The Legacy of Tiananmen Square

The Chinese struggle for democracy has been punctuated by scheming tyrants, lost opportunities and repressed voices, but the human faces of this epic story are revealed by Cormier (former China corre-spondent for CBC Television) in his evocative narrative. Through high-profile interviews, a thorough understanding of modern Chinese history, and years of reporting in China, Cormier manages to pre-sent a broad yet comprehensive view of the issues surrounding the Chinese System of government and the people's desire for change. Readers will quickly become acquainted with China's pseudo-democratic changes throughout the 20th century and beyond, as well as the key players, such as Sun Yat-Sen, Moa Zedong and various leaders and revolutionaries. This is not an academic perspective but a journalistic one, and Cormier tells the story of the twisted and tortured path of Chinese-style democ-racy with purpose and clarity. Each chapter advances the narrative with another protagonist, adding angle upon angle with lucid fact to the understanding of Tiananmen Square in the context of the Chi-nese's greater struggle for a voice. Despite being a translation, the text is smooth and natural, with no hiccups of awkward syntax or language usage. Cormier has written a moving and tragic book, but one that is by no means hopeless. North American Distribution: UTP (Apr.)