Few of us in the western world could forget the iconic image of a man staring down a line of tanks in an otherwise empty street. The Tiananmen Square Massacre which happened 25 years ago on June 3rd and 4th, 1989, was the government response to pro-democracy student protests that were taking place across China. Government troops open fired on the camped protesters officially killing 246 people, although the true number is thought to be closer to 2000.
In China discussion of the events that took place 25 years ago is heavily censured and records of the events have practically been erased from the public memory, not to mention the history books. Students learn about China’s triumphs, new advances in technology and industry, but seldom are they encouraged to look back. As the quarter century anniversary approaches, veteran activists have found themselves under house arrest and the families of the fallen protestors are being watched closely. They have limited access to Tiananmen square and their loved ones graves. In Hong Kong, Victoria Park was packed with people bearing witness. Organizers expected some 150,000 people to attend a candle light vigil on Wednesday night.
The early 20th century philosopher George Santayana wrote “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” in 1905. It is common in communist countries for history books to be re-written and talk of the past forbidden. Protestors both in China and Ukraine are looking for very similar things: a stop to corruption and political favoritism. They want freedom of speech and freedom of movement and the chance to attain prosperity similar to many EU countries. Democracy often comes at a very high cost. The bloody protests in Kiev’s Independence Square this winter just goes to show how little things have changed.
Despite censorship, the internet is breaking through the iron fisted rule of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Social media sites such as Facebook (blocked in July 2009) are valuable parts of communication networks for activist groups. In fact the internet is such a threat to the CPC that the Tiananmen square massacre anniversary, June 4. is a day when the internet grinds to a stop known as “Internet maintenance day”. The internet can be a life line of anonymity, connecting those in China to activists who have fled to places with less censured internet.
Protesting is dangerous. Physical reprisals, prison time, house arrest and death are all potential consequences of speaking out. The harder activists struggle the more the CPC tightens it’s grasp. One man, not a student but a laborer who attended the protest, is believed to still be in prison. For many families silence is the price for peace of mind. When journalists asked Chinese academics about Tiananmen square protests, many were completely ignorant. Others only vaguely knew what had taken place.
The Tiananmen Square Massacre is not the only big event being remembered this month. June 6th was the 70th anniversary of D-Day, when troops scaled the beaches of Normandy, changing the course of World War II. That too was a struggle for freedom, freedom from occupation and freedom from the problems caused by extreme taxation after the first World War. It is a future worth fighting for.
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