CHINA deployed its vast security apparatus yesterday to snuff out commemoration of the suppression of pro-democracy protests around Tiananmen Square 25 years ago, flooding the streets with police as censors scrubbed the internet clean of any mention of the crackdown.
Several governments including the United States urged China to account for what happened on June 4 1989, comments that riled China, which has said the protest movement was “counter-revolutionary”.
Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama used the anniversary to call on China to embrace democracy.
China has never released a death toll for the crackdown, but estimates from human rights groups and witnesses range from several hundred to several thousand.
Troops shot their way into central Beijing after demonstrators clogged Tiananmen Square in Beijing for about six weeks. There were also protests in many other cities.
Taking no chances yesterday, police, soldiers and plainclothes security personnel enveloped Tiananmen Square, checking identity cards and rummaging through bags looking for any hint that people might try and commemorate the day.
Police escorted a Reuters reporter off the square, saying it was closed to foreign media. They also detained another Reuters journalist for trying to report on the anniversary releasing him after a few hours.
Public discussion of the crackdown is off-limits in China.
Many young people are unaware of what happened because of years of government efforts to banish memories of the People’s Liberation Army shooting its own citizens.
“They have covered up history. They don’t want people to know the truth of what they did,” veteran activist Hu Jia told Reuters from his home in Beijing, where he said police were present to prevent him from leaving.
“Nobody would have confidence in them if they knew what they did…They should have fallen because of what they did,” he added.
While the anniversary has never been publicly marked in mainland China, more than 150000 people were expected to gather yesterday evening in Hong Kong for a candlelight vigil.
A large number of mainland Chinese are expected to join the event in the former British territory, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997 but remains a free-wheeling, capitalist hub. The vigil has been held in Hong Kong every year since 1989.
China’s Foreign Ministry has defended the crackdown, saying the government had chosen the correct path for the sake of the people.
The protests began in April 1989 as a demonstration by university students in Beijing to mourn the death of Hu Yaobang, the reformist Communist Party chief who had been ousted by paramount leader Deng Xiaoping. The protests grew into broader demands for an end to corruption as well as calls for democracy.
Many Chinese would balk at the idea of mass revolution today. China is now the world’s second biggest economy, with most Chinese enjoying individual and economic freedoms never accorded them before.
“I don’t think it can happen again,” said a Beijing resident who gave his family name as Xu. “China’s system is certainly different from the West. The population is huge, 1.4 billion people. If you want to govern it well, it’s not easy.” — Reuters
China ignores protest anniversary
Several governments including the United States urged China to account for what happened on June 4 1989, comments that riled China, which has said the protest movement was “counter-revolutionary”.
Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama used the anniversary to call on China to embrace democracy.
China has never released a death toll for the crackdown, but estimates from human rights groups and witnesses range from several hundred to several thousand.
Troops shot their way into central Beijing after demonstrators clogged Tiananmen Square in Beijing for about six weeks. There were also protests in many other cities.
Taking no chances yesterday, police, soldiers and plainclothes security personnel enveloped Tiananmen Square, checking identity cards and rummaging through bags looking for any hint that people might try and commemorate the day.
Police escorted a Reuters reporter off the square, saying it was closed to foreign media. They also detained another Reuters journalist for trying to report on the anniversary releasing him after a few hours.
Public discussion of the crackdown is off-limits in China.
Many young people are unaware of what happened because of years of government efforts to banish memories of the People’s Liberation Army shooting its own citizens.
“They have covered up history. They don’t want people to know the truth of what they did,” veteran activist Hu Jia told Reuters from his home in Beijing, where he said police were present to prevent him from leaving.
“Nobody would have confidence in them if they knew what they did…They should have fallen because of what they did,” he added.
While the anniversary has never been publicly marked in mainland China, more than 150000 people were expected to gather yesterday evening in Hong Kong for a candlelight vigil.
A large number of mainland Chinese are expected to join the event in the former British territory, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997 but remains a free-wheeling, capitalist hub. The vigil has been held in Hong Kong every year since 1989.
China’s Foreign Ministry has defended the crackdown, saying the government had chosen the correct path for the sake of the people.
The protests began in April 1989 as a demonstration by university students in Beijing to mourn the death of Hu Yaobang, the reformist Communist Party chief who had been ousted by paramount leader Deng Xiaoping. The protests grew into broader demands for an end to corruption as well as calls for democracy.
Many Chinese would balk at the idea of mass revolution today. China is now the world’s second biggest economy, with most Chinese enjoying individual and economic freedoms never accorded them before.
“I don’t think it can happen again,” said a Beijing resident who gave his family name as Xu. “China’s system is certainly different from the West. The population is huge, 1.4 billion people. If you want to govern it well, it’s not easy.” — Reuters
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos