This is dedicated to my father, who was a successful journalist in China and never had a chance to taste freedom of speech, free press and democracy!
The closest
"democracy" he ever experienced was on 4/5/1976. After the
Chinese Prime Minister Zhou En Lai died, hundreds of thousands of people
gathered on Tian An Men Square in Beijing to pay their respect to Zhou.
It was toward the end of Culture Revolution, even when people had tremendous
dissatisfaction with the direction of the country, no one dared to openly shout
out what's on their mind; and no one dared to bring a large sign with their
favorite statement written on it. Instead, they posted small hand-written
notes on People's Monument -- thousands and thousands of them... My
father quietly went to Tian An Men Square on 4/5/1976, all by himself, and took
nearly a hundred pictures. Weeks following that day, we spent so much
time together in our "dark room" to develop those photos. I was
stunned when I saw people's sad faces and read those beautiful poems -- it was
so REAL. None of them got published, of course. In fact, none of
his coworkers even knew that he had the courage to go and capture those precious
historical moments.
I am so thankful for having the
opportunity to come to America, where free speech and democracy is truly
valued. As I marched on the streets in downtown Chicago, as I read all
the signs and heard all the words, I thought about my father, and I told myself
to forever cherish democracy -- the very thing that my father had always wanted
to experience.
Women's March
Chicago, IL
January 21, 2017
Chicago, IL
January 21, 2017
