Cold War Museum Speaker Series | Feb 9th

February 9 - Hong Kong and Tian’namen Square: The History and the Relationship

Retrospective on the Massacre 31 Years Later, and Its Relation to the Hong Kong Events

On June 4,1989, the Chinese government ordered in troops to end protests in Tian’anmen Square in Beijing that had been ongoing since April. The end result was many dead and wounded civilian protesters. Perhaps the most iconic image of the event was “Tank Man,” so named because he jumped in front of the Chinese tanks in vain to stop their forward progress. Tian’anmen traumatized the ruling Communist Party, which has maintained a tight grip on control ever since. To this day, the topic is officially taboo among the population. With the recent events in Hong Kong in mind, we invite you to come and learn, from an NSA historian who specializes in China, the facts about this Cold War event and why it’s important.

Greg Nedved has been a historian at the Center for Cryptologic History since 2011, with a specialty in China. Prior to this, he had spent much of his professional career (military and government) working with the Chinese language in various capacities, e.g., analyst, translator, instructor. Nedved also has extensive experience with museums. He has been president of the National Museum of Language in College Park, MD, since 2018 and has served many years as a weekend docent at the National Cryptologic Museum at Ft. George G. Meade, MD. He has a B.A. degree from Saint Vincent College (Latrobe, PA) and an M.A. from Hawaii Pacific University. He is also a graduate of the Naval War College Fleet Seminar Program and has a Certificate in Advanced Translation from the University of Chicago. He is the author of many books and articles in topics as diverse as steamboats to presidential trivia.

Agenda:
• 1:30-2:00. Participants arrive; they may get their beer or other drink at this time
• 2:00-2:10. Jason Hall, Executive Director of the Cold War Museum, introduces the Museum and Greg Nedved.
• 2:10-3:30. Greg presents on The Tian’anmen Square Massacre.
• 3:30-4:00. Q&A opportunity for the audience
• 4:00-5:00. The Museum (next door) will be open for event participants, with staff providing a tour for those interested.

Event seating at the brewery is limited, and many prior presentations have sold out well in advance, so we suggest that you secure your tickets promptly. Questions? Call or email Jason Hall, 703-283-4124 (cell), jason@coldwar.org