31 years to Tiananmen Square: A brutal crackdown by China on its own people
- realshepower
- Jun 4, 2020
- 1 min read
In the early hours of 4th June 1989, China launched a two-pronged attack on pro-democracy demonstrators. The event killed more than 10,000 people as army trucks moved up Beijing's main avenue from west while soldiers on foot killed demonstrators from both the sides. With sounds of gunshots Beijing remained awake as the citizens were brutally killed by its own government.
"When a governemnet uses tanks to declare war on its people, anything is possible and the people now know it" Guardians' China correspondent, John Gittings reported on the dreadful night.
40 workers who went to plead with the soldiers where shot. On 5th June, a young man stood in front of a tank in a final act of defiance.
Crackdown led to a regime of dictatorship. Student leaders, liberals, workers who opined against the government were put on the most wanted list. A large number of workers who actively took part in the movement fled to other countries via Hong Kong or were arrested on "counter revolutionary" charges.
Today marks 31 years of dead democracy in China. The country has ever since censored the event from its school textbooks to records of official history. Anyone who tries to commemorate the event are severely punished by the authorities. According to China, these draconian measures were essential to maintain political stability and economic growth of its nation and its people alike. That said, Communist party of China till date reject democracy or any democratic rights such as free speech, expression, and livelihood. They continue to suppress dissenting voices in order to uphold its own survival.
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