What is history? How do people remember their experiences? And how do governments and society create a believable history based on distorted facts in the eyes of those who actually experienced historical events?
As an individual, I have found myself transformed from an eyewitness of history anxious to convey what she believes is a true story, to a scholar who can somewhat detach herself from her personal experiences to put events, even highly emotional ones, in a larger historical perspective. It has been a difficult but, I believe, a necessary process.
The events of which I write occurred on the night of September 13, 1971, and changed the lives of many people in China, including my own. Many suffered in the aftermath; many continue to suffer the consequences today.
Read Full Article »