After Tiananmen, China Wedded Force With Freedom (by John Pomfret)
from The Washington Post
Sunday, June 7, 2009
On June 14, 1989, I was in the Associated Press bureau in Beijing. I had just filed a story about the reopening of the U.S. Embassy in China’s capital. As the sun streamed through the office’s grubby windows, the phone rang.
“This is the police in charge of resident foreigners in China,” a male voice on the other end announced. “Are you Pan Aiwen?” He was using my Chinese name.
“Yes,” I replied.
“You are ordered to appear at our bureau immediately,” he said. Click.
Three days later, I was on a plane bound for Hong Kong, expelled from China. Officially, I stood accused of stealing state secrets and violating martial law provisions. My actual offense: I’d written about Tiananmen Square.
