China's Tiananmen Massacre Erased from Public Consciousness

The Chinese Communist Party's efforts to silence the 1989 protest movement and its bloody crackdown have largely succeeded in erasing the events from the public record. Younger people in mainland China are largely unaware of the Tiananmen massacre, with public memorials banned and any references to the PLA's suppression quickly deleted from the internet. A stark generational divide exists, with those over 40 having a distinct memory of the events, while younger people have never heard of or know little about June 4, 1989.

Key Takeaways:

• The Chinese Communist Party has successfully silenced public discussion of the 1989 protest movement and the Tiananmen massacre, with younger people largely unaware of the events.
• Public memorials for the victims are banned, and any references to the PLA's bloody suppression of the student-led protest movement are quickly deleted from the country's tightly controlled internet.
• The erasure of first-hand accounts from Beijing of the spring and early summer 1989 from the public record has led to a generational divide, with those over 40 having a distinct memory of the events, while younger people have never heard of or know little about June 4, 1989.
• A high-school teacher from Hunan province said most of her students have never heard of June 4, 1989, and that the topic has been deliberately erased from textbooks, media, and other public domains.
• Former liberal premier Hu Yaobang, whose death sparked a memorial gathering in Tiananmen Square, is rarely mentioned in history teaching materials, while late ousted premier Zhao Ziyang has been erased from public accounts of the era.
• Public discussion of the events of 1989 is generally limited to official responses to questions from foreign media organizations, with the topic off-limits to China's tightly controlled state media.
• Controls on information from the Chinese government are very strict, with the news media, social media, textbooks, other publications, literature, film, and television under government control.
• Those who attempt to discuss political topics that the government does not like risk having their livelihoods taken away.
• The younger generation in China is more focused on material success and personal interests, with a lack of concern for justice or an equitable society.

Statistics:

• The Chinese Communist Party has been in power since 1949, with the Tiananmen massacre occurring in 1989.
• At least 241 people were killed during the crackdown, with estimates suggesting the true number may be much higher.
• The vast majority of China's population has no knowledge of the events of 1989, with the topic largely absent from public discussion.
• Over 90% of China's internet users are subject to strict government controls, with any mention of the Tiananmen massacre quickly deleted from online content.
• China's state media has been banned from reporting on the Tiananmen massacre, with the topic only allowed to be discussed in official responses to foreign media organizations.

Sources:

• Radio Free Asia
• Qiao Long, RFA's Mandarin Service
• Luisetta Mudie, Translator and Editor