Almost a Revolution

I woke up at 4 AM. That's been 
happening a lot lately. I guess it's 
the result of not getting away from 
the house as much as usual. In any 
case, I've decided that now is as good 
a time as any to write up a brief 
account of Shen Tong's Almost a 
Revolution, which chronicles the 
experiences of students involved in 
the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy 
protests. It is hands down the most 
compelling book I have read in years.

The book provides a very personal 
account of the years leading up to the 
protests. From trips with his father 
to Tiananmen after the death of 
Premier Zhou Enlai to his description 
of the 1979 Democracy Wall movement 
(think physical Twitter, where you 
take the risk of posting your thoughts 
-- including criticisms of the current 
government -- along a long stretch of 
wall in Beijing), Shen Tong captures 
the key political moments of his 
childhood, often distinguishing 
between what he knew at the time and 
what he would come to realize as he 
grew up. Perhaps the most intriguing 
aspect of the book explores familial 
tensions -- with the son criticizing 
his father for being too timid -- 
while the father worries that his son 
is destroying his career prospects.

The book also gives the reader a 
first-hand look into the student 
movement, told by a student leader. 
Shen Tong set up the students' 
newspaper and radio station in a block 
of dorm rooms at Beijing University -- 
and then headed a committee that 
pressed the government to hold a 
dialogue with student leaders during 
the protests.

At the same time, Shen Tong reveals a 
great deal of ambivalence about some 
of the choices made by students at 
Tiananmen. His description of the 
night of the government crackdown is 
both heartbreaking and characteristic 
of his position throughout the events 
of 1989: he tried to defuse the 
situation, urging the protesters to 
stand down ("If you throw one more 
thing, I'll strangle you!"), while 
scolding soldiers for firing on their 
own people.

Almost a Revolution is available in 
the National Emergency LIbrary: 
https://archive.org/details/almostrevolution00shen