June 4th, 1989

15 years ago in a very different world. Millions of people in China were demonstrating for a free society, for an end to corruption and for some semblance of a democratic process.

It was one of these moments in time that is hard to describe, when everything seemed possible and everybody you see seems to be bubbling over with ideas and excitement. Strangers in the streets were - openly and loudly - discussing politics in a country until then known for a repressive communist regime. A demonstration with more than a million participants was snaking its way through Shanghai, day after day, again and again.

These were good times. Everybody thought so.

Then on the morning of June 4th, 1989 everything disappeared like a mirage, replaced by a fierce nightmare. Over the next few days, more than ten thousand people would die, crushed by tanks, executed in public squares all over China.

I will never learn if some of the demonstrators I had met during those days were among the victims. But I will never forget their enthusiasm and excitement.