Backbone of the Chinese people
--In Memories of My Dearest Brother Zhao

Mount Hu

Zhao Pin Lu and I first made acquaintance at a conference in memorial of the Tiananmen Square incident of June 4th, 1989. I had longed for the conference in expectation of meeting with great minds from China who were genuine national heroes able to sweep away the cruelest power in light of ultimate justice. However, the conference turned out to be a meaningless and fruitless chatting gathering. Towards the end of the meeting, I reached my breaking point and burst out in front of the audience: “as a direct survivor of the great incident, I had cherished my sincerest hope that the Chinese government would last no longer than ten years after 1989… yet, I just realized that you guys are just like this… I am too suffocated even to cry out…”. Amazingly, my impromptu speech piqued the interest of many participants who immediately approached to greet me and gather my contact information; Brother Zhao was one.

That evening, Linda Huaxiazi [President of the World Chinese Federation] hosted a dinner at the Sichuan King Restaurant. Amongst the flow of words and wine, Zhao’s generosity and sense of humor were exceptionally impressive.

Two days later, I received a call from Brother Zhao. We talked for over an hour on casual matters such as our hometowns (we are both from Beijing and Mr. Jinglu Liang is a common bosom friend), and wisdom for approaching life and people. He was considerate to enquire how I made a living, mentioning he owned two vans and we would join hands to do some business. He also gave me an open invitation to visit his house.

One afternoon, another Beijinger and I went to visit Mr. Zhao at his apartment. Expressing exceptional good cheer, Mr. Zhao quickly changed into a yellow silk jacket—giving him the look of a royal king in the Forbidden City. We talked pleasantly on various topics which crossed our minds without realizing our ‘sister-in-law’ (Zhao’s wife) presented Beijing styled pancakes and dishes. My chats with Brother Zhao remain my happiest experiences in the United States.

Mr. Zhao become a big brother, often visiting my office in his spare time. Twice, when we were out singing Karaoke bars, Mr. Zhao paid the bill when other’s pockets where empty.

During the Spring Festival, I visited Mr. Zhao with [Tiananmen leader] Mr. Zhou Yongjun and several Americans. Before the visit, we were informed that Brother Zhao could not talk long due to his weak physical condition. After taking several photographs, we prepared to leave. Brother Zhao asked me to stay longer; perhaps because we both are from Beijing and demonstrate straightforward and spontaneous characters. So engrossed in our conversation, we did not realize that time had progressed to the next morning. We moved from the living room to the bedroom, ignoring the fact that we interrupted the his wife’s sleep. I possessed the feeling that a rare friend is worth thousands of cups of wine!

If it were not for a shortage of money, I would have preferred to see Brother Zhao everyday. I planned to find some business for him, but did not, and felt too ashamed to see him without bringing a substantial gift. Because of these trivial worries, my meeting during the Spring Festival become my unexpected farewell. I would never have another chance to chat for long hours with Brother Zhao!

Discovering Brother Zhao as a big brother was a great pleasure. Brother Zhao stood as a backbone of the Chinese people, a pride of all from Beijing. His dignity, pride, generosity, sense of humor, righteousness and the willingness to sacrifice his own life in exchange for justice are all memories which will inspire and guide me the rest of my life. Brother Zhao was indeed a strong man. Upon arrival to the United States, despite his heroic deeds during the Tiananmen revolution, he worked as a physical laborer at the bottom level of the society. While employed at Crystal Window, he often worked from 8:00 am till 4:00 o’clock in the morning. The concepts of the motherland, China, Chinese, mother, the Chinese Communist Party, and the Chinese government are often confused in the minds of the Chinese people. Brother Zhao had no such conflicts, and supported all measures to make China a stronger country despite his political dissidence.

During the conference in memories of the Tiananmen Incident last year in New York, Brother Zhao stood in the pouring rain without an umbrella giving a speech and leading slogans against the Chinese Communist Party when a mere cold could jeopardize his life.

Big Brother Zhao is a great patriot with the real soul of Chinese people!

If the ancient poem is correct that “a son should follow the example of Zhongmou Sun”, others should follow the personality of Brother Pinlu!

Brother Zhao, we shall, with you as an example, make our most determined efforts in improving ourselves, and working for a democratic, free, prosperous, and strong China as quickly as possible!

Brother Zhao, have a safe trip!

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Source: "China Support Network".