The mention of ‘Tiananmen Square’ brings to mind China’s pro-democracy movement of 1989. It has been 27 years since the bloody crackdown happened and still the Chinese government is failing to account for the deaths of many students. The relatives of the victims continue to suffer in the hands of China’s security personnel.
The mothers of the victims along with the families and supporters have become known as the Tiananmen Mothers worldwide. They are forbidden from commemorating their deaths and the media in the nation which is controlled by the government ignores them. There is no exact account of the number of people killed on the night of June 3-4, 1989.
Every year around this time it is alleged that family members of the victims are either confined to their homes or forced to leave Beijing.
What happened?
Pro-democracy protests happened in almost every part of China during that time.
A total of 10,000 troops and 50 trucks were used to take on the protesters in the early hours of June 4, 1989. The military fired at the crowds and there was widespread violence.
The protest was crushed and the dream for democracy soon became a distant one for many.
There is hardly any account for the number of people killed in this deadly massacre. It is reported that a 30-foot statue made from Styrofoam and plaster was erected for the Goddess of Democracy resembling the Statue of Liberty by the protesters. It was crushed by the tanks when the troops took over the square.
On the other side
The Chinese government has maintained that its decision to send in troops and tanks to quell the protest was right as it sees it as a violent uprising against Community Party rule. All calls for an investigation have been rejected so much so that even discussion of the events is prohibited. Many student leaders who left the country after the crackdown are still not allowed to enter.
Facts erased
The Chinese government employs two million online censors to block information about the protest. Words related to Tiananmen Square are also banned. The facts about the bloody crackdown have been erased.
