The next time you feel like turning on a movie or a sitcom, watch this instead!

The story of the Chinese Massacre (aka Tiananmen Square) in 1989 is one that I thought I knew. After watching this documentary, I was shocked to discover that my understanding of the political uprising that took place in China wasn't even close to complete.

So much more happened at that time then I was aware of. I realize now that I can't claim to know anything about China until I know about Tiananmen Square. The Chinese government has done an amazing job of covering up these events by distracting us with economic reform. These days all of the talk is about China's amazing growth and bright future. However, the factors that caused Tiananmen and the events that transpired during Tiananmen remain unresolved issues that boil just beneath the surface in China.

What happened in 1989 should play a prominent role in your life today. Whether it is deciding who to purchase goods from, what Internet sites to visit, or what to believe about China's present and future, Tiananmen Square should play into your decision making. We must balance our understanding of China's economic rise with an informed understanding of its dark past and continued political oppression.

For example, here is a story from 2006 that you may be aware of but haven't thought about seriously:

Shi Tao was a Chinese journalist who forwarded an e-mail to a New York website, which outlined the instructions from the Chinese government regarding how Chinese media was to cover the 16^th anniversary of the Beijing Massacre. Yahoo China supplied Chinese authorities with the time the E-mail was sent, the IP address, and the corresponding PC from which it was sent. With this information, the authorities arrested Shi Tao and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. Yahoo’s Michael Callahan, Sr. Vice President, had this to say at a subsequent congressional hearing on the matter,

“The facts of the Shi Tao case are distressing to our company…When Yahoo China in Beijing was required to provide information about a user who we later learned was Shi Tao, we had no information about the identity of the user or the nature of the investigation. At the time the demand was made for information in this case, Yahoo China was legally obligated to comply with the requirements of Chinese law enforcement.”

U.S. Representative Christopher Smith, (R) New Jersey, shot back at Mr. Callahan,

“My response to [your statement] is, if the secret police a half century ago asked where Anne Frank was hiding, would the correct answer be to hand over the information in order to comply with local laws?”

I visited Yahoo's main website this morning without a thought. Knowing that their recent behavior was compared - fairly I might add - to that of a conspirator of the Holocaust has caused me to think hard about the ambivalence that I show towards this very serious issue.

What about you? Does your current attitude towards China qualify as ambivalent? Have you thought about the statements that you make through your actions? I'm not saying that you must dedicate your life to human rights advocacy. What I am saying is that ignorance is no excuse. If, after seeing the facts, you decide that you do not condone the behavior of your government or the businesses you transact with, you should do something about it lest you become guilty by association.