PBS (Wed., July 9, 9 p.m. ET)
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This two-hour documentary, which follows China in Revolution (1989) and The Mao Years (1994) in PBS's historical China trilogy, doesn't deal with the aftermath of Deng Xiaoping's death or the return of Hong Kong to Chinese control. But it provides a valuable overview of post-Mao China, where remarkable economic growth (at least in coastal cities) coexists with severe political repression.
The film does a solid job of covering the big trends and events—particularly the passion behind the Tiananmen Square protest and the horror of the military action that crushed it—while reminding us that the winds of change have yet to reach much of the impoverished countryside.
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