#8964

[redarmyscreaming]

The Tank Man, Tiananmen Square in 1989.

[bailey41]

Beijing, June 3, 1989. To paraphrase John Sayles, The heart remembers what even history tries to forget. (Mark Avery, AP)

[walkingthroughthisworld]

On June 4, 1989, the People's Liberation Army rolled into Tiananmen Square where, opening fire on crowds and running over those who seeking to block their advance. 

Up to 1,000 civilians were killed, according to estimates by human rights groups and Western outlets based on hospital records, eyewitness accounts, diplomatic cables, and counts of known victims and missing persons. The Chinese government gives a much-lower figure of 200 to 300. 

"On June 4, the world marks 37 years since the Chinese Communist Party ordered its troops to attack thousands of peaceful demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square," Rubio said.

(via China Can’t Erase Memory of Tiananmen Square Massacre: Rubio - Newsweek)

[huhuzo1225]

June 4, 1989

Some hope the world will remember this day.

Some hope the world will forget it.

When people seek freedom,

how great a price must they pay?

May history be remembered.

May tragedy never be repeated.

1989年6月4日

有些人希望世界記住這一天

有些人希望世界忘記這一天

當人們追求自由時

需要付出多少代價？

願歷史被記住

願悲劇不再重演

[panicinthestudio]

Heavy police presence on eve of Tiananmen anniversary, performance artist escorted away by officers

A heavy police deployment has been spotted in Causeway Bay on the eve of the Tiananmen crackdown anniversary, with a performance artist bein

Further reading:

HKFP: Patriotic carnival to return to Hong Kong’s Victoria Park on anniversary of Tiananmen crackdown, May 26, 2025

HKFP: Hong Kong’s Catholic church declines to say if Tiananmen mass will take place after 3 years of cancellations, May 30, 2025

HKFP: Detained Hong Kong activist Chow Hang-tung to launch 36-hour hunger strike on Tiananmen crackdown anniversary, June 2, 2025

[fromthedeskofcripslock]

China: Address Tiananmen Massacre 36 Years On

36 years after the killing of countless peaceful pro-democracy protesters in Beijing, the Chinese government still seeks to erase the memory

[banyun-gong]

#8964

殤日

[gaybd1]

Fuck Chiang Kai-Shek (especially on 6/4)

His memorial looms

The sharp white angles and tented roof,

Larger than life.

It should have been torn down decades ago

Or at least renamed.

It faces a square full of decades of history

Blood, sweat, tears, and wild lilies

Some stand here tonight

Survivors of another square, separated by decades and thousands of miles.

His memorial looms over a white tent

Full of photographs of hopeful faces and shrouded bodies

Juxtaposed together

A woman on a bicycle hides from tanks under a bridge

Candles outline a date

Four forbidden numbers that people across the sea get arrested for.

A pillar of shame stands nearby

And I wonder if he would even feel any.

As prayers are led and activists give speeches in Cantonese

It’s hard not to think about the precarious threads

Separating a few countries’ fates from each other.

The amount of Hong Kongers in the crowd is noticeable.

His memorial looms over the candles, the photos, the speeches

And wonder I about if things had been different.

With less than a year separating the Tank Man from the wild lilies

What would have happen if they had succeeded

Or those here had failed?