China Updates

Is the United States disengaging from its commitment to protect Taiwan? Some of the comments coming from President Bush and outgoing State Department Officials (namely Richard Armitage) don’t exactly match the lofty evangelism of democracy that we heard in the inaugural.

Meanwhile, young Chinese who found foreign Web sites blocked after the death of Zhao Ziyang wondered what all the fuss was about, and no doubt many learned about the events in Tienanmen Square as a result.

The government, for its part, still doesn’t seem very sure of (a) the exact details of the funeral, such as how big it will be and who will attend, and (b) how it will allow history to remember Zhao. Regardless of the government’s decision, it looks like the Chinese people themselves are learning much more about Zhao and the events of June 4, 1989 than it would like. The history is being written on the Internet as quickly as the government erases it.