More than 30 years ago, ordinary residents of China protested in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, where authorities reacted by reportedly killing at least 10,000.

Sean Lin, who traveled to Beijing to attend those protests in 1989, recalls those events as “a historical moment in [China’s] modern history.”

Lin, who served as a U.S. Army microbiologist and is currently an assistant professor in Fei Tian College’s Biomedical Science Department in Middletown, New York, recalls that “not only students actively joined the protests,” but “a lot of civilians from all walks of life all supported this movement.”

“At the time, I think the main theme is anti-corruption because after the Cultural Revolution ended, the Communist Party allowed certain levels of economy reform,” Lin says. “So, many of the party elites quickly get rich using their privilege, using their powers.”

He added: “So, immediately, the Chinese people see the society become polarized … I think it triggered a huge anger against the corruption level at the time.”

Lin brings this frame of reference to discussing the ongoing unrest in China triggered after at least 10 persons died and at least nine were hurt last Thursday in an apartment fire in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region during the nation’s COVID-19 lockdown. 

“I think at that time in the 1980s, people definitely were very, very angry and upset about the corruption level. But at that time, nobody even … call for a step-down of the Communist Party,” Lin says. 

“But now, 33 years later, I think people are totally disappointed and [have] totally lost any confidence in the Communist Party.” 

Lin joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to talk about his experience during the Tiananmen Square protests, his thoughts on the Biden administration’s response to the current protests in China, and his message to those protesting.

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