Digging up old stories seems to have become a trend on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. The Tiananmen papers have put the 12-year-old story of the Tiananmen Square massacre back into the media spotlight. In Taiwan, the Control Yuan on Tuesday released an investigative report clearing the name of late general Sun Li-jen (
There is nothing explosive about the information revealed in those two documents. They basically tell us what everyone already knows. But there is a stark contrast in the way the two governments reacted to the unfavorable limelight they have received from the revelations.
The Taiwan government took the initiative in launching the investigation into Sun's case. The report said that Sun was accused of treason primarily because his close ties to the US and factional infighting within the military had put him on a collision course with the two Chiangs. In contrast, the Tiananmen papers came to light in the US after they were smuggled there by a communist party official codenamed Zhang Liang (
The results of the two media events could not be more different. The Sun report has restored the reputation of general Sun and those wrongly accused in the case. It has freed them from the burden of almost 40 years of incrimination.
But the Chinese government's response to the Tiananmen papers was a vehement rebuttal from Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhu Bangzao (朱邦造) calling the papers an attempt to "disrupt China by fabricating materials and distorting facts." Beijing has once again lost an opportunity to re-evaluate the incident or to hear the voices of the victims' families.
The two governments' handling of these issues highlight their different attitudes toward freedom of opinion. In Taiwan, society has become used to political criticism. People have learned fairly well to tolerate different opinions. Lashing out at a former president for his perceived misconduct is no longer an inviolable taboo. But in China, criticizing the late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) still counts as a major anti-revolutionary crime. While the international media are scrambling to report on the Tiananmen papers, all is quiet in China's domestic media except for the official rebuttal. Even discussions of the issue on the Internet have been immediately censored.
The two governments have also shown how far apart they are in their respect for human rights. In the Sun case, compensation will be forthcoming from the government to Sun's relatives. Even though no material compensation can ever be enough to make up for the misfortunes that befell the victims and their families, it demonstrates the government's respect for human rights and capacity for soul-searching. In contrast, the Beijing authorities are still in denial over the Tiananmen massacre -- and admitting to mistakes, soul-searching, or clearing the name of ousted Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang (趙紫陽) seem as far away as ever. It is hard to see how Beijing's behavior can make it more acceptable to the people of Taiwan or the international community.
Juxtaposition of these two events tell us one thing: Taiwan and China are thousands of miles apart when it comes to freedom, democracy and human rights.
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