President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday commemorated the 36th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre on social media, underscoring the importance of defending democracy and freedom.
Security was tight and activists faced pressure from police in Hong Kong on the anniversary of China’s bloody crackdown on democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, an event Lai and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the world must not forget.
Public commemorations take place annually in more than 30 overseas cities including Taipei, where senior government leaders often use the anniversary to criticize China and urge it to face up to what it did.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
“Every year on June 4, Taiwanese society lights candles of remembrance grounded in the universal values” shared among democracies, Lai wrote on Facebook.
The commemoration “is not only to mourn history, but also to perpetuate this memory,” he said.
Authoritarian regimes erase history, “while democratic societies choose to preserve the truth and refuse to forget those who gave their lives — and their dreams — to the idea of human rights,” he added.
Photo: AP
The threat of authoritarianism by military intimidation, “gray zone” coercion, surveillance and extraterritorial repression remain a global challenge to democratic societies, Lai said, without naming China.
Taiwan stands on the front lines of defending democratic values worldwide and would continue working with like-minded partners to “safeguard the status quo,” and protect democracy and freedom, he said.
Taiwan endured decades of authoritarian rule before transitioning to democracy, through the sacrifices and efforts of countless democracy activists, Lai said.
Photo: Reuters
“We deeply understand the value of freedom and must not ignore the threats posed by authoritarian expansion to global democracy and the rule of law,” he said.
Rubio on Tuesday praised the courage of Chinese who were killed in the bloody crackdown.
“Today we commemorate the bravery of the Chinese people who were killed as they tried to exercise their fundamental freedoms, as well as those who continue to suffer persecution as they seek accountability and justice for the events of June 4, 1989,” Rubio said in a statement.
“The CCP [Chinese Communist Party] actively tries to censor the facts, but the world will never forget,” he said.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) wrote on Facebook that “June 4, 1989, has become a taboo topic in China, while Taiwan has taken the opposite path by cultivating the soil of democracy and sowing the seeds of freedom.”
Since 1996, Taiwan has held eight direct presidential elections with three peaceful transitions of power between the two major parties, demonstrating to the world the nation’s pursuit of freedom and willingness to protect democracy, he said.
Taiwanese freely exercise the rights guaranteed to them in the Constitution, with the ability to criticize the government without fear of oppression, a right Chinese have not had for 36 years, he said.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Progressive Party paid tribute to those who have fought for democracy.
“Standing in a free land, June 4 reminds Taiwanese society that totalitarianism is not far away,” the party said.
“We will continue to strengthen national defense and economic resiliency, and cooperate with friendly international partners, working together, and safeguarding peace and democracy in Taiwan,” it said.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said June 4 is a day to remember the difficulties of fighting for freedom and democracy.
“People must stand up in the face of dictatorship,” the KMT wrote on Facebook.
“The pursuit of freedom has never been eliminated in the hearts of Chinese people around the world. The KMT will never forget this history and will continue to fight for their democracy and freedom,” it said.
In Hong Kong, where tens of thousands used to gather to mark the anniversary before China’s imposition of Hong Kong’s National Security Law in 2020, hundreds of police officers stood guard around Victoria Park, the site of previous mass candlelight vigils, searching passers-by and taking away at least one activist.
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