As an American growing up in California in the 1980s, my initial perception of modern China was primarily shaped by the standard history textbook narrative of the founding of the Republic People's Party of China (PRC) in 1949 and in the first decades of communist rule that followed. However, my views were radically changed in the summer of 1989, when dramatic media images of the student-led protest movement in Tiananmen Square dominated the nightly news. For the first time I realized that there were many Chinese who wanted the same basic human rights and civil liberties that Americans enjoyed. A makeshift statue created by protesters, the 10-meter-tall Goddess of Democracy, became a powerful political symbol and a call for freedom and democracy that resonated deeply with many people in the West (Deneen, xv). Then, just when it looked like the peaceful student revolution was gaining momentum, the Chinese government deployed the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to Tiananmen Square and the protest movement was quickly and brutally suppressed. The incident affected me deeply and made me very suspicious and distrustful of the PRC government and its future ambitions. My suspicions only deepened in the 1990s, when members of Congress began speaking out against China's unfair trade practices. In 1996, a bill to renew China's "most favored nation" status sparked fierce debate in the U.S. House of Representatives. “These people don't think like us,” said Joe Scarborough, a representative from Florida. “They don't share our values. They only understand that the United States continues to bow to them." (qtd. in Schmitt para. 18). Yet, despite the harsh rhetoric of many members of Congress, the Clinton administration continues... middle of paper... and is choked with people, bicycles, buses and cars. It was overwhelming. Yet, I never felt threatened or in danger while traveling through China. Everywhere I went there were always people offering to help me and who were genuinely interested in learning more about me and my life in the United States. What surprised me most was how knowledgeable young Chinese were about American history, culture, and politics. Internet cafes were abuzz with you. Works Cited Deneen, Patrick J. Democratic Faith. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2005. PrintSchmitt, Eric. "Chamber rejects move to end China's favored trade status." The New York Times. The New York Times, June 28, 1996. Web. November 28, 2013. Gittings, John. The changing face of China: from Mao to the market. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2006. Print.Schuman, Michael. “Why do we fear a rising China?” Time Magazine, June 7, 2011. Web. October 1. 2013.