On June 4th 1989, 36 years ago, hundreds of students who had been peacefully demonstrating for days and weeks for freedom and democracy in China fell victims when the People’s Liberation Army stormed Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese communist regime, which is still trying erase and rewrite that historical and tragic day, decided to put an end to the protesters’ demands for democratic reforms and ordered the army to crash protestors in Tiananmen Square with tanks and open fire.
In recent years, Chinese censorship has spread beyond the People’s Republic of China: in the former British colony of Hong Kong, in 2020, for the first time authorities banned the traditional vigil commemorating the Tiananmen Square crackdown in Victoria Park, citing restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic as a motivation. As the national security law imposed by Beijing came into force, it has also become impossible to commemorate the tragic events of June 4, 1989 in Hong Kong.
Just today, several people who were walking in Hong Kong in the symbolic places of the commemoration holding a candle or flowers were stopped and shown a police van. According to the national law, they risk being charged with inciting subversion. 36 years later, we agree with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te who said that authoritarian regimes erase history; democracies have a duty to preserve it. Today, we remember those who marched for freedom in Tiananmen Square. Taiwan stands firm with like-minded partners on defending democracy and human rights to ensure a free society for future generations.
Matteo Angioli