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June 4, 2019 HISTORY Tiananmen at 30: How China Disappeared a Massacre On June 4, 1989, the Chinese government violently suppressed pro-democracy protests killing hundreds, if not thousands. At the time, the crackdown seemed to be a final, desperate act by an authoritarian regime in a country inexorably headed toward democracy. Thirty years later, the Chinese Communist Party remains in power and China is becoming less, not more, politically open — and the rest of the world appears to be following this trend. Matt Schiavenza writes about Tiananmen’s legacy in Asia Blog and Orville Schell, who visited the square during the height of the protests, describes in the Wall Street Journal how it “created modern China.” Schell discussed Tiananmen on Monday in an event at Asia Society New York with Nicholas Kristof, Zha Jianying, and Susan Jakes — you can watch the complete video here. Public debate about what happened in Tiananmen Square 30 years ago is not permitted in China. The subject is so taboo that many Chinese citizens under a certain age are wholly unaware of what happened. In a moving essay published at our sister site ChinaFile, Yangyang Cheng describes how she first learned the truth about Tiananmen Square from an American classmate at the University of Chicago who hadn’t even been to China. Read our 2014 interview with Louisa Lim, a former Shanghai correspondent from NPR whose book The People’s Republic of Amnesia provides the most comprehensive look yet at how China made the infamous massacre disappear. And don’t miss Perry Link’s list of reasons why, in spite of Beijing’s efforts, it is important to remember June 4, 1989. Learn More CURRENT AFFAIRS North Korea's Leadership Purge? Last week, leading South Korean newspapers reported that North Korea had appeared to purge chief diplomat Kim Yong Chol for his role in February’s failed nuclear summit with the United States and banished the 73-year-old former spy chief to hard labor. The Chosun Ilbo also reported that Kim Hyok Chol, Kim Yong Chol’s deputy and the country’s special envoy to the United States, had been executed (though CNN has since reported he is alive and in custody). Unsurprisingly, details of the purge are murky. On Sunday, the North Korean media released a photograph that showed a man resembling Kim Yong Chol seated near the country’s dictator Kim Jong Un at an art performance — though it was impossible to verify that the man was actually the diplomat because he was covering his face with his hands. Violent leadership purges are hardly unusual in North Korea: In 2013, Kim Jong Un had the country’s second-most powerful official (and his own uncle) Jang Song Thaek executed. Asia Society Policy Institute Vice President Daniel Russel has argued that President Donald Trump’s decision to negotiate directly with Kim on the status of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program gifted legitimacy on a regime that had long sought to shed its pariah status. “Kim Jong Un is not a leader that the president of the United States should be friends with,” Russel said about the suspected purge on a recent appearance on CBS Evening News. “These are not behaviors can simply be overlooked and brushed aside.” Learn More TRADE POLICY 'Things on the China Front Are Not Encouraging' United States trade policy has been one of the big stories of the year, and it’s probably only going to get bigger: President Trump announced last week that he planned to impose tariffs on Mexico in an attempt to halt the flow of migrants from Central America to the U.S., potentially scuttling the proposed United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). And then, of course, there’s China, where $60 billion in tariffs on imports of U.S. goods in reciprocation of Washington’s previous trade action recently kicked in. “Things on the China front are not encouraging,” Wendy Cutler, vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, said in an appearance on Bloomberg TV’s “What’d You Miss.” “Tensions are really ratcheting up, and it’s making it much more difficult to conclude a deal between the United States and China. It’s not impossible, but there are many more roadblocks and issues that they’ll have to talk about when and if they get back to the negotiating table.” In her latest video for Asia Society, Cutler provides a comprehensive overview of why U.S.-China trade relations fell apart when a deal had appeared to be imminent and what might happen next. Her most recent issue paper argues that given the tempestuous trade situation, other countries in the Asia-Pacific region need to step up and take ownership of the reform process. (Download the PDF here) More: In an op-ed in the New York Times, Asia Society Policy Institute President Kevin Rudd argued that President Trump’s tough rhetoric on China played directly into Chinese nationalism. Go deeper on trade with the complete video of Asia Society Northern California’s dive into the specific issues — like forced technology transfer — animating the U.S.-China dispute. Read the Issue Paper ETC. India's Elections, Huawei, M.F. Husain Here’s what else is going on: A panel of experts including Tanvi Madan, Milan Vaishnav, Menaka Guruswamy, and Kanchan Chandra discussed the recent Indian elections at Asia Society New York. Watch the complete video here. Daniel Russel commented on the Trump administration’s clampdown on Huawei for the South China Morning Post. The Heritage Lab takes a deeper look at “Lightning,” a piece featured in the current Asia Society Museum exhibition M.F. Husain: Art and the Nation.

UPCOMING EVENTS Asia Society Southern California will host Daniel Russel for a discussion of how Asian countries can react to a less dependable United States and a more assertive Asia on June 5 in Tustin, California. Details here. New York Japan CineFest presents two nights of short films from exciting Japanese and Japanese-American filmmakers at Asia Society New York. Program One will be held on June 5 while Program Two will follow on June 6. Tickets are still available. Master Junichi Mitsubori will visit Asia Society New York on June 10 to demonstrate how to make wagashi, the artisanal Japanese dessert. Tickets are still available. James Bacchus, Dianne Tipping, and Craig Emerson will discuss the future of trade liberalization in a program sponsored by Asia Society Australia in Sydney on June 11. Anna Fifield, an Asia 21 Young Leader serving as Beijing Bureau Chief for the Washington Post, will discuss her new book on North Korea, The Great Successor, with Daniel Russel at Asia Society New York on June 13. The program will be available globally via free live webcast. JOIN & SUPPORT Asia Society relies on the generosity of its friends and members to support its mission of strengthening relationships and promoting understanding among the people, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the United States. Become a Member Donate

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