This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-48489002
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Tiananmen Square: China minister defends 1989 crackdown | Tiananmen Square: China minister defends 1989 crackdown |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| China has defended the crackdown on the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in a rare public acknowledgement of events. | China has defended the crackdown on the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in a rare public acknowledgement of events. |
| Defence Minister Wei Fenghe told a regional forum that stopping the "turbulence" was the "correct" policy. | |
| In spring 1989, students and workers occupied Beijing's Tiananmen Square in a massive pro-democracy protest. Many were killed in a brutal clampdown by the communist authorities. | In spring 1989, students and workers occupied Beijing's Tiananmen Square in a massive pro-democracy protest. Many were killed in a brutal clampdown by the communist authorities. |
| Reporting on the events is heavily censored in China. | Reporting on the events is heavily censored in China. |
| Tuesday marks 30 years since six weeks of demonstrations ended with the Beijing massacre of 3-4 June. | Tuesday marks 30 years since six weeks of demonstrations ended with the Beijing massacre of 3-4 June. |
| "That incident was a political turbulence and the central government took measures to stop the turbulence which is a correct policy," General Wei Fenghe told a security forum in Singapore, responding to a question from the audience. | |
| "The 30 years have proven that China has undergone major changes," he said, adding that because of the government's action at that time "China has enjoyed stability and development". | "The 30 years have proven that China has undergone major changes," he said, adding that because of the government's action at that time "China has enjoyed stability and development". |
| The Chinese government has never said how many protesters were killed, although estimates range from the hundreds to thousands. | The Chinese government has never said how many protesters were killed, although estimates range from the hundreds to thousands. |
| 'Acts of forgettance' | |
| There are no official acts of remembrance for the events of 1989 in Beijing. But that statement, although factually correct, is far too neutral. | |
| In truth, what happened in Tiananmen Square is marked faithfully each year by a massive, national act of what might more properly be called "forgettance". | |
| In the weeks leading up to 4 June, the world's biggest censorship machine goes into overdrive as a huge dragnet of automated algorithms and tens of thousands of human expurgators cleanse the internet of any reference, however oblique. | |
| Those deemed to have been too provocative in their attempts to evade the controls can be jailed - with sentences of up to three and a half years recently handed down to a group of men who had tried to commemorate the anniversary with a product label. | |
| Read more from John |