,000>>”, BBC, 23rd December 2017, accessed at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-42465516 on 19.12.2023
