Tiananmen Square massacre: 20 years later
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacres in Beijing, China. Though still a taboo subject in the Communist regime, the death toll is believed to be about 700 -- mostly unarmed residents of the city.
Dan Southerland, executive editor of Radio Free Asia, was the Beijing bureau chief for the Washington Post during the protests led by pro-Democracy students. He's penned a telling recount of the tragedy for the Post.
The repression continues today as China buckles down to prevent any recognition of the anniversary.
"Authorities have also blocked Twitter, Hotmail, You Tube, blogs, and the photo-sharing site Flickr, expanding an already tough firewall aimed at suppressing any online mention of the night June 3-4, 1989 when Chinese troops opened fire on unarmed protesters, killing hundreds and prompting an international outcry," according to a report on Radio Free Asia. "In Beijing, security forces blanketed the square and black police vans lurked alongside the nearby Forbidden City, as police and paramilitary forces patrolled through crowds of tourists."
Relive the music, movies and culture of the greatest decade ever with Times online editor Steve Spears. A teen during the decade, Steve is obsessed with everything from Duran Duran to Journey, John Hughes to John Cusack, and parachute pants to Reaganomics.
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Sad that, 20 years later, the good 'ole USA is buying up more of their crap than ever. So much for supporting human rights...
Posted by: Mary | June 04, 2009 at 02:37 PM
I was 11 when i saw this on TV.It`s very fresh in my head,that and in the opposite arena,the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Posted by: Miguel | June 04, 2009 at 12:30 PM
Hey Steve,
Thanks for the sobering reminder of this tragic event. It's important to reflect on the tough events as well as the fun times that the 80s brought us.
Posted by: Jeff in Raleigh | June 04, 2009 at 08:42 AM
Ah, the infamous Red Scare podcast. Some trivia there. We recorded about 2 hours of audio for that, and I trimmed it down to below an hour, I think. It took me an entire weekend on my own time to pull it off. There's enough leftover to do a sequel almost.
Posted by: Spears | June 04, 2009 at 06:24 AM
It's crazy how, these days, China tries to style itself as so friendly to Western business, but then pulls crap like this crackdown. Of course, the original tragedy is basically unfathomable. Makes me want to listen to the "Red Scare" podcast again.
Posted by: Blaine | June 04, 2009 at 01:58 AM