THE smell of burning bodies still lives with an Oxfordshire school teacher who saw the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square massacre in China 20 years ago.
Rupert Attlee, who had been working in Hong Kong in 1989, was on his way back to London when he found himself stranded in Beijing on June 3.
An unknown number of students were massacred by soldiers in a bloody repression following a two-month demonstration for freedom and democracy in Tiananmen Square.
Mr Attlee, who teaches English at Cothill House School, in Cothill, near Abingdon, said: “It was a feeling of absolute horror. I had never seen a dead body before and never do I want to see one again.
“The smell of burning flesh was the most awful smell and still lives with me. My first thought was to turn my back on it. But, I was stopped on the street and asked to show what had happened. I had a camera and took some pictures.”
The 45-year-old father of two, who was 26 at the time, said the memories of June 4, 1989, were still fresh.
Staying in a hotel just a mile from the bloodshed, Mr Attlee, said witnesses reported that people had stood fearlessly blocking the army tanks, only to be crushed as the soldiers advanced.
He said: “I remember this one man who stood in front of a line of tanks with his hand up like a traffic warden. No one knew his name or what happened to him.
“Early that morning, students had again successfully stopped the soldiers’ advance towards the square.
“A journalist told me that the Chinese government was rapidly losing its patience. He told me to stay clear of the square that night.
“I passed about 30 trucks sitting stationary. I went back to my hotel. Curiosity led me to rise early.
“I rode my bike down to the square. One body lay charred and blackened by the side of the main street.”
He added: “What started as a student demonstration struck a chord with all levels of society in China.
“For months the people of China dared to dream, but the reality was that it didn’t work out. We have to remember what they did.”
The protests, which started on April 14, 1989, were led mainly by students and intellectuals, during a year that saw the collapse of communist Governments in Eastern Europe, and the demolition of the Berlin Wall.
The protests were sparked by the death of pro-market, pro-democracy and anti-corruption official, Hu Yaobang, who protesters wanted to mourn.
By the eve of his funeral, thousands of people had gathered in the square.
The movement lasted seven weeks until June 4.
In Beijing, the resulting military response to the protesters by the government left many civilians dead or severely injured.
The number of deaths is not known and many different estimates exist.
The official Chinese Government figure is 241 dead, including soldiers, and 7,000 wounded.
Open debate on the incident is still forbidden in mainland China.
Today, police in Beijing ringed Tiananmen Square, barring foreign journalists from the area.
Officials also stopped TV crews filming the daily flag-raising ceremony at dawn.
Mr Attlee, who has been back to China running snooker events with the likes of Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Parrott, said things had changed.
He said: “The Chinese people have become richer.
“But despite being able to vote for their favourite pop idol on their mobile phones, they can’t vote for their government or freely express their opinions.”
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