Brief

An American socialist is tapped to go to Beijing as a freelance journalist to cover what’s happening with the pro-democracy movement in Tiananmen Square. He finds himself easily connecting to the Chinese students and workers protesting, and he believes in their goals of forming a more democratic-socialist government that gives them more opportunities. When the protests turn violent and deadly due to the government sending in the military, he’s forced to escape back to San Francisco where he tries to get out the Chinese people’s message and hopes for the future.

What We Liked

The Tiananmen Square protests and massacre are a woefully underrepresented time in recent history, and bringing more attention to what really happened in 1989 is so important. For too long misinformation has been spread by the CCP to imply the students and workers were somehow at fault, and though there’s little that can be done within China to combat that, it can be addressed elsewhere in the world. This project features an important lesson, and it effortlessly taps into issues and themes that are still important today — but in China as well as the Western world.

It’s so easy to see this adapted into a limited series for television, and there’s plenty of plot to play with in this project. The story presented here could be expanded and fleshed out even more, and the way the author has already broken down the events into a day-by-day format would make this a simple task. Each day could be a new episode, and the story would unfold linearly as it reached its tragic climax. Tension could be held well throughout the episodes, as most audiences would be familiar with the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. This would also allow all of the
secondary characters’ own subplots to come to the forefront and weave in and out of the protagonist’s own story. It likely lends itself more to being a limited series than a film.
Not only does the project feature an important message for both the fair treatment of workers as well as the dangers of a capitalism-driven political system, it’s also the author’s own true story. The fact that this is a firsthand account that primarily focuses on the real life people involved with the protests is a huge boon for anyone adapting and marketing this feature. True stories are always a drive at the box office, as well as with awards buzz. It’s easy to see producers and audiences alike being passionate about this due to its authenticity. This is such a great angle at which to portray what happened in Tiananmen Square, and it presents all of the factors and build-up into what occurred (and why) in an easily understandable and relatable way.

Key points:
1. Author’s true story
2. Unique location
3. Topical themes to today’s audiences
4. Interest to a Chinese diaspora audience
5. Author has outlined a dynamic screenplay already

Synopsis

In the spring of 1989, KEVIN “NIVEK” MCGUIRE is offered a freelance assignment by the San Francisco Examiner to cover the pro-democracy movement sweeping Beijing, China. Nivek, a vocal socialist who pushes for unionizing, jumps at the chance despite the danger the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) poses. The Beijing Autonomous Workers Federation (BAWF) and students could push the country toward democratic socialism, and Nivek’s cover will be helping the government identify archive footage to share abroad. On Sunday, Nivek is greeted by two STUDENTS who help introduce him to the student leaders and serve as interpreters. The crowds are immense, hundreds of thousands of people consisting of not only workers and students, but even entire families. Government loudspeakers declare that everyone must cease and disperse, but it has little impact Nivek draws a lot of attention as a white American, and it’s easy for him to get people to talk. He meets WAN, a student leader from Inner Mongolia, who warns him that despite the amount of interest, the student movement isn’t very well organized.

Some of the leaders want to leave the Square soon, whereas others want to stay. Nivek meets WANG, one of the main student leaders. Wang is cautious, but he doesn’t think the CCP will bring the troops in as the demonstrations are peaceful.

Wang says the Chinese people don't want to overthrow communism, they just want a chance at a brighter future. Wang introduces Nivek to Liu, who led a march that stopped the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in their tracks. He secured their agreement that they won’t open fire on the civilians gathered here. Liu tells him that BAWF formed earlier in the month when workers marched in support of students on a hunger strike. Liu worries the CCP has no interest in having an open dialogue with the students and workers. Nivek is called to the American embassy along with all journalists and diplomats. Nivek feels the diplomats are either clueless or disingenuous, as they dismissed the significance of the Goddess statue and the mass movement in the Square. Nivek goes back to Tiananmen Square with Wang and Liu that night. Hundreds of thousands join them, while the PLA waits just outside the city. Nivek is anxious to see what happens on Saturday, but he’s pulled away by XING, his contact through the TV Ministry, to tour the Great Wall to prevent him from reporting firsthand on the CCP’s actions.
Nivek races back as soon as he can, finding that the demonstrators have been tear gassed and shot with rubber bullets. The protestors and their leaders are divided on whether to stay and fight for their rights or to leave the Square for their own safety.

Troops are amassing in greater numbers every second, and the promise of violence hangs in the air. Finally, Nivek makes contact with BAWF demonstrators, many of whom are committed to the cause no matter what. Military action begins in full force that night, and Nivek can see soldiers killing dozens of protestors and tanks charging down the street toward the Square from his hotel room. He calls the Examiner to report on what is happening, and it becomes front page news. Nivek walks the streets on Sunday, stunned by the carnage of the massacre. He’s miraculously able to get out of the city safely with his tapes in tow. He is invited to speak to several media outlets, but everyone focuses on the deaths, rather than the message. In 1993, Nivek reconnects with Wang. Wang barely avoided being arrested, and Nivek firmly believes that the seeds for a socialist-democratic revolution were planted in the Square regardless of the outcome. Unfortunately, over 30 years after the Beijing Spring, the CCP has managed to suppress any anti-government stirrings still. The world is fiercely divided between China and the US, yet China’s poor treatment of workers is tacitly allowed thanks to a market that enables Western capitalism to exploit cheap Chinese labor. The issues that led to the massacre in Tiananmen Square haven’t been resolved and instead have only multiplied.

About The Author

The author, Kevin McGuire, is a graduate of Georgetown University with a major in Government, who has been a political and union activist for more than 40 years. In 1989, at the age of 35, while living in San Francisco, I had the chance to travel to Beijing, China, as a freelance reporter for the San Francisco Examiner to cover the Tiananmen Square student-led pro-democracy movement. This story is an eyewitness account of the last 8 days of that movement, including the army's brutal crackdown the night of June 3-4.