If a Tiananmen anniversary ever does pass without a flicker of dissent, that would set up the Chinese nation, and not just its rulers, for a backlash across the democratic world
after troops used murderous force to clear protesters from Tiananmen Square and central Beijing, covering up that crime has become a bit of a chore. China’s security machine is ready to censor, arrest and imprison those who speak too candidly about events in 1989.
Zhao Ziyang, the Communist Party’s leader in 1989, was ousted during the unrest for opposing military action. In internal debates Zhao had called the protesters patriotic and endorsed their demands for a more accountable government, tougher anti-corruption measures and the observance of constitutionally guaranteed freedoms. He was purged and detained until his death in 2005.
It frustrates party officials that so many in the West doubt that claim, and suggest that China is weakened to this day by that legacy of violence, paranoia and intolerance of debate. It angers them that foreigners pay such heed to independent-minded people, whether religious believers, feminist campaigners, environmentalists or left-wing students working with unofficial trade unions.
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