Headline Roundup • June 5th, 2024
Diaspora Communities Commemorate Tiananmen Square Despite Hong Kong Restrictions
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Communities worldwide commemorated the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre on Tuesday, despite crackdowns in Hong Kong.
The Details: On June 4th, 1989, Chinese troops cracked down on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square. The official death toll has never been released, and the incident has since become taboo in mainland China. Hong Kong, the only Chinese territory to publicly commemorate the incident until 2020, deployed hundreds of police officers to monitor potential commemorative activities.
For Context: Recently, several Tiananmen Square memorial statues have been removed in Hong Kong, and the former annual vigil in Victoria Park is now banned with its organizers jailed. Eight people were recently arrested for alleged sedition over social media posts related to Tiananmen in the first arrests under Hong Kong's domestic national security law.
How the Media Covered It: Coverage was common, although some mainstream right-rated outlets used wire service instead of original coverage. Articles in Western media across the political spectrum generally took a negative attitude towards China’s repression of commemorations; The Washington Post (Lean Left bias) Editorial Board framed restrictions in Hong Kong as emblematic of “Chinese repression.” The Epoch Times (Lean Right bias), historically opposed to the Chinese Communist Party because of its ties to the Falun Gong movement, highlighted a quote labeling the CCP “the enemy of freedom and democracy.” This summary was developed with the help of AllSides' AI technology.
Featured Coverage of this Story
AP
Hong Kong police arrested four people and detained five others Tuesday as authorities sought to stamp out commemorations of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in mainland China on its 35th anniversary.
Police were out in force patrolling Hong Kong’s Victoria Park, where an annual candlelight vigil had been held until recent years.
As police patrolled the area, including the two closest subway stations, they did not hesitate to take away people who were publicly marking the anniversary.
Police late Tuesday said they made four arrests, including a...
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AP Photo/Kin Cheung
As the 35th anniversary of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square crackdown neared, Rowena He, a prominent scholar of that bloody chapter of modern China’s history, was busy flying between the United States, Britain and Canada to give a series of talks. Each was aimed at speaking out for those who cannot.
The 1989 crackdown, in which government troops opened fire on student-led pro-democracy protesters, resulting in hundreds, if not thousands, dead, remains a taboo subject in mainland China. In Hong Kong, once a beacon of commemorative freedom, the massive June 4 annual vigil that...
David Turnley/Getty Images
A bipartisan group of lawmakers gathered in the capital today to commemorate the Tiananmen Square Massacre and celebrate the continued struggle for democracy in China.
The event near the steps of the Capitol Building was led by members of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and featured several survivors of the 1989 incident in Tiananmen Square.
“We stand with the victims of Tiananmen Square and all those currently facing the oppression of the Chinese Communist Party,” Select Committee Chair John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) said.
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