Beijing: The Hong Kong Catholic Social Communications Office, the communications department of the Diocese of Hong Kong, announced on May 24 that there will be no memorial Mass on the Tiananmen massacre's 33rd anniversary.Several members of the Diocese have expressed concern that holding the Mass in commemoration of the events of 1989 at the Tiananmen Square will be in violation of the draconian 'National Security Law'. While in mainland China people are not allowed to hold commemorations of the "June 4 incident"; until recently Hong Kong held annual vigils in memory of the victims. But since Beijing brought in the National Security Law in June 2020, it has tightened its control over Hong Kong and cracked down on dissent including a ban on public commemorations of Tiananmen in 2020, and again in 2021, 'officially' because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Hong Kong will see more state-sponsored Chinese oppression against any event to remember the Tiananmen Square event, which exposes Beijing's authoritarian and repressive style of governance.Last December, authorities in Hong Kong removed the 'pillar of shame,' an iconic memorial dedicated to the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989. The memorial designed by Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot symbolised the ruthless killings committed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) in June 1989 when thousands of students gathered in central Beijing demanding political reforms and democracy. The day is thought to be one of the bloodiest political crackdowns in modern history. Interestingly, a scaled-down replica of the "Pillar of Shame" statue honouring the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre will be unveiled at a commemorative vigil in Taipei, Taiwan on June 4 evening. Reportedly, Taiwan will be the only place in the Chinese-speaking world to hold such an event to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.Three decades down the line, memories of that massacre still haunt the CCP. PLA ruthlessly killed the Tiananmen Square protesters through a bloody crackdown after CCP imposed 'martial law' in June 1989 to forcefully end the months-long protest. Estimates of the death toll vary, but at least 10,000 civilians, mostly students, were killed by the PLA in the crackdown. It was the largest such demonstration in China's modern history. It shook the CCP to the core, forcing then-leader Deng Xiaoping to tighten the CCP's grip over the country and purge many party leaders deemed 'responsible' for the chaos.In the immediate aftermath of the massacre, the party claimed moral high ground by characterising the protesters as 'counter-revolutionaries'. Chinese state television reinforced that propaganda by showing images of violence allegedly committed by these 'counter-revolutionaries' against the PLA in various parts of the capital. The party is still concerned about the Tiananmen event's legacy; unsure whether its propaganda has worked to erase all memories related to the incident. It is also noteworthy that an authoritarian regime like China is far more insecure about its international image and fears democratic protests which may put the CCP's power in danger. Consequently, even after 33 years of the June 4 event, Beijing continues to hide the true facts from the world and its domestic population.Therefore, it is not surprising that whenever the Tiananmen Square massacre anniversary approaches, the CCP becomes edgy, detains human rights activists, and censors discussions of the crackdown. Moreover, it has also used advanced technologies to erase online mentions of events related to the massacre. For example, its search engine algorithms crawl politically sensitive search terms on the Chinese internet or redirect the user toward other subjects. In addition, video recognition software can detect images related to the square and its bloody history.6 These developments show the CCP's uneasiness.7 This contrasts sharply with images just a few months ago when the CCP showcased its centenary and held celebrations touting the success of the party in elevating China to the comity of nations.But for the CCP, the massacre holds a significance of a different kind. After all, it allowed the party to put its house in order, purge the leaders and elevate a new set of leaders. These reforms paved the way for the rise of the current General Secretary Xi Jinping, who has only set new standards of authoritarianism and repression his predecessors could only imagine. Furthermore, the massacre allowed the CCP to tighten its grip on power.Three decades later after the massacre, the situation in China has remained the same. In fact, the CCP's heavy-handedness has extended beyond its borders to intimidate, threaten, and cajole those who criticise its human rights record and its repression in Tibet, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong. The CCP remains wary and insecure of any public disturbance or chaos, which could derail its project to rule China indefinitely, just as the events of June 1989 created a sense of instability in the eyes of the top Chinese leadership.&nbsp;—ANI

The Hong Kong Catholic Social Communications Office, the communications department of the Diocese of Hong Kong, announced on May 24 that there will be no memorial Mass on the Tiananmen massacre's 33rd anniversary.

China's Attempts To Stifle Voices On Tiananmen Square Massacre Anniversary

Beijing: China is intent on erasing the memories of the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989 and has banned public commemorations on the 33rd anniversary of the country's most dubious instance of State oppression. The draconian National Security Law will be used to crack down on anyone showing public dissent or remonstration or organising memorial functions on the occasion.With all dissent smothered on mainland China, the communist government is focusing its energies on the autonomous region of Hong Kong where it is worried pro-democracy sentiments may surface while remembering the thousands of people who were gunned down by Chinese soldiers following explicit orders of the communist government to disperse a large crowd of students and activists who had gathered at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. For the first time, even the Catholic church has decided not to provoke the communist police. The Hong Kong Catholic Social Communications Office, the communications department of the Diocese of Hong Kong has announced that there will be no memorial Mass on the massacre's anniversary.For the last one week, the media covering Hong Kong is unanimous in thinking that they "will see more state-sponsored Chinese oppression against any event to remember the Tiananmen Square event, which exposes Beijing's authoritarian and repressive style of governance". The government has in the last two years systematically progressed towards cessation of all dissent on the anniversary date of June 4. In 2020 it brought in the draconian security law. Then it said protests are anti-national and would attract the provisions of the security law.In December 2021, it went a step ahead and removed the 'pillar of shame,' an iconic memorial dedicated to the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989. The memorial designed by Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot "symbolised the ruthless killings committed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) in June 1989 when thousands of students gathered in central Beijing demanding political reforms and democracy". The same month, "the Chinese University of Hong Kong tore down the Goddess of Democracy statue, a replica of the one created by protesters in Beijing during the Tiananmen protests". A museum set up in Hong Kong in memory of the Tiananmen victims was forcibly closed down.And this year, it has ordered that all dissent shall remain buried. The only opposition to the communist decree is from Taiwan where, according to media reports, "a scaled-down replica of the 'Pillar of Shame' statue honouring the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre will be unveiled at a commemorative vigil in Taipei, Taiwan on June 4 evening". In effect, nowhere in China will the massacre be allowed to be remembered on its anniversary this year. Taiwan will be the only exception as it stands up to the anti-democratic orders of the Chinese government.Over three decades since the mass killing, the day haunts the Communist Party of China. Soldiers of the PLA army ruthlessly killed the Tiananmen Square protesters through a "bloody crackdown after CCP imposed 'martial law' in June 1989 to forcefully end the months-long protest". At least "10,000 civilians, mostly students," were killed by the PLA. The incident led to internal condemnation of China and till today, the country's claims about respecting human rights is always suspect. The country was virtually isolated by the global community. It shook the communist leadership so much that the then top leader, Deng Xiaoping, used the occasion to purge several party leaders for creating the "chaos". They were the scapegoats. Deng also used the occasion to tighten the CCP's grip over the country.The CCP tried to protect the Tiananmen protests as the result of provocative actions by "counter-revolutionaries". However, everybody saw through the fake propaganda.Since then, the government has hyped the propaganda in the run-up to every anniversary of the killings. Obviously, the propaganda failed to work and that is probably why the government has in 2022 decided to ban all ceremonies. The government asked the Hong Kong police to issue warnings to residents to desist from organising any memorial functions. It also warned that "sharing social posts" describing their mood on the occasion of the anniversary could be grounds for "incitement". The police also forced the disbanding of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements, the original organiser of the Victoria Park vigil. The police started probing whether the Alliance was an "agent of foreign forces", forcing it to disintegrate.This year's "June 4" - that is what the Tiananmen Square Vigil is known in Hong Kong - will be the first occasion when Hong Kong will fall silent, without any protests or commemoration. That will be the beginning of a new chapter of CCP aggression against the island which, in 1989, played a crucial role in organising the escape for the Tiananmen activists who survived the 1989 massacre.—IANS

China is intent on erasing the memories of the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989 and has banned public commemorations on the 33rd anniversary of the country's most dubious instance of State oppression. The draconian National Security Law will be used to crack down on anyone showing public dissent or remonstration or organising memorial functions on the occasion.

China erasing Tiananmen memories fearing resurrection

London: A number of rallies were organized in London and across Britain to mark the 33rd anniversary of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aninews.in/topic/tiananmen-square-massacre" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Tiananmen Square massacre</a>&nbsp;on Saturday.In London, the "<a href="https://www.aninews.in/topic/unite-for-democracy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Unite for Democracy</a>" rally was held in Whitehall, opposite 10 Downing Street from 4 pm to 5.30 pm. The rally was organized by Democracy for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aninews.in/topic/hong-kong" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Hong Kong</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aninews.in/topic/hong-kong" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Hong Kong</a>&nbsp;Aid,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aninews.in/topic/hong-kong" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Hong Kong</a>&nbsp;Liberty, Fight for Freedom, Stand with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aninews.in/topic/hong-kong" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Hong Kong</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aninews.in/topic/hong-kong" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Hong Kong</a>&nbsp;Assistance and Resettlement Community and Hongkongers in Britain.It was supported by Global Alliance for Tibet &amp; Persecuted Minorities, Stop Uyghur Genocide,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aninews.in/topic/free-tibet" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Free Tibet</a>&nbsp;and World Uyghur Congress.Leading activists Nathan Law, Finn Lau, Simon Cheng, Benedict Rogers and Luke de Pulford addressed the rally.In the evening from 7.30 pm to 10 pm, there was a candlelight vigil outside the Chinese Embassy in London. This year Tiananmen massacre anniversary in London drew the biggest protesters with speakers from different persecuted communities and their supporters since it started 33 years ago.<img src="https://aniportalimages.s3.amazonaws.com/media/details/Tibet2.jpg">Nathan law, a former member of the legislative council, spoke on the occasion and said students, intellectuals, and workers lost their life 33 years ago fighting for democracy and even now people of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aninews.in/topic/hong-kong" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Hong Kong</a>, Tibet and East Turkestan want democracy and accountability in China. But the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aninews.in/topic/xi-jinping" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Xi Jinping</a>&nbsp;is supporting the military in Myanmar, the Taliban in Afghanistan, and supporting Russia. Ben Rogers,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aninews.in/topic/hong-kong" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Hong Kong</a>&nbsp;Watch, speaking about the Tiananmen massacre, compared it with the war in Ukraine and said it is a war between dictatorship and democracy, authoritarianism and freedom. He came with a yellow umbrella as a symbol of solidarity with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aninews.in/topic/hong-kong" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Hong Kong</a>.He said now people in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aninews.in/topic/hong-kong" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Hong Kong</a>&nbsp;don't have the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aninews.in/topic/freedom-of-speech" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">freedom of speech</a>&nbsp;and peaceful protest, they use to have, so people in the UK, who have that freedom must use it to support the people of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aninews.in/topic/hong-kong" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Hong Kong</a>.Tsering Passang (Global Alliance for Tibet &amp; Persecuted Minorities), said, "taking part in today's protest is a genuine show of our solidarity and support - from the people of Tibet - to Chinese friends in mainland China,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aninews.in/topic/hong-kong" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Hong Kong</a>&nbsp;and around the world for their quest for freedom, justice and democracy."<img src="https://aniportalimages.s3.amazonaws.com/media/details/Tibet3.jpg">He said, "We in the free world must remind western political and business leaders who are proponents of the CCP regime that they must not forget their fundamental values and principles - the universal human rights - for short-term gains by working with the Chinese authoritarian regime."The protests which were started on April 15 were forcibly suppressed on June 4 when China's military crackdown led to a massacre of students protesting for democratic reforms in various major cities across China.The victims of the 1989 massacre are still waiting to get justice as accountability for the tragedy was never fixed.—ANI

A number of rallies were organized in London and across Britain to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre on Saturday.

Several rallies organized across UK to mark 33rd anniversary of Tiananmen Square massacre

London: Although the Commemorating of the Tiananmen Square massacre was banned in China, the people in London are still keeping the memory alive with their protest.Marking the 33rd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, thousands of people joined the London rallies on June 4. 'The Unite for Demicracy' rally started off in Whitehall, opposite 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British Prime Minister from 4 pm and ended at 5:30 pm, reported Global Alliance for Tibet and Persecuted Minorities.Following this, another rally kicked off in Piccadilly Circus where hundreds joined in to mark the poignant chapter in the history of the democracy movement in China.Meanwhile, outside the Chinese Embassy, a vigil rally was held where thousands of protesters joined the rally. It was first started by Dr Stephen Ng and his colleagues soon after the Tiananmen Square Massacre. This year's vigil rally saw the biggest turnout ever since it was started 33 years ago, reported Global Alliance for Tibet and Persecuted Minorities.Upon this rally, two young international journalists from Cardiff University made a documentary where they shot the rally and said that these protests demand the same thing as they did 33 years ago which is democracy and accountability.The documentary also noted that these rallies throw light on the atrocities against the Uyghur community and Tibetan people. It also states that the Hong Kong people were deprived of their basic rights.In the video, Tsering Passang, who has been advocating for the rise of Tibetans in the Chinese world said, "Back in 1989, some liberal-minded Chinese people tried to reform so that people can have more freedom and democracy but unfortunately, the hardliners really crushed down on young students subsequently the regime sent tanks and troops to crush them and thousands of Chinese students ad young people died."He further said that China invaded Tibet in the 1950s and so "We know the pain what our Chinese friends are experiencing whether they are main in China or in Hong Kong elsewhere. So it is our duty to show our moral obligation and our moral responsibility and support and sovereignty to our Chinese friends."Notably, the Tiananmen Massacre took place after the peaceful gatherings of students, workers, and others in Beijing's Tiananmen Square and other Chinese cities in April 1989, calling for freedom of expression, accountability, and an end to corruption. The government responded to the intensifying protests in late May 1989 by declaring martial law.On June 3 and 4, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers fired upon and killed untold numbers of peaceful protesters and bystanders. In Beijing, some citizens attacked army convoys and burned vehicles in response to the military's violence.In that massacre, 10 to 15 thousand people were killed by the army of the Chinese government. Following the killings, the government carried out a nationwide crackdown and arrested thousands of people on "counter-revolution" and other criminal charges, including arson and disrupting social order.The government has never accepted responsibility for the massacre or held any officials legally accountable for the killings.Chinese authorities, over the last year, have increased the harassment and persecution of activists for commemorating June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Massacre, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said. The Chinese government should acknowledge and take responsibility for the mass killing of pro-democracy demonstrators, it added.&nbsp;—ANI

Although the Commemorating of the Tiananmen Square massacre was banned in China, the people in London are still keeping the memory alive with their protest.

London Keeping Memories Of Tiananmen Square Massacre Alive

Washington: On the 34th anniversary of Tiananmen Square massacre, the United States said that it will continue to support human rights and fundamental freedoms in China and around the world.
The US State Department marked the anniversary of the suppression by issuing a statement, calling on the Chinese Communist Party to end the alleged harassment of those who took part in the protests and to fully account for those killed, detained or missing.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, "Tomorrow, we observe the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. On June 4th, 1989, the Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) sent tanks into Tiananmen Square to brutally repress peaceful Chinese pro-democracy protesters and bystanders alike", according to an official statement.
He added that the victims' bravery would not be forgotten and would continue to inspire advocates for these principles around the world.
"The United States will continue advocating for people's human rights and fundamental freedoms in China and around the world," Blinken said.
The establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the US and China in 1979, together with Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms, inaugurated a decade of vibrant cultural exchange and expanding economic ties between the two countries, the State Department said in an official release.
However, the Chinese government's violent suppression of demonstrations in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, cooled the US-Chinese relations considerably.
The demonstrations started on April 15, 1989 when Chinese students gathered in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, where many student and mass demonstrations had taken place since the early 20th century, to mark the death of the popular pro-reform Chinese leader Hu Yaobang. "The demonstration became a forum to protest corruption and inflation, and call for broader political and economic reforms to build on the reforms that had already transformed China considerably in the post-Mao era," the release added.
On June 3 and 4, the People's Liberation Army stormed the square with tanks, crushing the protests with terrible human costs. Estimates of the numbers killed vary. The Chinese Communist Party stated that the injuries exceeded 3,000 and over 200 individuals, including 36 university students, were killed that night. Later, then President George HW Bush denounced the actions in Tiananmen Square and suspended military sales as well as high-level exchanges with Chinese officials, according to the State Department. —ANI

On the 34th anniversary of Tiananmen Square massacre, the United States said that it will continue to support human rights

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