Tiananmen Square part 2 of 2

For many people, a trip to Tiananmen Square is nothing short of a sacred pilgrimage to hallowed grounds –not that any of us would dare to lay down a wreath or light a candle. It is a place to learn, commemorate, reflect, honor, mourn, hope and pray.

And in light of all this, how does the Lonely Planet China guidebook capture the spirit and summarize the hope-filled and tragic events that happened in Tiananmen Square just over twenty years ago? Lonely Planet –who commits an entire shaded sidebar talking about some modern skyscraper primarily because the locals have dubbed it “Big Underpants”- gives the actual Square three quarters of a page. After rambling on for several paragraphs about the layout and the architecture of the Square, the grand sum of Lonely Planet’s comments on the events of June 1989 is the following single sentence:

“In 1989, army tanks forced pro-democracy demonstrators out of the plaza.”

What?

That’s it?

“In 1989, Army tanks forced pro-democracy protestors out of the plaza”?

A 1056-page guide to China, and that’s all they can muster up to say about the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy demonstrations of 1989? The notice in my local MTR station reminding me to hold the handrail as I ride the escalator uses more words.

Unbelievable.

Lonely Planet: lapdog for despotism and suppression the world over.

While their self-censored guidebooks continue to reach millions every year, I guess I will just continue to plug away reaching young people twenty-five at a time with an inspirational story of one generation’s quest for something more, something better.

I have a grainy, black and white poster to help.