The 36th anniversary of Tiananmen Square has come and gone, marking another year in which China and the majority of East Asia’s political economy remain firmly authoritarian. Behind the veneer of hyper-efficient technologies and bustling economies lie immense demographic pressures and civic decline. A Faustian bargain comes with its consequences.
For the Chinese people, Tiananmen marked an inflection point among a people that had endured immense hardship. The tanks sent to suppress the uprising buried the democratic sentiment under the promises of Chinese national greatness and economic comfort, which it eventually achieved at a great social price.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a June 4 press release, admonished the CCP’s continued efforts to stifle what he deemed as “fundamental freedoms,” and that the efforts of those persecuted represented “human principles the CCP cannot erase.”
The Chinese government quelled the protests in Tiananmen to extinguish the democratic flame and consolidate its growth phase. Instead of a vibrant civil society and free expression, people now just want to be left undisturbed. Where the Tiananmen generation demanded freedom, their kids demand faster Wi-Fi and other creature comforts.
East Asia, though fairly comfortable and prosperous, now serves as an example of what happens when state-led development swaps efficiency for liberty and human freedom. Though some may pin the reason for this on deep-set Confucian attitudes, with its emphasis on order at all costs, it is important to acknowledge that these outcomes are state-enforced and not by the will of the people.
In light of a momentum swing for Conservatives at the state and national level this past fall, and given the massive expansion in American federal power since Tiananmen, we should acknowledge the situation at hand. The question remains: how does America balance the desire for economic and social stability with the protection of individual liberties and the integrity of our institutions?
Yet, at all levels, U.S. officials have kowtowed to Big Tech, even amid President Donald Trump’s inner circle, and another Pride month passes in hypocrisy as the largest companies switch the logos but not values. Moreover, Americans have looked more towards stabilizing the ship rather than to embody the personal challenge that liberty demands of each citizen. The tension between stability and integrity is a thin line to walk.
CHINA OUTRAGED AS RUBIO COMMEMORATES TIANANMEN SQUARE
Though the tears of Tiananmen have long dried, the core lesson for Western democracies is clear: convenience can never become a bargaining chip for democracy. The moment we decide that democracy is not worth the trouble, the house of cards upon which our federal system stands sinks and collapses.
Is America’s greatness marked by its prosperity and market returns? Or, does its providence lie in the fact that it is an ongoing experiment in dissent and exposing its citizens to political friction? It is a sustained commitment to engagement and with the triumphs and challenges of democracy that will secure a future not perfect, but free. Here’s to hoping that the beacon of the free world remains bright.