Today marks the 25th anniversary of the tragedy
at Tiananmen Square—when hundreds, maybe thousands of pro-democracy
protesters were slaughtered by tanks and soldiers as they rolled
into the site where the student-led protest was taking
place.
Even today, most Chinese people are completely unaware of the
events that transpired on June 4, 1989, due to rigorously
controlled education and strict surveillance of the Internet by the
Chinese government.
Two summers ago, I travelled to China to teach middle school
children English. While I was unfamiliar with much of their
culture, I was most shocked to learn that not a single one of my
students had any idea what happened at Tiananmen Square.
Louisa Lim, an NPR correspondent and author of
The People’s Republic of Amnesia, told
USA Today that just 15 out of 100 students at four top
universities in Beijing could identify the events surrounding the
famous tank photo when it was shown to them.
Reason named the unidentified tank man as one of
our 35
Heroes of Freedom.
The Tiananmen Square martyr. By putting his
life on the line in front of his government’s tanks, he provided
not only one of the most memorable images of the last 35 years but
one of the most inspiring too. The free China of the future owes
him a statue or two.
The Chinese government has implemented measures leading up to
the anniversary to ensure that they keep this secret out of the
minds of their people. Tech news
site CNET reported
that access to Google has been shut off for several days
leading up the anniversary and that other domestic search engines
in China have been censored more than usual.
The Chinese government’s attempts at censorship do not end there
though. The Guardian has
reported that about 50 people have either been detained or
disappeared as the anniversary neared. Others have been put in
prison with long sentences for organizing a private memorial
gathering.
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