Security was tight and access restricted to Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on Tuesday which is the 35th anniversary of the June 4 crackdown. Hong Kong also increased policing as activists in Taiwan and elsewhere prepared to mark the date with vigils.
Tiananmen is still a taboo topic in China
Chinese tanks rolled into the square before dawn on June 4, 1989, to end weeks of student and worker protests. Decades after the military crackdown, rights activists say the demonstrators’ original goals – including a free press and freedom of speech – remain distant. June 4 is still a taboo topic in China.
The ruling Communist Party has never released a death toll. However, rights groups and witnesses say the figure could run into the thousands.
Taiwan president says memory of Tiananmen will not disappear
Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te said in a statement that “the memory of June 4 will not disappear in the torrent of history.” Lai added that Taiwan would “respond to authoritarianism with freedom.”
An official website for the Tiananmen Tower overlooking the square earlier posted a notice saying it would be closed for the entire day on June 4. Those who had bought tickets could get them refunded.
The Beijing subway network announced that an exit of Tiananmen East station would be closed from June 2 to 5.
Small groups of “stability maintenance” volunteers have been keeping watch at neighbourhoods in central Beijing since last week. Guards have also been stationed on pedestrian bridges, a regular practice during politically sensitive periods.
Chinese authorities remain silent, social media profiles in China regulated
On Chinese social media platforms including WeChat and Douyin users were unable to change their profile photos, according to online posts and Reuters’ tests.
“Thirty-five years have passed, and the authorities remain silent. All that can be seen on the internet is ‘A Concise History of the Communist Party of China.’ It says that a tragic incident was caused by the student movement in 1989.”
This was written by the Tiananmen Mothers. These are a group of mostly China-based survivors and families of the victims of the Tiananmen crackdown.
With inputs from Reuters
