According to the BBC (sorry, but you can’t access it in China) – a token payout of ¥70,000 has been made in “hardship assistance” to the family of Zhou Guocong, then 15, who died in police custody in Chengdu in the aftermath of the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations.
This is an interesting development as it represents a gesture that somewhat contradicts the official Chinese verdict and their subsequent handling of actions after the incident, which they claim were justified. This is the first payout of its type, and may be a sign of further relaxation of the somewhat controversial official version of events, not to mention possible further compensation payouts.
Activist Ding Zilin, however, does not find this development significant:
“This is a first, but I must point out that hardship assistance does not amount to compensation”
That is true. But as China furthers its integration with the rest of the world and continues it’s gradual political reform, eventual endorsement of the real events of the day are, I believe, inevitable. At that point we can finally put history behind us and move on.