The Second of June

(Excerpt from TIANANMEN MOON by Philip J Cunningham)

June 2 (Evening)

Troops Are Coming!

A surly band of soldiers in white T-shirts and khaki pants had just broken through a series of civilian barricades to the east. They jogged around obstacles and made it all the way to Wangfujing intersection before halting their advance.

Hundreds of sweaty military men in crew cuts were now taking up positions and catching their breath in in the darkened streets near the Beijing Hotel. Clustered together in disciplined groups, they didn’t carry weapons but were intimidating in number and solemnity of appearance. As they lined up in rows, row after row, they stood as still as statues, stern faces etched in the stark illumination of the night time street. The orderly long rows of military men brought to mind bing-ma-yong, the terracotta warriors.

Silent, stoic and of unknown intent.

I saw several Chinese student activists emerge from the crowd of civilians milling about, attempting to break the ice, trying to to plead peace with the men in green “Hello, n…