Anti-communist demonstrations erupted in China in 1989. Millions of students and civilians gathered in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square demanding democracy, freedom and an end to corruption. However, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on June 3 ordered tanks to violently suppress the demonstrators, causing the deaths of hundreds to thousands of innocents.
This bloody suppression of civilians, now known globally as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, shocked the entire world and has become an extremely important page in China’s history. Although 35 years have passed since the incident, the CCP still refuses to apologize, prohibiting even so much as the mention of the massacre. This is their attempt to conceal and desalinate history.
The CCP claims that this prohibition is a necessary measure to maintain social stability. However, no matter how the CCP attempts to explain itself, it is impossible to erase their crime of using cruel and violent means to slaughter and oppress civilians.
The Tiananmen Square Massacre is a dark piece of history the CCP cannot erase, and it led to an hour of challenges for the communist regime. The bloody act of suppression not only led to intense domestic and international criticism, but also cast a shadow over the CCP’s international image.
Despite the CCP’s attempts to divert civilians’ attention through diplomatic tactics and military intimidation, the incident still influences the party’s political direction. It has become their Achilles’ heel. It is evident that the spread of ideas such as democracy, human rights and rule of law are gradually shattering the CCP’s autocratic tyranny.
Hong Kong had, for a time, been the only part of China allowed to commemorate the Tiananmen Square Massacre, doing so through an annual candlelight vigil. The vigil not only served as a way to pay respects to the victims of the incident, but to express aspirations toward freedom and democracy.
However, in the wake of the imposing of Hong Kong’s National Security Law in 2020, the CCP tightened its control over the region.
The Hong Kong government has cited Article 23 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China to arrest prominent Hong Kong democracy advocate and former vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements Chow Hang-tung (鄒幸彤) and six other organizers of the candlelight vigil, triggering severe criticism. The CCP’s actions again make it apparent that they aim to cover up history, in addition to inhibiting the democratic freedom of Hong Kongers.
People must look back on the incident to safeguard its truths and uphold democratic freedom. They must engrave incidents like this in their memory to ensure that they would not happen again.
As the CCP attempts to conceal history, people must bring the truth to light, thereby preserving their faith in the struggle for freedom and democracy. This way, they can honor those who died and establish proper ethical standards for generations to come.
Chen Chun is an international affairs researcher.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
China has not been a top-tier issue for much of the second Trump administration. Instead, Trump has focused considerable energy on Ukraine, Israel, Iran, and defending America’s borders. At home, Trump has been busy passing an overhaul to America’s tax system, deporting unlawful immigrants, and targeting his political enemies. More recently, he has been consumed by the fallout of a political scandal involving his past relationship with a disgraced sex offender. When the administration has focused on China, there has not been a consistent throughline in its approach or its public statements. This lack of overarching narrative likely reflects a combination
Behind the gloating, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) must be letting out a big sigh of relief. Its powerful party machine saved the day, but it took that much effort just to survive a challenge mounted by a humble group of active citizens, and in areas where the KMT is historically strong. On the other hand, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) must now realize how toxic a brand it has become to many voters. The campaigners’ amateurism is what made them feel valid and authentic, but when the DPP belatedly inserted itself into the campaign, it did more harm than good. The
US President Donald Trump’s alleged request that Taiwanese President William Lai (賴清德) not stop in New York while traveling to three of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, after his administration also rescheduled a visit to Washington by the minister of national defense, sets an unwise precedent and risks locking the US into a trajectory of either direct conflict with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or capitulation to it over Taiwan. Taiwanese authorities have said that no plans to request a stopover in the US had been submitted to Washington, but Trump shared a direct call with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平)
Workers’ rights groups on July 17 called on the Ministry of Labor to protect migrant fishers, days after CNN reported what it described as a “pattern of abuse” in Taiwan’s distant-water fishing industry. The report detailed the harrowing account of Indonesian migrant fisher Silwanus Tangkotta, who crushed his fingers in a metal door last year while aboard a Taiwanese fishing vessel. The captain reportedly refused to return to port for medical treatment, as they “hadn’t caught enough fish to justify the trip.” Tangkotta lost two fingers, and was fired and denied compensation upon returning to land. Another former migrant fisher, Adrian Dogdodo
RSS