UK Edition
On the ground in Tiananmen Square 30 years after the massacre that crushed democracy protests
Peals of laughter from middle school students in orange hats and navy tracksuits rang out as tourists jostled under the hot sun around Tiananmen Square on Tuesday.
For most – aside from more security checks – it was just another day in the capital city.
But a heavy police presence, armoured vans and buses full of military personnel drawn to the square hinted that this was no ordinary day.
For the few who remember, Tuesday marked the 30th anniversary of the bloody suppression of peaceful pro-democracy protesters in Beijing. After seven weeks of demonstrations, soldiers opened fire on students and workers, killing hundreds – possibly thousands – on June 4, 1989.
Even after three decades, the massacre remains one of the most sensitive topics in China and is subject to extensive efforts by the ruling Communist Party to erase it from history – a campaign that accelerates around the anniversary each year.
Beijing may have been effectively on lockdown in many respects on Tuesday, but visitors of all ages said they knew nothing of the June 4 incident. One woman, from Wuhan, was excited to visit the capital city for the first time.
The Telegraph, however, was stopped by uniformed and plainclothes police at four different locations, and barred entry to Tiananmen Square. On one occasion two uniformed policemen grabbed a Telegraph reporter’s backpack and arm, pulling her backwards, and filming her with a body camera.
“Today is a special day,” one of them said when asked about the heightened security measures. Another informed the Telegraph that she was being denied entry given her “sensitive status” as a foreign journalist.
One policeman, 39, assigned as a minder to The Telegraph, said he’d never seen the iconic Tank Man photo – a lone man blocking a column of military tanks – when shown the image.
Multiple governments including the UK, US and European Union have called on China to improve freedoms in statements commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen bloodshed.
“People in China are still unable to exercise their right to protest peacefully in China,” said Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. “We continue to urge the Chinese government to respect citizens’ freedom of association, assembly, expression, and other fundamental rights and freedoms, as enshrined in China’s constitution and in international law.”
Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, denounced Beijing's human rights record, saying the Communist Party “tolerates no dissent and abuses human rights whenever it serves its interests.” In the three decades since the violent suppression of protests, “the US hoped that China’s integration into the international system would lead to a more open, tolerate society. Those hopes have been dashed.”
China however denounced the remarks: “These lunatic ravings and babbling nonsense will only end up in the trash can of history,” said Geng Shuang, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman.
US diplomats were also banned by Chinese police from entering Tiananmen Square on Tuesday.
China has become increasingly authoritarian under Xi Jinping, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, who has overseen a massive crackdown on activists, rights lawyers, students, and Muslim ethnic minorities.
China's censors already routinely scrub mentions of Tiananmen online in photos, posts, memes and even hashtags. Authorities rarely acknowledge the incident; on Sunday however the Chinese defence minister described it as "political turbulence" and praised Beijing's response as the "correct policy" in response to questions posed by the Telegraph at a security summit in Singapore.
A state media editorial on Tuesday described it as "a faded historical event" – the only mention of the Tiananmen crackdown – as other articles highlighted a rubbish sorting race and an upcoming boat race.
For Bao Pu, a Tiananmen protester, June 4 will always be a painful reminder of what the ruling Communist Party is capable of – opening fire on its own people to maintain power.
“Everybody got the message – if you try to express yourself in public, the Party will shoot you. Somehow, the new generation also got the message. Do they dare go onto the streets like the students in 1989? No,” said Mr Bao, 52, founder of New Century Press, which specialises in books about Party politics – material that’s banned in China.
They’re so sensitive that Mr Bao – who lives in Hong Kong, which enjoys relatively more freedom – had to publish his latest in secret. The new tranche of documents, out in time for the 30th anniversary, detail the elite power struggle after the Tiananmen massacre, and show how Chinese leaders have long felt maligned ‘foreign’ forces, a view Beijing still holds as it goes head-to-head with the US.
Remembering what happened in 1989 is personal for Mr Bao, whose father was a top aide to Zhao Ziyang, an elite official purged in the aftermath for his ‘soft’ handling of the demonstrations who lived the rest of his life under house arrest.
Reflecting on the current political climate, he said: “Any public protest is viewed with hostile attitude by the central and local governments. People are suffering the consequences of the 1989 decision by the Party.”