Remembering Tiananmen Square
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests. On June 4 1989, hundreds of protestors were killed in Beijing, China, and thousands more left wounded, after the ruling Communist Party of China government commenced military intervention. The event was immortalized, in part, by the famous “Tank Man” photo and video of a lone, unknown man, standing up to a row of oncoming tanks.
The Toronto Star reports:
Twenty years ago on June 4, 1989, between 800 and 1,000 people died here, when the government ordered soldiers to turn their tanks and guns on their own people to put down a democracy protest by students and workers. In the two decades that have passed, the event haunts the ruling Communist Party still. But there was no mention of it in any of China’s official media today.
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The Age news in Australia notes:
The Chinese Communist Party left nothing to chance for yesterday’s 20th anniversary of the June 4 massacre, inundating Tiananmen Square with hundreds and probably thousands of security men. At midday yesterday, tourists in and around the square were outnumbered by blue-uniformed police and green-uniformed armed police.
Do you remember hearing about this event when it happened, or did you or someone you know experience it themselves? What lessons do you think this sad event has to teach us today?
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