ABSTRACT
The popular protests that erupted in China in April 1989, followed by harsh government repression in June, illustrated dramatically the tensions and uncertainties that characterize kaifang and make it so difficult to interpret and evaluate. The remarkable scope and spontaneity of these demonstrations, quickly labeled the "democracy movement" because of the salience of demands for democratic reforms, was testimony to the powerful impact of kaifang—the opening or open policy pursued so vigorously by China's leadership over the preceding decade. The forceful closure testified with equal clarity to the fragility of the opening and the speed with which the policy might be altered, if not abandoned. The insurrection was in part a product of kaifang, of that there can be no doubt, but it is less certain how well the democracy movement serves to measure the opening's success or failure, or to predict its future. What one sees depends on one's perspectives on the event, as well as the event itself.
