In memory of 4th June 1989
4 Jun 2005 06:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mayoraaseiSixteen years ago today, tanks rode into Tiananmen Square and the military opened fire on students requesting democracy.
This was a new generation of intelligensia, one that has forgotten the horrors of the Cultural Revolution that have broken millions of hearts, families and lives.
Idealistic and fooled into believing that the Chinese Communist Party had evolved into a government that cared at all for its citizens, students and their professors gathered at Tiananmen Square, demanding that the government clean up on its corrupt officials, and adopt democracy. This gathering of the young and idle had reduced the crime rate of the country to the lowest of the year.
At first they marched through the streets, greeted by residents and welcomed with free food and shelter. Medical support tents were set up to accomodate those who became feeble from fasting in protest.
Then the city was brought under martial law. People were banned from leaving their homes at night.
In the early morning of 4th June, the military entered the city and the shooting began. For most protestors and citiziens, it had been disbelief at first. Why would the country open fire on its own, unarmed citizens? The hospitals began filling with the wounded - terrible injuries because the bullets shattered within the body. The wounded came in so quickly that doctors and nurses had no time to go through standard sterilising procedures before emergency treatment. At least one doctor at the medical support tent out in the open had been killed in the gunfire.
What happened afterwards destroyed whatever illusions survivors held about their "mother country". The serving State Secretary at the time had visited the students and praised them for their support of democracy. This resulted in him being charged with "encouraging insurgency" and he was subsequently placed under house arrest (an euphemism for imprisonment) for fifteen years - until he died, earlier this year. Every media in China claimed that "no bullet was fired at Tiananmen Square, no one had died. The students attacked the soldiers, the soldiers did not attack the students." Sickened by the propaganda, many of those who were closely involved became physically ill. But the propaganda worked - many of those outside Beijing and within China had little idea of what had happened. The Chinese had no idea about international uproar their country had caused.
And soon enough, people began to forget. The CCP tried and succeeded in erasing this terrible bloodshed from the memories of the people. The Chinese students of today would not have any clue of what happened to their senior colleagues 16 years ago.
At the end of this long rant, let us mourn today. For those hopes and dreams and ideals that the tanks crushed beneath their wheels. Let us mourn, for the yesterday China massacred her pride of tomorrow.
Edit:
Death toll for 1st June 1989 to 10th June 1989, determined 12th October 1989 (note it didn't specify where, but reading the locale it seems that this is Beijing only)
Students (identities confirmed): 10974
Civilians (identities confirmed): 7992
Unknown persons: 11865
(The last two included workers, farmers, professors, medical personnel, police, government diplomats, retired government workers, religious people, foreigners, etc)
Soldiers killed by attacks: 113
Soldiers killed by accident: 197
Deaths resulting from severe injuries: 837
Total: 31978
(A lot of families were afraid to identify the bodies lest they themselves are arrested as anti-revolutionaries)
This was a new generation of intelligensia, one that has forgotten the horrors of the Cultural Revolution that have broken millions of hearts, families and lives.
Idealistic and fooled into believing that the Chinese Communist Party had evolved into a government that cared at all for its citizens, students and their professors gathered at Tiananmen Square, demanding that the government clean up on its corrupt officials, and adopt democracy. This gathering of the young and idle had reduced the crime rate of the country to the lowest of the year.
At first they marched through the streets, greeted by residents and welcomed with free food and shelter. Medical support tents were set up to accomodate those who became feeble from fasting in protest.
Then the city was brought under martial law. People were banned from leaving their homes at night.
In the early morning of 4th June, the military entered the city and the shooting began. For most protestors and citiziens, it had been disbelief at first. Why would the country open fire on its own, unarmed citizens? The hospitals began filling with the wounded - terrible injuries because the bullets shattered within the body. The wounded came in so quickly that doctors and nurses had no time to go through standard sterilising procedures before emergency treatment. At least one doctor at the medical support tent out in the open had been killed in the gunfire.
What happened afterwards destroyed whatever illusions survivors held about their "mother country". The serving State Secretary at the time had visited the students and praised them for their support of democracy. This resulted in him being charged with "encouraging insurgency" and he was subsequently placed under house arrest (an euphemism for imprisonment) for fifteen years - until he died, earlier this year. Every media in China claimed that "no bullet was fired at Tiananmen Square, no one had died. The students attacked the soldiers, the soldiers did not attack the students." Sickened by the propaganda, many of those who were closely involved became physically ill. But the propaganda worked - many of those outside Beijing and within China had little idea of what had happened. The Chinese had no idea about international uproar their country had caused.
And soon enough, people began to forget. The CCP tried and succeeded in erasing this terrible bloodshed from the memories of the people. The Chinese students of today would not have any clue of what happened to their senior colleagues 16 years ago.
At the end of this long rant, let us mourn today. For those hopes and dreams and ideals that the tanks crushed beneath their wheels. Let us mourn, for the yesterday China massacred her pride of tomorrow.
Edit:
Death toll for 1st June 1989 to 10th June 1989, determined 12th October 1989 (note it didn't specify where, but reading the locale it seems that this is Beijing only)
Students (identities confirmed): 10974
Civilians (identities confirmed): 7992
Unknown persons: 11865
(The last two included workers, farmers, professors, medical personnel, police, government diplomats, retired government workers, religious people, foreigners, etc)
Soldiers killed by attacks: 113
Soldiers killed by accident: 197
Deaths resulting from severe injuries: 837
Total: 31978
(A lot of families were afraid to identify the bodies lest they themselves are arrested as anti-revolutionaries)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-06-05 12:56 am (UTC)O.O! how is that possible?!
no subject
Date: 2005-06-05 01:34 am (UTC)Chen.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-05 07:48 am (UTC)Of course, you would probably also know that the Chinese government place severe restrictions on international websites - which resulted in Google agreeing to a deal that as long as they keep their mouth shut and eliminate certain human rights sites from their search results, their website can be accessed by those from within China. (It is also the reason why going onto a Chinese net from outside or going to a western net from inside China is so slow, because it goes through filters, and is also tracked and monitored.)
The CCP also controls publications. They destroy and ban publications that they determine "detrimental" to the party's reputation. If the author insists on writing such material, they are often persecuted.
They erase history, quite literally. There are quite a few cases of old party members who were later branded "anti-revolutionaries" being airbrushed out of old photos (yes, that is how utterly tragically desperate they are). Of course, it's also the government who names the readings to be learnt in school (and remember since it's not democratic, people have no say in what should be studied or not...it's all up to the party). All of these readings completely glorify the CCP (I know, because I've read my primary school Chinese books...the propaganda starts at year 1: how kind Chairman Mao is to the farmers *puke*). Whatever history they don't want known is not told.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-05 08:58 am (UTC)hmm. that might have explained why it was so hard getting onto neopets when I was in china during 1998. oh dear, I've said too much? ^__^'
being airbrushed out of old photos
=___=' oh dear..
All of these readings completely glorify the CCP
.. :/ gah that's roughly as low as selling bras to 5 year olds :/
no subject
Date: 2005-06-05 07:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-05 08:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-06 10:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-05 01:35 am (UTC)Chen.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-05 05:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-06 10:43 am (UTC)If you like figures, let's talk figures. Before the communist came into power in 1949, about half of the Chinese ppl were living under the poverty line (anyway, the majority of them were poor). Now the figure is less than 20 percent. China’s rural poor decreased dramatically from 250 million in 1978 (30% of the rural population) to 42 million in 1998. Look, figures!
31978 wounded & killed (disputed) << 200 000 000 out of poverty (world accepted)
I have trouble beliving that the soldiers opened fire. If I was one of the soldiers, I mean, how can I open fire on my fellow countrymen. You all saw that "tank footage". The tank didn't run over that guy, it just kind of dodged and dodged. Anyway, firing into the sky should have been enough, why fire on actual ppl. Epoch times, stop bullshiting and trying to corrupt young minds like Feng's.
While a few thousand university educated "intellectuals" demanded democracy back in 1989. They didn't know what they really wanted at all. Prosperity was what they were after, not democracy. Who would care about democracy if they were happy with everything (jobs, security and social order). Look at Australia, I would say more than 70% of the population are not interested in politics. Who cares when everyone's happy.
Let's see how democracy came about in Taiwan and South Korea. They didn't have democracy to start with. What they had were governments that encouraged production and economic growth. With prosperity came a growing middle class. When that middle class became the majority, they pushed for democracy. And that's how democracy came about for them. No one can deny that China's walking down the same path. We should never risk democracy when the ability to grow is greater under a different system. We should never let the prosecution of a few millions of "democracy activists" get in the way of lifting hundreds of millions of ppl getting out of poverty.
Feng, stop reading the Epoch Times. Please.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-06 11:39 am (UTC)If I were such a soldier, if I knew that other soldiers are watching me, if I knew that other soldiers expected me to shoot, and if I didn't shoot, would report me to my superiors, possibly resulting me in being branded anti-revolutionary, resulting in my family being ostracised, and me being exiled or executed, I would bloody well shoot too.
I would also like to ask where you get the statistics from. From China? Let's not argue about reliability here, because you do not believe any independent media that speaks against CCP, and I do not believe any media controlled by the CCP. So let's stop arguing about or with statistics.
Feel welcome to visit this site (http://www.64memo.com/index.asp), although I believe you would think that such things are just more anti-CCP propaganda.
You may also like to google it (http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=june+4th+massacre&meta=) and see what the rest of the world says about it, although you would probably also think that such things are anti-CCP propaganda by capitalists.
Also - if you feel that Falun Gong is an evil cult or politically motivated to overthrow the government, feel free to read any of their REAL teachings, and make contact with practitioners. If you feel that Falun Gong is making up lies about persecution in China, feel free to go to Tiananmen Square and shout out "FALUN DAFA IS GOOD". I look forward to your safe return.
Personally, I would also like you to stop using that patronising tone with me, thank you.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-06 11:17 pm (UTC)浩浩荡荡
顺之则昌
逆之则亡
That sounds like extremist writing to me.
Anyway, I have read all those reports before. I have read about the rickshaw drivers and all that. You probably think I am a member of the CCP and am currently a spy (one of 1000) operating in Australia (accordingly to that Chen Yonglin guy).
Anyway 1989 is during the cold war. The Americans were desperate to portray how great "democracy" is and how bad the red communists were.
I'd feel really sorry if they did open fire. It would have been really sad. Those hot-headed students were naive and ahead of their time (which is like accelerating when the light hasn't turned green).
Anyway, my mum does some Falungong thing. So no need to use it as an other prove of how bad the Mao communists are and how great the west (its unbiased media outlets included) really is.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-06 12:01 pm (UTC)I stand by my views though.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-06 11:24 pm (UTC)Anyway, Jenny told me I should stop arguing with you, cos there is a "fat chance" that i'd able to convince that the CCP did actually do some good work. I disagreed, I think there's a slim chance.
Do you know mandarin? I know mandarin, but I like oranges better.
Anyway, can't think of any puns anymore.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-07 07:44 am (UTC)jia, your puns scare me ^_^
no subject
Date: 2005-06-07 08:32 am (UTC)For no apparent reason XD
no subject
Date: 2005-06-07 09:00 am (UTC)*pause* no you haven't; I haven't pressed "update" yet o.O
no subject
Date: 2005-06-07 08:31 am (UTC)As with everything, what you see on the surface isn't representative of every component of that surface, if that makes sense.
Besides, nowadays people join the CCP just to get a promotion XD
no subject
Date: 2005-06-07 07:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-07 07:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-07 10:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-08 07:32 am (UTC)