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Tiananmen Square crackdown 30th anniversary

Photo: Sam Tsang
Tiananmen Square crackdown

Tiananmen Square 30th anniversary vigil in Hong Kong – as it happened

Organisers claim turnout exceeds 2012 and 2014 peaks but police estimate crowd was 37,000 at most

Tiananmen Square crackdown

Quiet reminders of Tiananmen in China’s capital of forgetting

Tiananmen Square crackdown

Exclusive | How Tiananmen crackdown left a deep scar on China’s military psyche

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Tiananmen Square crackdown

China hits back over Pompeo’s attack on human rights record

Pompeo’s criticisms of ‘dark chapter in history’ echoed by European diplomats who urge Beijing to allow its citizens to mark the occasion.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Photo: EPA-EFE
Tiananmen Square crackdown

Hong Kong braces for big crowds and high emotions as June 4 vigil looms

Organisers expect as many as 180,000 people, as 30th anniversary of Tiananmen coincides with fury over fugitive bill.

Tiananmen Square crackdown

Washington Tiananmen vigil attracts first-timers for 30th anniversary

Biggest turnout in years for candlelight commemoration outside Chinese embassy and, for many, it is the first time they have spoken of the events of June 4, 1989.

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Tiananmen Square crackdown

Journalist finds Hong Kong activist he filmed at Tiananmen 30 years ago

Arthur Kent, a freelancer working in Beijing during the protests, reconnected with student leader Kenneth Lam, whom he had lost sight of after the square was cleared.

Kenneth Lam and Cheng Zhen, as seen in Arthur Kent’s film, Black Night in June. Photo: YouTube
Tiananmen Square crackdown

Twitter apologises over blocked accounts ahead of Tiananmen anniversary

Company says ‘a number of accounts’ were suspended as part of efforts to target those engaging in ‘platform manipulation’ – and some ‘were involved in commentary about China’.

June 4 vigil in Hong Kong

Tiananmen Square dissident refused entry to Hong Kong

Former student leader had arrived from Tokyo for events marking 30th anniversary of crackdown.

Tiananmen Square crackdown

Singer disappears as China tightens grip ahead of Tiananmen anniversary

Artist’s tour was cancelled, his social media accounts taken down and music removed from streaming sites before he vanished from public view.

Folk rock singer Li Zhi dared to broach the taboo subject of the Tiananmen Square protests. Photo: Handout
Human rights

Tiananmen Square protester turned lawyer killed in his New York office

Arrest made over the stabbing of Li Jinjin, who had settled in the US after being jailed in China for joining the 1989 protests.

Li Jinjin (pictured) once represented artist Chen Weiming, creator of Hong Kong’s Goddess of Democracy monument, which commemorates the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Photo: SCMP
Tiananmen Square crackdown

Hong Kong’s annual Tiananmen Square vigil banned on Covid-19 grounds

Also banned last year amid coronavirus concerns, the only large-scale commemoration of the 1989 crackdown on Chinese soil still drew a crowd of thousands.

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Hong Kong media

Post wins online award for protests, Covid-19, Tiananmen anniversary coverage

Judges from the Online Journalism Awards praise the newspaper’s use of interactive multimedia content and in-depth analysis to tell biggest stories of the year.

Tiananmen Square

China was gripped by a pro-democracy movement in 1989, triggered by the death of reformist ex-leader Hu Yaobang. Mass street protests, weeks-long sit-ins and hunger strikes at Tiananmen Square by students and residents became the order of the day as demonstrators complained about corruption and demanded greater democracy as well as government transparency. The social unrest culminated in a brutal military crackdown on June 4 ordered by Beijing that effectively ended the movement and continues to be the subject of great controversy to this day.

June 4 vigil in Hong Kong

Tiananmen vigil organisers, Lai face incitement charges: police source

The case, which will go to court on June 23, stems from a crowd of thousands turning out in defiance of a ban on the yearly candlelight gathering.

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Lee Cheuk-yan (centre), chairman of the Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, is one of those facing prosecution over last week’s Victoria Park gathering. Photo: AFP
Tiananmen Square crackdown

Low-key ceremony as purged reformer Zhao Ziyang is finally laid to rest

Ashes of former leader who opposed Tiananmen crackdown and his wife, Liang Boqi, buried in cemetery on outskirts of Beijing after protracted negotiations between family and the party.

Hong Kong protests

From Apple to the NBA: the brands that have bowed to China

Apple pulled a controversial app, Activision Blizzard sacked a gamer and Versace, Coach and Givenchy all pulled T-shirts that were ‘offensive’ to China

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Hong Kong protests

Letters | Is Hong Kong the new Tiananmen Square?

The 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, rather than the extradition bill, may have triggered Hong Kong’s protests. Beijing has underestimated the protesters’ resolve and failed to fully understand their motives

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People raise their candles during a vigil at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay on June 4 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Photo: Felix Wong
Hong Kong protests

Four reasons Beijing will never cave in to Hong Kong protesters’ demands

The leaders of China’s Communist Party learned from both Tiananmen and the fall of the Soviet Union not to give in. The mainland Chinese public also appears to have little sympathy for Hongkongers, which will free Beijing’s hand to act decisively.

Tiananmen Square crackdown

Opinion | Li Peng, the one who took the fall for his more charismatic boss

Li’s arrogance made him easy to hate in 1989, but he was picked on because his boss Deng Xiaoping had a no-nonsense manner that intimidated even rebels.

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Tiananmen Square crackdown

Editorial | Controversy follows Li Peng to his grave

Tiananmen Square crackdown defined career of late premier, who was also instrumental in building the contentious Three Gorges Dam

Li Peng is best remembered in Hong Kong for ordering the June 4 Tiananmen crackdown, the official verdict that justified it and the witch hunt he launched for democracy activists. Photo: Beijing Institute of Technology
Obituaries

Li Peng, technocrat ‘communist warrior’ who rose to top in chaotic times

Li became premier as conservatives and reformists fought over country’s direction in 1980s and 90s, and oversaw Tiananmen Square crackdown.

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Tiananmen Square crackdown

Former Chinese premier Li Peng dies, aged 90

Known in China as a ‘loyal communist warrior’, Li is also remembered abroad as the ‘Tiananmen Butcher’ for his hardline backing of the crackdown on student-led protests in 1989.

Books and literature

Review | Endless nightmares, ruined lives: the Tiananmen legacy

Poet Liao Yiwu’s searing account of what happened in Beijing on June 4, 1989, and its lasting impact, doggedly collected from witnesses, demands attention; he is unsparing in his criticism of decision-makers, and of ordinary Chinese for their passivity.

Hong Kong extradition bill

Letters | Hong Kong government has failed to make people feel protected

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A moment of rest after remaining overnight on the streets following Hong Kong’s second massive protest march in two weeks, against the extradition bill and calling on Chief Executive Carrie Lam to resign. Photo: Sam Tsang

Tiananmen exiles seek UN investigation into 1989 crackdown

Protest leader Wang Dan and other activists submit complaint to Human Rights Council.

Exiled former student leader Wang Dan and more than 20 other Chinese activists are calling on the UN Human Rights Council to investigate the Tiananmen Square crackdown of 1989. Photo: AFP
US-China trade war

Sino File | In world’s largest game of chicken, neither Trump nor Xi can blink

Neither side can afford a trade war – and neither side can afford to back down.

Tiananmen Square crackdown

Letters | Keeping the memory of Tiananmen alive: Hong Kong should be proud

Year after year, Hongkongers put their personal problems aside for one night to ensure Tiananmen of June 4, 1989 is not forgotten

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Tiananmen Square crackdown 30th anniversary
China was gripped by a pro-democracy movement in 1989, triggered by the death of reformist ex-leader Hu Yaobang. Mass street protests, weeks-long sit-ins and hunger strikes at Tiananmen Square by students and residents became the order of the day as demonstrators complained about corruption and demanded greater democracy as well as government transparency. The social unrest culminated in a brutal military crackdown on June 4 ordered by Beijing that effectively ended the movement and continues to be the subject of great controversy to this day.
last updated:
9 September, 2024
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Art

Artist Ma Desheng on Tiananmen, freedom and painting stones

Ma Desheng is a co-founder of the Stars Group, self-taught rebels exploring alternatives to Socialist art. Last week he gave a performance at his solo exhibition in Hong Kong as a tribute to the Tiananmen Mothers.

Ma Desheng at his new solo exhibition in Hong Kong’s Central district. The artist has been in self-imposed exile from China since 1983. Photo: May Tse
Ma Desheng at his new solo exhibition in Hong Kong’s Central district. The artist has been in self-imposed exile from China since 1983. Photo: May Tse
June 4 vigil in Hong Kong

Editorial | Tiananmen vigil message wins in numbers game

The discrepancy in attendance figures provided by organisers of the annual memorial and police is nothing new.

Tiananmen Square crackdown

Tiananmen vigil yielded record donations this year, organisers say

Lee Cheuk-yan of Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China said the public contributed HK$2.7 million on Tuesday night.

Tiananmen Square crackdown

Canada voices ‘real concern’ about human rights in China

Prime Minister Trudeau’s remarks were ‘gross accusations’, Chinese embassy says – Canada’s foreign ministry calls on Beijing to ‘break silence’ on events of June 1989.

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Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland called on Beijing to “break the silence” on the events of June 4, 1989. Photo: Reuters
Tiananmen Square crackdown

‘Tank Man’ statue rises in US park as activists gather to mourn, remember

Chinese sculptor Chen Weiming is a driving force behind annual anniversary events as well as the park, which he bought with fellow activists in 2015.

Chen Weiming’s statue stands with a rendering of a Chinese tank in a sculpture park in Yermo, California. Photo: Eileen Guo
Chen Weiming’s statue stands with a rendering of a Chinese tank in a sculpture park in Yermo, California. Photo: Eileen Guo
Tiananmen Square crackdown

For Pelosi, it’s personal: US Speaker blasts China’s ‘moral injustices’

To Nancy Pelosi, whose advocacy of human rights in China is long-standing, the US must remember the protesters ‘because China still shamefully tries to hide the history of the atrocity it inflicted on its own people’.

Tiananmen Square crackdown

Hong Kong keeps flame alive in ‘record’ Tiananmen vigil

Larger numbers and high emotions attributed to controversy over government’s extradition bill, with organisers saying more than 180,000 people showed up.

Tiananmen Square crackdown

Cartoonist Badiucao drops mask to mark anniversary of Tiananmen crackdown

Baduciao says he and his family have been under threat since being forced by Chinese authorities to cancel Hong Kong show last year.

Chinese cartoonist Badiucao in his Melbourne studio on May 28. Photo: AFP