Tiananmen is recalled by freedom loving people all over the world on 4 june, every year. On that day in 1989, Chinese people braved the unbridled powers of the Chinese Communist Party that ran tanks in the Tiananmen square in a brute use of force.
Hong Kong police detained several people and Chinese authorities restricted access to Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on the 35th anniversary of the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, as cities in Taiwan and elsewhere marked the date.
Chinese tanks rolled into the square before dawn on June 4, 1989 to end weeks of pro-democracy demonstrations by students and workers. Television news images of a lone Chinese man in a white shirt standing in front of a column of tanks spread around the world and became the iconic image of the demonstrations.
Decades after the military crackdown, rights activists say the demonstrators’ original goals including a free press and freedom of speech remain distant, and June 4 is still a taboo topic in China.
The ruling Communist Party has never released a death toll, though rights groups and witnesses say the figure could run into the thousands.
In China-ruled Hong Kong, police officers tightened security around downtown Victoria Park, where large June 4 candlelight vigils had been held annually before tougher new national security laws took effect in recent years.
All these happened while the Taiwanese paid their homage to the heroes of 1989. Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said that, “the memory of Beijing’s deadly crackdown at Tiananmen Square will not disappear in the torrent of history.”
Lai’s Facebook post on the issue is equally poignant. “We will continue to work hard to keep this historical memory alive and touch everyone who cares about Chinese democracy.”
China continues to threaten Taiwan by military means, every so often. However, with Quad, AUKUS, and various bilateral arrangements developing steadily in the Indo-Pacific and especially the South China Sea region, it may be possible keep the area stable.
Team Bharatshakti
(With inputs from Reuters)
