Panel: Literature and Human Rights in China II, 10/4/1989 by PEN America published on 2016-12-20T23:58:29Z This night is dedicated to human rights, and the event has two parts, with different participants. In the first section, Jonathan Spence discusses the historical antecedents to the protests in Tiananmen Square and the repression that followed; Shen Tong, a leader in the student movement, talks about various influences on the movement; the critic Su Wei examines the events from a cultural perspective; and the artist Ai Weiwei comments on the lack of freedom of expression for artists and its effects. The second part of the night is dedicated to a discussion of what happened in Tiananmen Square and what the future might hold: Wu'er Kaixi, another student leader, talks about the dissatisfaction and frustrated individualism of Chinese youth; Duo Duo discusses the experience of being in Tiananmen Square on June 4th during the massacre of protesters; Robin Munro, who was also there, speaks similarly about his experience; and Perry Link ends the evening by arguing that the democratic movement is in fact a very Chinese movement, instead of an importation of Western ideas, and also that June 4th will be a turning point in terms of the divide, for Chinese citizens, between what is said publicly and what one thinks privately. Some of the panelists speak in Chinese and their remarks are translated. Comment by PEN America Duo Duo 2017-05-01T19:58:33Z Comment by PEN America Wu'er Kaixi 2017-05-01T19:53:53Z Comment by PEN America Ai Weiwei 2017-05-01T19:52:51Z Comment by PEN America Su Wei 2017-05-01T19:47:29Z Comment by PEN America Shen Tong 2017-05-01T19:46:48Z