Memories of the Tiananmen Square massacre still haunt the Communist Party
Paradoxically, the Army that mowed down thousands of protesters at Tiananmen Square, Beijing in 1989 was called the People's Liberation Army. It was strange. Methinks that the Army should have been renamed the People's Repression Army considering that it turned against the people it was supposed to protect.
It would be recalled that on June 4, 1989, the Chinese government declared martial law and sent the military to occupy central parts of Beijing where the protests were taking place. Troops with assault rifles and tanks fired at the demonstrators and those trying to block the military's advance into Tiananmen Square. At the very height of the protests, about one million people assembled in the Square.
Interestingly, thirty years after, nothing seems to have changed in terms of the fact that most people in China and her satellite states are as passionate as ever to free themselves from the tyranny of communism.
This explains what have been described as the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests which have been on for almost six months. Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of China and the protesters are campaigning for greater democracy in the territory.
Protesters have deployed makeshift slingshots and even bows and arrows against the riot police
Yesterday, for instance, the police fought running battles with protesters to regain control of the Cross Harbour Tunnel, which has been closed for days after its toll booths were torched by protesters and debris was strewn across the lanes. Almost all the protesters were equipped with hard helmets and goggles and with industrial masks fitted with filters to protect against tear gas. The more committed ones wore the now-standard protest uniform of black clothes and scarves to further obscure their faces.
The protests started in June. They were part of a campaign to stop a proposed extradition law that would have allowed criminal suspects to be taken to mainland China to face justice. Although the idea was abandoned in September by Carrie Lam, the territory’s chief executive, the demonstrations continued anyway. They have grown into a broader campaign in defence of Hong Kong’s autonomy from China and in support of democracy.
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