In 1989, 2000 demonstrators were massacred in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, provoking demands throughout the world for sanctions. However, US President George Bush was concerned about the effect on the already fragile relationship with China’s leaders. This programme for the first time provides detailed accounts of the secret meetings held between Bush’s advisors and the Chinese government to avert a potential disaster, and how the process was undermined by the “Tiananmen Hostage”, Fang Lizhi, an ardent campaigner for human rights, wanted for counter-revolutionary crimes, who was forced to seek asylum in the US embassy.
