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submitted 5 days ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

Date of 4 June remains one of China’s strictest taboos, with government using increasingly sophisticated tools to censor its discussion

There is no official death toll but activists believe hundreds, possibly thousands, were killed by China’s People’s Liberation Army in the streets around Tiananmen Square, Beijing’s central plaza, on 4 June 1989.

The date of 4 June remains one of China’s strictest taboos, and the Chinese government employs extensive and increasingly sophisticated resources to censor any discussion or acknowledgment of it inside China. Internet censors scrub even the most obscure references to the date from online spaces, and activists in China are often put under increased surveillance or sent on enforced “holidays” away from Beijing.

New research from human rights workers has found that the sensitive date also sees heightened transnational repression of Chinese government critics overseas by the government and its proxies.

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[-] CatDogL0ver@lemmy.world 38 points 3 days ago

This is just my personal experience:

~I was talking to a few young Chinese. They were after born after the massacre happened.~

"Why are Hong Kong people are so full of themselves and rebellious? They think they are better? (Derogatory comments....", cheating among themselves, happily.

I couldn't help and interrupted, "Some young promising Hong Kong students were murdered, beaten and kidnapped under the mainland China. You can't blame them for not being defensive."

Immediately they resorted to their memorised response, "Do you have any resources to back up what you said? The official death count was zero."

Of course there was no "official" news resources. China suppresses the news media.

"It is the same as Tiananmen massacre. You won't find any "official resources " but everyone knows people were killed."

Another one retorted, "The official number is zero. What official resources you have to backup your claim?"

It was useless to talk anymore at that moment. I left. My encounter probably would be on their "report."

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[-] Timoruz@lemm.ee 40 points 4 days ago

Was genuinely thinking of walking in front of Trump’s military parade.

[-] Krono@lemmy.today 155 points 4 days ago

As an American I think it's helpful to put this into some sort of perspective.

Things the US won't forget:

  • Tiananmen Square (thousands dead)

Things the US will forget:

  • Korean War (3mil civilian dead)

  • Vietnam War (2mil civilian dead)

  • Iraqi War (1mil civilian dead)

  • Violent overthrow of East Timor (widely considered a genocide)

  • Violent overthrow of Afghanistan (twice, over 1 mil dead)

  • Violent overthrow of Nicaragua

  • Violent overthrow of Grenada

  • Violent overthrow of Panama

  • Violent overthrow of Libya

  • Coup d'etat of Guatemala

  • Coup d'etat of Iran

  • Failed Coup d'etat of Syria

  • Failed Coup d'etat of Indonesia

  • Many failed Coup d'etat attempts on Cuba

  • Coup d'etat of Congo

  • Coup d'etat of Laos

  • Coup d'etat of the Dominican Republic

  • Coup d'etat of Iraq

  • Coup d'etat of Brazil

  • Successful Coup d'etat of Indonesia (1 mil dead)

  • Coup d'etat of Chile

  • Multiple Coup d'etat of Bolivia

  • Coup d'etat of Haiti

  • Multiple Coup d'etat attempts on Venezuela

  • Coup d'etat of Palestine

  • Mass civilian casualties, destabilization of many governments, people subject to a lifetime of torture without a trial, all under the War on Terror

This list could be so much longer, but I gotta get to work.

[-] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 18 points 4 days ago

That shit gets brought up all the fucking time, in their own threads. Notice how people don't bring up Tiananmen Square, Taiwan, Tibet, Hong Kong, the Uyghurs, or the many other atrocities the CCP has committed whenever an American atrocity gets mentioned.

[-] Krono@lemmy.today 12 points 3 days ago

Your comment ignores the context that the US is doing anti-Chinese propaganda here, and there is no parity.

Imagine if the shoe was on the other foot, and China was releasing PR statements on every anniversary of every US atrocity. They would still be issuing multiple statements every day.

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[-] Valmond@lemmy.world 19 points 4 days ago

WHATABOUT.

Name a more iconic duo than tankies and misinformation.

[-] foggianism@lemmy.world 11 points 3 days ago

Add to the list the US support of the Israeli war crimes currently going on in Gaza. Just yesterday they vetoed a ceasefire and delivery of aid proposition in the UN.

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[-] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 80 points 4 days ago

US currently working on ways to top it.

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[-] untakenusername@sh.itjust.works 20 points 3 days ago

downvotes are from tankies

[-] Deflated0ne@lemmy.world 17 points 3 days ago

Love the propaganda around this. Its very dramatic and all. But here in the west its held up as some big thing. The rest of the video never gets played.

[-] lud@lemm.ee 9 points 3 days ago

You should(n't) see the gruesome pictures. China is likely very happy that the tank man picture became famous when there were LOADS of other horrible images .

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[-] iMastari@lemmy.world 11 points 3 days ago
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[-] taladar@sh.itjust.works 107 points 5 days ago

"Never forget" is great and all but from a German perspective it seems to not be enough. It is much more important to make sure the same or very similar things do not happen again, not by China and not by any other nation. Otherwise you end up like we did here in Germany where decades of "never forget" lead to very similar sentiments being expressed by a new major party but since things are slightly different (e.g. the "never forget" was always phrased to be about Jews, this is more about foreigners in general) people seem to allow themselves to ignore them.

[-] wewbull@feddit.uk 81 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

"Never again":

  • ❌ "We must never do what we did to the Jews in WW2 again".
  • ✅ "We can never allow what we did to the Jews in WW2 to happen again to anyone".
[-] unphazed@lemmy.world 40 points 4 days ago

Meanwhile Oklahoma telling kids the 2020 election was rigged under state law.

[-] Gorilladrums@lemmy.world 30 points 4 days ago

Tankies and whataboutism, name a more iconic duo (pro tip: you can't)

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[-] Jhex@lemmy.world 15 points 3 days ago

Maybe I'll take Taiwan's word on this one...

Whatever the US says, you just know it's posturing hypocritical bullshit

[-] IndustryStandard@lemmy.world 13 points 3 days ago

Never forget when the CIA organised an armed color revolution which resulted into people shooting at the Chinese military. The clashes outsider of the square, not on it as the name suggests, resulted in a total of around 300 deaths.

Tiananmen has to be the dumbest propaganda pount because it is so incredibly easy to debunk for anyone who has basic access to a search machine. The CIA literally admitted they backed the riots.

The sheer hypocrisy of posting this while the American government is arming a live streamed genocide with over 60.000, likely more than 200.00p killed.

[-] Godric@lemmy.world 19 points 3 days ago

Yeah, everything bad is the CIA's fault! A one-party dictatorship would never violently suppress dissent, and anyone saying otherwise is a paid shill!

[-] IndustryStandard@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

"Students" hahaha. Nice of you to leave out that the rioters started attacking the police first and literally burned police officiers alive. The peaceful protesters at the square were not attacked.

There are actual events you can point to in which China represses their population. This is probably the dumbest one because extreme restraint was shown from the Chinese authorities.

If it was America the guy blocking the tank from leaving the square would have been run over. And you would probably be screaming fafo.

[-] Godric@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago

Yeah! They had it coming! The police acted with the utmost restraint when they brought tanks to a protest, and America totally would have done worse than bringing tanks to a protest and totally would have ran protestors over with said tanks!!!!!!

[-] IndustryStandard@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Oh no he pulls out the image implying that the tank ran over a protester on the square!

But he forgets that there is a video

Of a man who blocks tanks driving away from the square... and... climbing on top of a military vehicle???!!

What do you think would happen in America to someone who climbed on top of a tank and opened the hatch? And even still, he did not get shot but simply escorted away. Amazing.

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[-] Gammelfisch@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago

Another brain washed CCP admirer from Xi's $0.50 Army. The CCP murdered over 70 million people, who disagreed, since 1920 and the number continues to rise.

[-] HugeNerd@lemmy.ca 9 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Oh is this the terrible bad country we shipped our entire industrial base to?

[-] Jamablaya@lemmy.world 9 points 3 days ago
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this post was submitted on 04 Jun 2025
960 points (100.0% liked)

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