Today marks the anniversary of the death of former Chinese Communist Party leader Hu Yaobang in 1989, the first in a chain of events (death, mourning, protest, crackdown) that would culminate in the violent crackdown in Tiananmen Square on June 4. Today’s anniversary, while obviously not commemorated in China, is an important reminder of the […]
May 35 Reading
Today is June 4, the 27th anniversary of the military assault on Tiananmen Square to clear it of student protesters. In China it is simply known as “Six Four” (the Chinese way of saying June 4), and it is such a sensitive anniversary that numbers 6 and 4 get censored on the internet. Never mind, though, […]
A Book for Today
In light of today’s date (June 4), allow me to recommend a book: The People’s Republic of Amnesia: Tiananmen Revisited, by Louisa Lim. From the Amazon description: On June 4, 1989, People’s Liberation Army soldiers opened fire on unarmed civilians in Beijing, killing untold hundreds of people. A quarter-century later, this defining event remains buried […]
