The People's Republic of Amnesia

Tiananmen Revisited

By: Louisa Lim

Narrated by: Louisa Lim

On June 4, 1989, People's Liberation Army soldiers opened fire on unarmed civilians in Beijing, killing untold hundreds of people. A quarter-century later, this defining event remains buried in China's modern history, successfully expunged from collective memory.

In The People's Republic of Amnesia, NPR correspondent Louisa Lim charts how the events of June 4 changed China, and how China changed the events of June 4 by rewriting its own history. Lim reveals new details about those fateful days, including how one of the country's most senior politicians lost a family member to an army bullet, as well as the inside story of the young soldiers sent to clear Tiananmen Square. She also introduces us to individuals whose lives were transformed by the events of Tiananmen Square, such as a founder of the Tiananmen Mothers, whose son was shot by martial law troops; and one of the most important government officials in the country, who post-Tiananmen became one of its most prominent dissidents. And she examines how June 4 shaped China's national identity, fostering a generation of young nationalists, who know little and care less about 1989. For the first time, Lim uncovers the details of a brutal crackdown in a second Chinese city that until now has been a near-perfect case study in the state's ability to rewrite history, excising the most painful episodes. By tracking down eyewitnesses, discovering US diplomatic cables, and combing through official Chinese records, Lim offers the first account of a story that has remained untold for a quarter of a century.

The People's Republic of Amnesia is an original, powerfully gripping, and ultimately unforgettable audiobook about a national tragedy and an unhealed wound.

©2014 Louisa Lim (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Chinese people recount their Orwellian experiences

This book is the product the author's many interviews with Chinese citizens who were involved in past democratic movements or in campaigns against government oppression. Not surprisingly, the repercussions, conclusions, and outlooks toward the future vary between those who recounted their experiences. Unfortunately, the extensive economic growth and new-found wealth that mainland China has experienced over the last 40 years has lulled most Chinese citizens into a false sense of satisfactory governance, and has suppressed their criticisms and calls to reform, causing many to turn a blind-eye to the ongoing corruption, brutality, and forced conformity to the state-sponsored narrative.

great book and recording

You could hear the passion for the topic in Ms. Lim's writing and delivery. An important story to be recounted and remembered.

sounds like BBC radio

the narrator reads her own book like a BBC report which makes our hard for my American ears to follow