Last updated:聽20 may, 2009 - 09:43 GMT
The Lost Voices of Tiananmen
James Miles has a unique insight into the way China works based on over 20 years' experience as a correspondent there.
He was an eye-witness to the events leading up to the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 and saw scenes of bravery and brutality.
Part one
James looks at the key trigger points that led to the Beijing Spring - a flowering of the pro-democracy movement which culminated in over a million anti-government protesters gathering in Tiananmen Square.
The programme uses archive material recorded at the time to punctuate and illustrate events, and examines a contemporary, growth-orientated China that has evolved since that significant time.
First broadcast on Monday 20 May 2009.