bfx - it was so exciting when it started. Every day, more and more students joined the protests in Tienanmen Square. There was talk of democracy. I recall the time well in spring 1989. My daughter had taught herself to read by the time she was four. We received a morning paper at the time and I recall her strapped into her car seat reading the headlines and sounding out the words. "Ten Thousand Students Protest in Tien-an-men Square" and then the massacre and chaos, people fleeing, hiding, totally crushing the movement. From elation to despair and helplessness. I continually have students from China now, but most are too young to remember. I'll mention it though to my next class, see what they say. I visited Tiananmen Square in 2007. It's an enormous space, six times bigger than Cairo's Tahrir Square. This will give you some idea of its comparative size.
What was it like being a Western outsider looking in when all of this unfolded?