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Thursday June 7, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com MICHIGAN IN COLOR

Voices of Hong Kong, Rise Up 

When I was younger, the 
modern history of China, 
or the People’s Republic of 
China, including the 1989 
democracy movement and 
Tiananmen Square mas-
sacre, was briefly taught 
in schools in Hong Kong. 
My curiosity about this 
taboo history of China 
was sparked, so I casu-
ally brought it up in front 
of my parents. When I 
asked them about it, little 
did I know it was a sensi-
tive topic for my parents, 
as they experienced the 
‘89 democracy movement 
in Hong Kong when they 
were teenagers.
They looked at me flus-
tered, paused for a second 
and said, “Son, personal 
liberty, 
and 
democracy 
in China were basically 
nonexistent after June 4, 
1989. Even though we are 
privileged enough to have 
limited personal freedom 
and liberty in Hong Kong, 
it is still dangerous to get 
involved in Chinese or 
Hong Kong politics. The 
less you know, the better.” 
Since 
talking 
about 
these experiences could 
be difficult for my par-
ents, I tried to avoid asking 
them about it any further. 
However, 
my 
curiosity 
about their experiences of 
the movement had only 
grown since then. Espe-
cially on anniversaries of 
the Tiananmen massacre, 
I sometimes could not 
help but make comments 
like, “I wonder what the 
‘89 democracy movement 
experience was like.” My 
dad would respond by put-
ting on his straight face 
and telling me, “Son, go 
study for your classes or do 
something more produc-
tive. What are you gonna 
gain from learning about 
the movement? No one can 
change China.”
Fast forward to high 
school, when I became 
more 
knowledgeable. 
I 

cared even more about 
China and Hong Kong poli-
tics. Seeing how passion-
ate I was, my mom finally 
opened up to me about her 
experiences as a teenager.
“I still vividly remember 
seeing a million Hong Kong 
people filling up the streets 
protesting that night. It 
was pouring rain because 
a massive hurricane was 
striking Hong Kong, but 
that did not stop us from 
speaking up for what we 
believed in. It was probably 
the most powerful thing I 
have seen in my life.”
In 1989, thousands of 
Chinese college students 
and educators stood in 
front of the Beijing Capi-
tol building in Tianan-
men Square, demanding 
democracy 
and 
politi-
cal reform in China. The 
’89 democracy movement 
lasted for two months and 
soon spread throughout 
China to major cities such 
as 
Nanjing, 
Guangzhou 
and British Hong Kong 
with a turnout of millions 
of people. It even sparked 
protests in Taiwan eventu-
ally. Everyone, including 
my parents, was so hope-
ful for political reform and 
ultimately democracy in 
China. However, June 4, 
1989 marked the downfall 
of social progression and 
democracy in China. The 
Chinese government used 
military forces such as 
automatic rifles and tanks 
to kill hundreds of students 
in Tiananmen Square to 
stop the movement from 
advancing. The shunning 
of social progression then 
led to Chinese diaspora 
and ultimately the silenc-
ing of anti-China voices, 
which is why it was a diffi-
cult experience for my par-
ents and why they always 
remind me to be careful of 
my words and actions in 
regards to China.
As a Hong Kong citi-
zen, this piece of history 
is extremely valuable and 
prevalent 
to 
me. 
Since 
Hong Kong and Macau 

are 
the 
most 
socially 
advanced places in China 
due to democratic influ-
ences under Western col-
onization, our freedom 
allows us to preserve and 
discuss the truth of taboo 
events in China like the 
Tiananmen massacre and 
the May Fourth Move-
ment. Even though I never 
personally 
experienced 
the movement, the politi-
cal impact of the tragedy 
of Tiananmen massacre 
is, however, readily visible 
in the democracy of Hong 
Kong and Macau today. 
It enrages me to see my 
people’s culture, person-
al liberties and freedom 
of speech slowly being 
limited by China as the 
Communist 
government 
attempts to Sinicize Hong 
Kong and Macau politi-
cally and culturally so that 
China can silence the truth 
and assert its dominance. 
Likewise, it is outrageous 
to see the way Taiwan is 
being suppressed interna-
tionally and Sinicized by 
China, despite the fact that 
Taiwan is a state that func-
tions independently from 
China. With the privilege 
of having personal liberty 
and freedom living in the 
United States, I almost see 
it as an obligation for me to 
speak out against China’s 
oppression for myself, my 
people back in Hong Kong 
and other oppressed indi-
viduals. That said, I hope 
my fellow Chinese Ameri-
cans, Hong Kong Ameri-
cans, Macau Americans 
and Taiwanese Americans 
will be eager to learn more 
about the effects of the 
events in China’s modern 
history like the ’89 democ-
racy movement and can 
become advocates of our 
parents’ narratives as well.
Rest in Peace to all 
the 
courageous 
col-
lege students, educators, 
and activists who were 
silenced and killed during 
the ’89 democracy move-
ment. Your social impact 
shall never be forgotten.

A TV show all about 
trying to survive as a Black 
student at a predominant-
ly white university? The 
narrative is pretty familiar 
to me, and unfortunately, 
some of the storylines 
are not that exaggerated. 
Proving statistics against 
the 
Black 
community 
wrong by getting a degree 
at a prestigious university 
while keeping mentally 
stable is something that 
many of us have to deal 
with, and this is the first 
time I’ve seen this perspec-
tive 
largely 
publicized. 
With a hooking name that 
received massive backlash 
from audiences, a provoca-
tive storyline and relevant 
issues; let’s talk about the 
importance of this Netflix 
Original. 
From the jump, I was 
surprised by the sheer 
unapologetic premise of 
the show. With some-
thing as touchy as racial 
tensions, 
I 
think 
that 
both seasons did a great 
job incorporating satire 
and important issues into 
every episode. With a play 
on many of the different 
perspectives that are never 
shown for black charac-
ters on shows, such as the 
nerdy journalist (Lionel 
Higgins), the activist (Sam 
White), and the ambitious 
girl on campus (Coco Con-

ners) this is one of the first 
shows I had seen in a long 
time with such depth and 
diversity for black charac-
ters. Not to mention, that 
Dear White People also 
did a great job tieing in 
other identities such as the 
LGBTQ community and 
African identity within 
their storylines. Dedicat-
ing plot sequences and 
episodes to the growth of 
Lionel’s sexuality, from 
being shy about telling his 
roommate Troy that he’s 
gay, to publicly making 
out with his head writer 
in the season one finale. 
Also giving time to Coco’s 
roommate, Nia, a lesbian 
from Trinidad to explain 
the rich pride of her heri-
tage and attending college 
far away from her home. 
Often times, TV can gloss 
over Black characters and 
make us into the submis-
sive secretaries, butlers 
or the underrepresented 
friend in a group of people. 
This show threw all of 
those tropes into the trash 
and I loved every second 
of it. 
Now let’s talk about the 
issues that arise while the 
characters are on campus. 
From season one’s “Black-
Face Party” to Sam’s white 
boyfriend calling the cops, 
and the scene escalating to 
Reggie getting a gun from 
a cop pulled out on him, I 
was shook. Besides having 
experienced the blatant 

racism that many Black 
Students face on campus, 
the way in which Reggie 
handles his emotions after 
the event also deeply reso-
nated with me. Season two 
begins with him having to 
attend therapy by request 
of Troy’s father, the head 
dean. For many in the 
Black community, mental 
health is a touchy subject, 
and I think the show did an 
excellent job reaching into 
this piece of Reggie’s char-
acter. Infusing the taboo 
nature of therapy with a 
police officer pulling a gun 
on Reggie is what creates 
hurdles for his character 
but also reminds the audi-
ence that for many, these 
situations are not just new 
headlines and rallies, they 
are issues that many char-
acters face trying to prog-
ress in a world that holds 
deep-rooted prejudice. 
Dear 
White 
People 
addressed the issues that 
I, being a Black college stu-
dent have faced as well as 
have seen within my own 
community. 
There 
are 
plenty of topics that Dear 
White People discussed 
that I did not touch on in 
this article as well as issues 
that are yet to appear in an 
episode. Despite this, I still 
immensely enjoyed being 
able to see the Black com-
munity on screen and with 
the pressure put on this 
show to accomplish such 
tasks, it did a good job. 

By LORNA BROWN

MiC SUMMER EDITOR 

By SAM SO

MiC Photographer/Creative 

PHOTO COURTESY OF AUTHOR

On the importance of Dear White People

