Remebering The Tiananmen Square Massacre

China Marks 24th Anniversary of Tiananmen Crackdown -- Voice of America

China is marking the 24th anniversary of the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown, amid tight security in Beijing and stifling censorship on the web.

Authorities every year work hard to prevent memorials and ban public discussion of the brutal military suppression on June 4, 1989, which ended weeks of pro-democracy demonstrations.

On Friday, police in Tiananmen Square and other prominent areas stood on guard for possible protests. Many activists have already been detained, placed under house arrest, or monitored closely in the lead-up to the sensitive anniversary.

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More News On Today's Anniversary Of The Tiananmen Square Massacre

China bans all internet searches for ‘big yellow duck’ as part of Tiananmen Square anniversary clampdown after prankster substitutes ducks for tanks in viral image -- Daily Mail
Censored in China: ‘Today,’ ‘Tonight’ and ‘Big Yellow Duck’ -- IHT
Thousands Rally in Hong Kong on Tiananmen Square Anniversary -- New York Times
Thousands remember Tiananmen as China tightens security -- Reuters
Tiananmen Square: "Great Firewall" all but hides the 24th anniversary of China massacre -- CBS
Tiananmen Anniversary Puts Chinese Government And Activists On Hyper-Watch -- Washington Post
ABC Reporter Interrogated in Tiananmen Square -- ABC News
Calls For Justice For Tiananmen Met With Silence -- NPR
Q&A: Mother mourns Tiananmen massacre -- Al Jazeera
Remembering Tiananmen Square’s Radical Reactionaries -- Bloomberg
New leadership but old response to Tiananmen anniversary -- Ananth Krishnan, The Hindu
Elite in China Molded in Part by Tiananmen -- New York Times
Tiananmen still taboo in China after all these years (+video) -- Peter Ford, Christian Science Monitor
The Tiananmen Reckoning -- Claudia Rosett, Forbes
In pictures: Tiananmen anniversary -- BBC

My Comment: Here is a collection of iconic photos during that period of time. But if there is one event that I will always remember .... it is the video below ....

Tienanmen Square Massacre Is Still A Sensitive Subject In China

US Call For Full Tiananmen Massacre Disclosure Angers China -- BBC

China has accused the US of "prejudice" for urging Beijing to provide a full account of the crackdown on pro-democracy activists after the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.

Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the US should "stop interfering in China's internal affairs".

The Chinese authorities had already reached a "clear conclusion" about the Tiananmen Square protests, he added.

Discussion of the crackdown, thought to have left hundreds dead, remains taboo.

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More News On Chinese Anger Over U.S. Comments On The Tienanmen Square Massacre

Tiananmen provokes fresh China-US spat -- Al Jazeera
China Accuses US of Prejudice Over Tiananmen -- AP
China accuses U.S. of 'prejudice' over 1989 protest comments -- Reuters
China rebuffs U.S. call for complete Tiananmen Square protests information -- Business Standard
FM spokesman responds to US statement on 1989 political turmoil -- China Daily
On Eve of Tiananmen Anniversary, a Major Censorship Shift -- Wall Street Journal
Mothers of Tiananmen victims condemns Chinese leader Xi Jinping for failure to bring reforms -- The Independent

My Comment: I was in China when the Tiananmen Square massacre occurred (I was in Quanzhou city, Fujian). Everyone knew what was happening from international news broadcasts .... (and in my case Taiwan is just across from Fujian) .... and everyone was universally ill when images of the crackdown became known ... including those who were my hosts and senior officials in the government. 24 years later the shock may have disappeared .... but one thing that I have learned on my many returned trips to China is that everyone in China does know what happened in Tiananmen square .... and they still do talk about it openly amongst themselves. As for myself .... the day that a Chinese leader with the backing of the Central Committee makes a public apology for what happened in Tianamen Square will be a confirmation to me that China's government is finally evolving politically and "morally". When will that speech happen is something that I do not know .... but I believe that one of the reasons why the the current Chinese President was appointed was in fact to lay the groundwork for making such a speech. My prediction .... and hope .... is that such a speech will be made on the 30th or 40th anniversary of the massacre .... and the leader who makes it will be received extremely well by the Chinese people .... cementing his legacy and his place in China's history.

Remembering The Tiananmen Square Massacre

21 Years Later, Quiet Day on Tiananmen Square -- New York Times/AP

BEIJING (AP) -- Throngs of tourists and kite-flyers milled around Tiananmen Square on Friday under the watchful eye of security forces on alert for any attempt to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the bloody military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations.

But in Hong Kong, the semiautonomous Chinese territory, the annual candlelight vigil drew thousands who took advantage of the freedom of speech in this former British colony. The crowd at Hong Kong's Victoria Park was large enough to fill six football pitches, though were no official estimates.

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More News On The 21rst Anniversary Of The Tiananmen Massacre

Remembering the Tiananmen Square massacre -- Washington Times
Thousands Attend Tiananmen Vigil in Hong Kong -- Wall Street Journal
Deng Is Said to Have Backed Tiananmen Violence -- New York Times
US urges China to free activists on Tiananmen anniversary -- AFP
21 Years Later, Quiet Day On Tiananmen Square -- NPR
Annual Tiananmen Square cat-and-mouse game -- L.A. Times
Still censoring, 21 years on: Chinese newspaper pulls cartoon of iconic Tiananmen Square massacre image -- The Daily Mail
Tiananmen Square will not be whitewashed easily. When will China apologise? -- Peter Foster, The Telegraph

China Fears Ethnic Strife Could Agitate Uighur Oasis

The oldest section of Kashgar, in the Xinjiang region of western China, is the heart of Uighur culture, but it is being razed for modernization projects. Alan Chin for The New York Times

From The New York Times:

KASHGAR, China — Ali the tour guide seemed nice enough and his English flowed with grammatical perfection — a useful attribute in a city where most people speak a Turkic language that sounds nothing like Chinese.

“Sure, I will take you wherever you want to go, but first I have to call my friend and see if he will drive us,” Ali said, turning away. After a quick exchange, he hung up the phone and politely announced that his friend was actually a government minder who would soon be arriving to guide the would-be clients away from any potential trouble.

The destination his “friend” had in mind? The airport, where the reporters, subject to a ban on foreign journalists, would be escorted onto the next flight out of town.

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My Comment: We (in the West) view China the same way that we viewed the Soviet Union. One big country filled with the same people.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Even in mainly "Han" China, there are distinct differences between different provinces. I was first exposed to it by the people in Fujian Province .... who were always resentful of the people in the North. When the Tiananmen massacre occurred, the soldiers were mainly from other provinces .... with most coming from the West and Mongol territories.

The common justification for the crackdown that occurred during (and after) the Tiananmen massacre, was that if the Chinese Government did not react, China would splinter into numerous groups. Again .... playing the ethnic card.

China has every right to be fearful of ethnic strife .... and if it is to start, it will be in the border regions of the West of the country. The Chinese Government knows that, the people in these regions know that, and the Chinese people themselves know that.