Prospects for Democracy

The Tiananmen Square incident is an incredible incident in China's history. Not incredible in it being 'awesome', but that it seemed to have a significant impact around the turning point of their economic status. They were an authoritarian government, but it was obvious that the government had become increasingly lax with their strict rules, especially for such an event to occur. The fact that it was the younger population that started the incident, suggests that something was different about the education that they were recieving in relation to that of older generations. Though one of the most interesting parts about the incident is that the young Chinese citizens wanted to remember the previous ruler, even though he would be considered as an authoritarian ruler. I think that this incident complicates the meaning of security as the people acted in defiance, but the government did not act right away. It took them nearly a month to do so, but when they did, their actions were horrifying. For the most part, when people think about security, they can list what they think of, and when they think of how they will get this security, as in who will protect them, most think it is in the hands of their government. Yet, when the government acts maliciously, and against the people, where do they seek security then? The government is the highest agency in the land, and if they aren't protecting the people, then there is no protection for them. It is a terrifying thought to have, but during this incident, I'm sure it was even more terrifying to the Chinese people. I think looking back on this incident, it is memorable, but not a highlight of the history of China because of all the violence that the government took in response to the people.