The Third and Fourth of June (part 1)
(Excerpt from TIANANMEN MOON by Philip J Cunningham)
JUNE 3 Evening
Of Tanks and Men
After grabbing a quick bite to eat, Meng and I cut through the Beijing Hotel lobby and took the elevator up to my room, 1413, for a more comprehensive vantage point. Along the way, I introduced Meng to Lotus, who we ran into in the lobby of the hotel. She wanted to join us for another look-see at the Square, but when she called her husband Albert, he implored her to find the first cab and get back to their apartment right away.
Lotus lived in a small apartment building adjacent to the Lido Hotel which we had used on May 28 to conduct a long interview with Chai Ling. A week ago Chai Ling spoke to me for an hour, half of it in tears. She spoke in wildly apocalyptic terms and when she had concluded she said she wanted to run away to Hong Kong. Later that night she changed her mind and decided to stay.
The charismatic but mercurial student leader’s florid language was starting to take on a reality I hadn’t granted it when she first confessed her worst fears t…