(June 4, 2009) -- We provide on-demand access below to the work of a courageous broadcast journalist. It aired almost exactly twenty years ago today.
It's not exclusive here. It was reported at the time by others. It's been cited in several accounts of the events it describes.
Like many news consumers, this writer spent much of June 3-4, 1989 watching CNN's live coverage of events in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. That night, I was interested to hear how Radio Beijing's English language shortwave radio service (in its nightly one-hour program beamed to North America) would describe the events.
At 9:00 p.m. Pacific Time, tuned to the 25 meter shortwave band, I recorded what you can hear now.
Because it's on shortwave (bouncing off the ionosphere on sometimes slightly differing paths), you'll hear occasional fading and phase distortion. For reference, the text is transcribed below.
Try to imagine what it must have been like for this man to sit down at a microphone in a government broadcasting center amid martial law, knowing what has just taken place...and to speak the following:
This is Radio Beijing. Please remember June the third, 1989. The most tragic event happened in the Chinese capital, Beijing.
Thousands of people, most of them innocent civilians, were killed by fully armed soldiers when they forced their way into the city. Among the killed are our colleagues at Radio Beijing.
The soldiers were riding on armored vehicles and used machine guns against thousands of local residents and students who tried to block their way. When the army convoys made a breakthrough, soldiers continued to spray their bullets indiscriminately at crowds in the street.
Eyewitnesses say some armored vehicles even crushed footsoldiers who hesitated in front of the resisting civilians.
Radio Beijing [sic] English Department deeply mourns those [sic] died in the tragic incident and appeals to all its listeners to join our protest for the gross violation of human rights and the most barbarous suppression of the people.
Because of this abnormal situation here in Beijing, there is no other news we could bring you. We sincerely ask for your understanding and thank you for joining us at this most tragic moment.
In our opinion, this man is the broadcast journalistic counterpart to the Tiananmen "Tankman."
Twenty years later, it remains for journalists worldwide with the resources to do so to find out who he is, to speak with him if possible...and whether or not that's possible, to find out what happened to him and on whose orders.
The perspective above is by Bill Pearl, publisher, LongBeachReport.com
