The govt's actions might seem heavy-handed, but their stewardship of the change process has undeniably been impressive, even exemplary.
I actually think the Chinese government did the right thing in Tiananmen. They had the fortitude to do what Louis the XVI and Czar Nicholas the II should have done, but did not. Americans forget that most revolutions have had horrible results. And in China in particular, the worst time periods have been times of internal chaos ( the Taiping Rebellion and the Cultural revolution). Order and security are prerequisites of liberty. The Chinese government put down the mob (a mob that did have weapons, btw), and helped ensure that the past twenty years have been the best twenty years in China in a long time.
I actually think the Chinese government did the right thing in Tiananmen. They had the fortitude to do what Louis the XVI and Czar Nicholas the II should have done, but did not. Americans forget that most revolutions have had horrible results. And in China in particular, the worst time periods have been times of internal chaos ( the Taiping Rebellion and the Cultural revolution). Order and security are prerequisites of liberty. The Chinese government put down the mob (a mob that did have weapons, btw), and helped ensure that the past twenty years have been the best twenty years in China in a long time.