Like many Americans, LBREPORT.com's now-publisher spent much of June 3-4, 1989 watching CNN's live coverage of events in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. That night, I wondered how Radio Beijing's English language shortwave radio broadcast (a one-hour program beamed nightly to North America) would describe those events.

At 9:00 p.m. Pacific Time in the 25 meter shortwave band, I recorded what you can hear on-demand below. Because shortwave radio signals bounce off the ionosphere on sometimes differing paths, there's some fading and phase distortion, so the text is also transcribed below.

Try to imagine what it must have been like for this man to enter the Chinese government's broadcast center that day. Tanks were in the streets. The city was under martial law. This man knew what happened to his fellow citizens -- and some of his co-workers -- at Tiananmen Square.

Think of what must have gone through his mind as he sat down behind a microphone, watched a clock tick-off the seconds to the top of the hour...and spoke words that he hoped the world would hear.

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.

Like the Tiananmen "Tankman," this man's fate is uncertain. There are conflicting accounts over who he is and what happened to him.

It remains for journalists worldwide to find out who he is and to seek the opportunity to speak with him. We urge our fellow reporters to use encounters that periodically arise (with visiting Beijing-regime reps and orchestrated "exchanges" and the like) to ask what happened to this man and on whose orders...and then to honor him for his courageous work.