China and Hong Kong stepped up security to discourage rallies to commemorate the victims on Tuesday, marking 35 years since the military crushed pro-democracy protesters at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.
On June 4, 1989, People’s Liberation Army troops opened fire on student-led protesters gathering in the square for democratic protests, killing 319 people according to the Chinese government, but other estimates put the actual death toll in the thousands.
China’s one-party Communist party has justified the 1989 crackdown as a necessary measure to quell political unrest, and public discussion of the massacre remains taboo in the country.
Large numbers of police, including armed forces, were deployed in the square and surrounding areas.
Security vehicles patrol Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the early morning of June 4, 2024, the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. (Kyodo News)
In May, the Tiananmen Mothers, a group made up of relatives of the victims, posted a video online in tribute to the victims, repeatedly calling for the truth of the incident to be revealed.
“For 35 years, we have never forgotten the moment they left their homes,” the families said in a statement, calling on Chinese President Xi Jinping to speak to them.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning told reporters on Tuesday that the government had reached a “clear conclusion” regarding the “political turmoil.” “We firmly oppose anyone who uses this as an excuse to smear China and interfere in China’s internal affairs,” he said.
Security guards stand guard near Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, on the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in the early morning of June 4, 2024. (Kyodo News)
In Hong Kong, thousands of people used to gather in Victoria Park every June 4 to light candles to mourn and remember the victims, but candlelight vigils have been banned by regulations since 2020 as part of a broader crackdown that has made protests against the authorities virtually impossible.
Dozens of uniformed officers were seen searching the area around Victoria Park on Tuesday. Police also detained several people, including artist Sangmu Cheng, who was detained for questioning on Monday evening after appearing to write the numbers “8964” in the air – the date of the incident, local reports said.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee defended the actions of law enforcement, saying: “The threat to national security is real. It is important that we all remain vigilant against any challenges to Hong Kong, especially any attempts to disturb the public peace.”
The solemn 35th anniversary ceremony came a week after Hong Kong’s national security police arrested seven people, including pro-democracy activist Chow Hang-tung, on suspicion of sedition.
Chow was vice-chairman of the League in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in Hong Kong, known for organizing annual rallies. The group was dissolved in 2021 after several other leaders were arrested under the national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020.
A woman offers a moment of silence during a memorial rally in Taipei on June 4, 2024. The rally commemorates those who died 35 years ago, in 1989, when pro-democracy demonstrators were suppressed by the military at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. (Kyodo News)
In Taiwan’s capital Taipei, more than 2,000 people held a candlelight vigil at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to commemorate the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre, organisers said.
Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te, who took office last month, stressed the importance of hard-won freedom and democracy in social media posts.
Amid growing military pressure from mainland China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, Lai urged his people to “respond with freedom to dictatorship” and “stand courageously against authoritarian expansion.”
In the early morning of June 4, 2024, traffic was blocked near Tiananmen Square in Beijing, marking 35 years since the Tiananmen Square massacre. (Kyodo News)
