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Posted via Arthur Kaufman | June 5, 2024
As the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre was massively censored in mainland China and Hong Kong, others around the world paid tribute to commemorate the incident and reflect on its significance on the day of offering. The Hong Kong venue has drawn up a non-exhaustive list. commemorative occasions that have been held in 18 cities on 4 continents. The Hong Kong Free Press reported on commemorations in Canada and the United Kingdom, among other countries:
On June 4, more than 300 people joined a demonstration outside the Chinese embassy in Britain to share and listen to memories of the crackdown that took place 35 years ago, foreign media reported.
[…] Another meeting was also held on Sunday in London’s Parliament Square, two days before the anniversary, foreign media reported. Several teams collaborated to organize the meeting, including Amnesty International and Hong Kong Labor Rights Monitor, an organization founded by Hong Kongers in the United Kingdom – and China Deviant, an organization created through Chinese youth in the wake of the COVID-19 protests in China.
[…] Vancouver’s David Lam Park was the scene of a rally on Tuesday, where participants called for safeguarding human rights and preventing infiltration by the Chinese Communist Party. According to images online, many other people were holding candles. Collective reported that those who provided did so to mourn the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.
[…] On Sunday, about 2,000 more people gathered at Mel Lastman Square in Toronto’s North York neighborhood to commemorate the crackdown, according to the event’s organizer. The Rev. Chu Yiu-ming, a Hong Kong Democrat who now lives in Taiwan, traveled to Toronto to attend the meeting. [Source]
Brian Hioe of New Bloom magazine reported on the commemorations in Taipei, Taiwan:
Protesters gathered tonight in Taipei’s Liberty Plaza to mark the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. According to the organizers, around 7:30 p. m. , the demonstration had 2,000 participants.
A number of tents have been erected to allow NGOs and civil society organizations to set up stands. This included many pillars of Taiwanese civil society, such as the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, Covenants Watch, the Taiwan Labor Front, and the Green Citizens’ Action Alliance. . Similarly, a diversity of organizations from Hong Kong to Taiwan were present, such as the Taiwan Hong Kong Association, Hong Kong Outlanders, the New School for Democracy, and other groups. In fact, one of the two MCs of the occasion, an artist from Hong Kong. Kacey Wong, founded in Taiwan since July 2021, given the repression of political freedoms there, the debates on the occasion were held in Mandarin and Cantonese.
Several services have been created. This included a 3D printed reproduction of the Pillar of Shame, the sculpture made by Danish artist Jens Galschiøt to commemorate the Tiananmen Square bloodbath in 1997. The numbers 8964 were spelled out with electronic candles next to the Pillar of Shame and back in a tent. with images of the Tiananmen Square protests. In addition, video art and artistic functionalities were placed. Kacey Wong showed a video about the commemoration of those lost in the massacres and rode a bicycle with pro-democracy slogans on a banner around the rally. A noisy speech also took place, referring not only to the recent protests of the Blue Bird Movement, the self-immolations of Tibetans, the 324 crackdown on the attempted rise of the Executive Yuan that took position in the Sunflower Movement, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Source]
Discussing the relevance of the Tiananmen massacre, Taiwan’s newly elected President William Lai Ching-te said, “Any political force will have to courageously face the voices of the people, especially those of the younger generation, because social replacement is based on varied opinions. “”, adding: “We will have to use democracy to build consensus, respond to autocracy with freedom, confront authoritarian expansion with courage, and face demanding situations with unity. Global Voices spoke with some of the participants at the Taipei vigil, Loretta added. Lau, an artist from Hong Kong, who said that participation in commemorative occasions like this is vital for all Chinese-speaking teams fighting against the bureaucracy of oppression:
In order to better sustain the memory of the Tiananmen tragedy for future generations of all Chinese-speaking communities, including those in exile and abroad, we will have to adopt a fully Taiwanese democracy.
[…] For many of us, participating on this occasion is incredibly important. Our art and voices, which can no longer be noticed or heard in Hong Kong, have discovered a platform here. Some Hong Kongers live just two hours away by plane. , managed to participate last night. This means a lot to the Hong Kong diaspora. Making real, private connections with others who are still in Hong Kong is invaluable. It shows that even under brutal regimes, other people care and remember, even if they can’t brazenly raise their voices. By supporting Taiwanese democracy and fostering those ties, we ensure that the reminiscence of the Tiananmen tragedy lives on and that the voices of the oppressed are heard.
Japan’s parliament held a rite on Monday to mark the anniversary. “It is vital to hold such a collection in the Japanese Diet, while it is highly unlikely to be held in mainland China or Hong Kong,” said Wang Jinzhong, a Tokyo-based journalist. Patrick Poon, a visiting researcher at the University of Tokyo, stressed the importance of holding the rally in the Parliament complex, saying it “has an impact” and “is not just symbolic. “
A small collection to commemorate the anniversary also held in Paris, France:
Members of the U. S. Congress also delivered speeches outdoors at the Capitol to mark the anniversary. The House of Representatives invited researchers, student activists, and Chinese leaders from the 1989 Tiananmen movement and the 2022 White Paper protests to testify at a hearing on the issue. . Zhou Fengsuo, a former student leader invited to testify, said the Tiananmen crackdown resonates today: “Whether it’s Western society, the general public or Chinese youth, they have shown unprecedented interest. […] Especially after the pandemic, many other people have learned that without freedom everything is nothing. “
Kanis Leung and Tian Macleod Ji of the Associated Press described how communities are carrying the torch to keep Tiananmen memories alive:
While Beijing’s hardening political stance has halted any large-scale commemorations within its borders, commemorative occasions have become increasingly important in preserving memories of the Tiananmen crackdown. In recent years, an increasing number of conferences, meetings, exhibitions, and plays on the topic have emerged in the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and Taiwan.
[…] Aline Sierp, a professor of European history and memory studies at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, said commemorative activities abroad allow memories to endure and endure, paving the way for others and for future generations.
But he added that it may simply be “a double-edged sword,” as adapting memories to new places can threaten to fragment or decontextualize them in the future.
Alison Landsberg, a specialist in memory studies at George Mason University in Virginia, said the efforts have the potential to motivate others in other countries who face their own demanding situations in the pursuit of democracy.
[…] “It shows how much suffering other people have had to go through over all these years” [Rowena said of the play “May 35th” that was presented in London]. ” If we can do something, I hope we get more younger generation to perceive this. [Source]
Al Jazeera’s Violet Law highlighted the role of New York’s Tiananmen Museum in memory:
The June 4th Memorial Museum opened its doors a year ago thanks to the concerted efforts of Zhou [Fengsuo] and a few other veterans of the Tiananmen protests who now live in the United States. The urgency for a new museum arose after the Hong Kong museum shut down the government in 2021.
“We saw this as an effort to erase memories,” David Dahai Yu, the museum’s director, told Al Jazeera. “We need other people to perceive why [Tiananmen] happened and what it means. . . tell the story. “
[…] Soon after Zhou and others advertised their new museum in the center of Manhattan’s grocery shopping district, they began receiving unexpected items: the blood-splattered blouse of a journalist who worked for the People’s Liberation Army newspaper; the leaflets distributed throughout Zhou; a medal and a commemorative clock awarded to the “defenders of the motherland”, as Beijing nicknamed the infantrymen who suppressed the movement.
There’s even a like-new Nikko tent, one of the cargoes brought by ferry from Hong Kong and kept as a souvenir between two protesters who camped out in the square as newlyweds.
China-focused media have also published retrospectives on Tiananmen. The China Media Project’s Lingua Sinica newsletter shared two excerpts from its archives highlighting the importance of media and freedom of expression in China. ChinaFile has published a retrospective of the highlights of his paintings about the Tiananmen protests. and repression. China Heritage has released a two-part commemoration highlighting the paintings of Dai Qing, an ancient Chinese journalist, novelist and investigative journalist. Article 19 aired a podcast episode titled “The Legacy of Tiananmen Square: 35 Years of Silence and Censorship. “”The Tibet Action Institute shared a podcast episode titled “The Untold Story of Tibetan Students in the 1989 Tiananmen Movement. “
Categories: China and the World, Article Level 2, Politics, Society, Taiwan
Tags:1989 protests, Canada, Japan, June Museum, JuneArray, New York, Pillar of Shame, Taiwan, Tiananmen, Tiananmen Massacre, Tiananmen Vigil, United Kingdom, United States, zhou fengsuo