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Today, I’m thinking of Zhang Xianling, who lost her only son, Wang Nan, 30 years ago. Wang, 19, told his mother that he wanted to “record history.” Before he left for Tiananmen Square on June 3, 1989, he asked her: “Do you think the troops would open fire?” She said she did not.
Three hours later, he was shot dead by soldiers. That was how Ms. Zhang became central to the #tiananmenmothers, always calling on the government to account for its role in the massacre. I tried to visit her 5 years ago in April, together with @maximduncan.
We were stopped by 8 police and security officers, who had put her on 24-hour surveillance. Usually if this happens in China, interviewees plead with you not to contact them again or apologize for the general inconvenience. Not Ms. Zhang ...
She called and said: “Go round the back and look for my kitchen window!” Let’s do the interview from here.” We scanned the block and saw a grey-haired woman waving furiously and holding a picture of her son. I think it was Kim Kyung-Hoon who took this photo. 
@maximduncan set up his tripod on the sidewalk and we interviewed Ms. Zhang from there. She said, of the surveillance: “I find it ridiculous, I’m an old lady. What can I say to reporters? I don’t know any state secrets. What is there to be afraid of?”
I asked @williamnee that question. He said, of the Tiananmen Mothers: “There is much empathy for them given they lost children in 1989. They are seen as credible and their continued fight for justice, given their age, has drawn much sympathy.”
Months later, I looked Ms. Zhang up again, and this time I was able to visit her at home. We laughed about our previous “encounter.” Of course, an hour later, the police knocked on her door and demanded to know what I was doing there ...
I’m pleased to see she’s still accepting interviews and will never turn a foreign reporter away. voachinese.com/a/Tiananmen-Mo…
So when I see the Chinese government say “the Chinese people have the best say” (re: it’s response to Pompeo’s statement) on China, I think back to Ms. Zhang and all the other Tiananmen mothers and fathers. “All we are seeking for is the truth,” Ms. Zhang says.
