Taiwan held a range of public events on Tuesday to mark the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, an event that has been erased from the history books of the rest of Chinese-speaking countries by tyrants in Beijing.
Hong Kong was once the site of the world’s largest and most moving Tiananmen Square commemorations, but the city’s puppet regime used the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to “Temporarily stop A large candlelight vigil was held in Victoria Park on June 4th.
“Temporary” is soon Persistence And today, the puppet government organizes a pro-Communist event that fills Victoria Park every year in early June. Hong Kongers insist on commemorating the dead at Tiananmen Square. arrested He worked hard to crush the pro-democracy movement under the ugly “National Security Law” that was enacted in 2020.
the League to Support the Patriotic Democratic Movement of Hong Kong, the group that organized the annual Tiananmen commemoration rally in Victoria Park; Disbanded In 2021, members resigned because they feared accusations of “acting as agents of a foreign power” under the fascist national security law. Lost the bid The conviction is scheduled to be overturned in March 2024.
Their fears were understandable: the group’s leaders had been charged with sedition for supporting the massive pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019.
In this June 4, 2020 file photo, from left, democracy activists Lee Cheuk-yan, Chow Hang-tung and Cheung Man-kwong attend a rally in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park to commemorate those who died in the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Hong Kong businessman and prominent democracy activist Jimmy Lai and two others were convicted Thursday, Dec. 9, for their roles in the Tiananmen candlelight vigils, which were banned last year amid a crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong and Beijing’s tightening of political control. (King Cheung, File/The Associated Press)
Free and democratic Taiwan is the last place where Chinese people can mourn the atrocities committed by the Chinese Communist Party in June 1989 in defiance of the Party’s orders to forget the victims, their beliefs, and those who killed them. In Taiwan, this day is simply known as “June 4th” or “64,” and there is no need to explain why it is significant.
In the People’s Republic of China (PRC), people even say the numbers “6” and “4.” to attract attention Blame it on Communist Party censorship. On Monday night, Hong Kong police Pantomime He holds the numbers “8964” in the air with his hand.
A moment of silence was held outside Taipei’s Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on Tuesday, a location some participants saw as a sad irony since Taiwan’s former leader was himself a dictator. The grounds outside the memorial were filled with art, literature and demonstrations about human rights issues in Chinese-speaking countries, including the repression of Tibet and Hong Kong.
One of the participating artists, Casey Wong, Said Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports that while June 4 is becoming a more significant day for Taiwan, it is not yet a “high-profile event” because “Taiwan has its own issues.”
“This event has become a platform for instilling in people a sense of responsibility for freedom and democracy,” Wong said. “Taiwan is a beacon of democracy in Asia, and now that Hong Kong can no longer host, I feel we have a responsibility to continue this event.”
Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te I swore on Monday to commemorate “the students and citizens who bravely marched for change” at Tiananmen Square.
On the 35th anniversary of Tiananmen Square, we commemorate the students and citizens who bravely marched for change. #Taiwan As we deepen our commitment to human rights, we remain firm in our belief that only with freedom and democracy can people truly thrive. pic.twitter.com/1kZouffPwS
— Lai Ching-te (@ChingteLai) June 4, 2024
“As Taiwan deepens its commitment to human rights, we remain firm in our belief that it is only with freedom and democracy that our people can truly thrive,” he said.
Lai wrote a lengthy Facebook Post On Tuesday, he reflected on what the memory of Tiananmen Square means for Taiwan, which has evolved “from authoritarianism to democracy” through great effort and sacrifice.
“A truly respected nation is one where its people have a voice. Any government should listen to its people, especially the younger generation, because social change often depends on diverse opinions. The power of the younger generation to drive national innovation should not be suppressed but protected and encouraged by the state,” he wrote.
“Only democracy and freedom can truly protect the people,” he declared. “The memory of June 4th will not fade in the rapids of history. We will continue to work hard to keep this historical memory alive and inspire all those who care about China’s democracy.”
“We must use democracy to build consensus, meet dictatorship with freedom, confront the spread of authoritarianism with courage, and rise to the challenges together,” Lai said.
Taiwan Ministry of National Defense Said On Tuesday morning, the Chinese navy observed at least 23 Chinese military aircraft around the island of Taiwan in a three-hour period, 16 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait, once informally recognized as the boundary where Chinese and Taiwanese militaries kept their distance from each other.
China conducted provocative military exercises around Taiwan last month to “punish” the Taiwanese people for electing Lai Ming as their president, and Beijing apparently thought it was time for one more round of bullying on June 4th, a day that no one is sure to remember.
