Myth and Madness on Tiananmen Square: Chinese Politburo 1989

What really happened on June 4th, 1989 is a myth, but Tiananmen Square has already become a cultural sign. Rock stars arrive on scene to perform for student protestors. Legos made products on the man standing in the way of a line of military tanks. Western journalists coming to report Gorbachev's historical visit to China bumped into one of the most spectacular pictures in the 20th century: a million university students camping in a 100-acre open space, singing and waving flags, calling for democracy in front of Mao's Mausoleum in communist China.

All of a sudden, the May Day parade turned into a bloodshed on the night of June 3rd. The People's Liberation Army cleared the square by force, and the reality has been kept by the government from the Chinese people for 20 years, so long that the details are already filled with lies and distortions.

Now, you have the chance to sit in the position to determine the destiny for the million students in Tiananmen, and potentially the billion Chinese behind them. Chinese Politburo 1989 simulates the power struggle between left and right, the debate over political and economic reform, and all the major policy decisions for Chinese leaders in the protest, together we will investigate the Myth and the Madness of Tiananmen Square.

 

Background Guide

 

 

Chair - Daniel Kang

Daniel Kang is a third year Economics and Law, Letters & Society major. Daniel was born in Switzerland, raised in Korea, and attended high school in New Jersey before Chicago; he is often confused about his geographical origin. He spent his first year in ChoMUN as a Team member and as an Assistant Chair for the Chinese National Congress, and cannot be more excited to serve as Chair this year. Outside of MUN, he can be seen playing for the UChicago Squash Team, hanging out at Delta Upsilon, or jamming on his guitar.

Email: danielkang@uchicago.edu

 

Crisis Director - Franklin Lin

Franklin Lin (Siyuan 林思远 in Chinese) is a second year in College interested in a wide range of topics in social sciences. Having spent his first 18 years in Shanghai, China (and not at all disillusioned by the political scene), he was first drawn to Chicago by Mearsheimer and IR theories, but recently he finds himself more attracted to the Sociology Department, especially Professor Dingxin Zhao, the top scholar in contemporary China and the June 4th Incident. As a member of the traditionally defined "intellectuals class" in China, Franklin shares a special sentiment towards discovering the truth on Tiananmen Square that day, which has been kept a mystery by the authority for more than 20 years. Ever since he joined ChoMUN, designing and running this committee has been his ideal to provide a more "Chinese" perspective into the incident, other than the one on the Wikipedia page in American English. Last year, Franklin worked as an Assistant Chair for UEFA committee because he is a huge fan of Netherlands, Messi, and his local team Shanghai Shenhua FC, where Drogba and Anelka had played. He also loves Tarantino films, listens to John Mayer music, and reads Kerouac novels.