Twenty Years On

[Jintor]

Today is the Fourth of the Sixth, 2009, the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacres.

Today, there are still hundreds of thousands of people in China who do not know that these protests ever occured.

They do not know this picture.

(http://jl3051.k12.sd.us/Year/stories/TankMan2.jpg)

They do not know this report.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJBnHMpHGRY&feature=PlayList&p=F60275E30399FA23&index=0&playnext=1

The Chinese government has a complete information crackdown on Chinese soil at the moment. Merely mentioning six-four is forbidden. A generation of children have grown up, never knowing, never seeing, never hearing. I talked to a friend of mine, showed her the Tank Man picture, and she didn't know. She'd never seen it before in her life. She had no idea as to its significance or relevance to the nation where she was born and raised.

I guess I'm here to discuss China, or to be educated about China. Question off the bat: did Tiananmen do anything for 'freedom' in China?

 

[The Monkey]

Well, I think most Chinese are aware of it, but they either think is was a justified crackdown of "counter-revolutionary elements", or they don't give a shit about it (from what I hear, the vast majority of the Chinese are apolitical).

Anyway, we in the so called "free world" need to stop tolerating these kinds of abuses of human right, and need to start standing up for the principles that leads to a freer and more just world. It's disgusting the way we look the other way when China continues to execute, torture and imprison people for the crime of speaking their mind.

 

[nurizeko]

did Tiananmen do anything for 'freedom' in China?

Yeah, it set it back several decades at least.


Nah it did allot, but there is only so much you can do against a regime like that.

We like to think its better then North Korea but its still a power hungry totalitarian state that clamps down on any dissent and violates human rights and freedom of speech as a habit.

But at least for several weeks there was a beautiful flowering of freedom, and for a brief while, there was hope for change.

 

[speedbump]

A 'seed' was planted. It can't be unplanted. Even as China evolves toward a little-more-open, little-more-freedom-blessed geopolitical position, those in-power will try to enforce as much ignorance of the uprising as much as possible. It's like: " Our predecessors were never wrong, and we're never wrong-in completely changing our governing-style. Please believe us. "

I'll bet that Tiananmen Square is still glowingly whispered-about by a wide spectrum of Chinese people, from dinner-tables to universities to the decks of the Shi Lang; the new aircraft-carrier...

 

[jverne]

i'm gonna say something pretty unconnected and inflammatory...but

i was once doing a seminar on the yellow river, and for every flood trough history, casualties were in millions.

i think the government doesn't even recognize their people as human...that's why they have no problem continuing up such a repressive regime. but then again i'm talking out of my ass, so just forget everything i said.

 

[Vegeta897]

I just asked my China-girl if she'd ever heard of it. She was born a month after. She hadn't. Nor seen the tank man photo.
Scary.
I need to marry her fast so I can get her the **** out of there.

 

[Raziaar]

You need to just let her go.

 

[Krynn72]

Veggies going to go over there to save her and when he gets there hes going to grab the first chinese girl he sees at the airport of fly straight back thinking he saved her.



lol racist joke.

 

[nurizeko]

I just asked my China-girl if she'd ever heard of it. She was born a month after. She hadn't. Nor seen the tank man photo.
Scary.
I need to marry her fast so I can get her the **** out of there.

Lol, cute...

 

[unozero]

very sad that this almost forgotten in the mainland of china

 

[nurizeko]

very sad that this almost forgotten in the mainland of china

What really burned my short and curlies was durring the Olympic games, where ethnic Chinese people were protesting against the protests against China's regime.


I mean...what the ****??? :hmph: Do they condone oppression or something?. I'm just glad those ****ers don't run a country. Probably just a misguided notion of needing to be loyal to the old country, like those American plastic paddies, but still made me facepalm.


Thing is it may be hard to gauge properly how well these events are known, its probably likely the majority don't know much or know only the party line, but chances are there are a reasonable amount, especially urban Chinese who do know of these events but never speak of it.

 

[15357]

The Chinese Goverment, throughout millenia, have varied in leadership, but never in their complete utter disregard for human life. Perhaps there is too much of it for them to care much.

The Chinese People, throughout their millenia, have rebeled time to time, but they stood unwavering in their ignorance and apathy.

The thing is, I understand why they don't rebel; it's a mixture of nationalism, misguided patriotism, political apathy, and powerlessness due to poverty and oppression. All the things a goverment could hope for in its people.


I applaud their government for succeeding in the endeavor of total hegemonic control.







I despise their people for letting it happen.

 

[Tyguy]

if i could be anyone in a previous life, tank man would be somewhere on that list

 

[nurizeko]

I applaud their government for succeeding in the endeavor of total hegemonic control.







I despise their people for letting it happen.

Nice quote, numbers!.

I'd add it to my sig if I had the space.

 

[Vegeta897]

Lol, cute...

Isn't it :3

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

No! Blerrrh! Humbug.

 

[Sparta]

The Chinese Goverment, throughout millenia, have varied in leadership, but never in their complete utter disregard for human life. Perhaps there is too much of it for them to care much.

The Chinese People, throughout their millenia, have rebeled time to time, but they stood unwavering in their ignorance and apathy.

The thing is, I understand why they don't rebel; it's a mixture of nationalism, misguided patriotism, political apathy, and powerlessness due to poverty and oppression. All the things a goverment could hope for in its people.

I applaud their government for succeeding in the endeavor of total hegemonic control.

I despise their people for letting it happen.

Oh Numbers, you're the most romantic totalitarian I know.

 

[unozero]

What really burned my short and curlies was durring the Olympic games, where ethnic Chinese people were protesting against the protests against China's regime.


I mean...what the ****??? :hmph: Do they condone oppression or something?. I'm just glad those ****ers don't run a country. Probably just a misguided notion of needing to be loyal to the old country, like those American plastic paddies, but still made me facepalm.


Thing is it may be hard to gauge properly how well these events are known, its probably likely the majority don't know much or know only the party line, but chances are there are a reasonable amount, especially urban Chinese who do know of these events but never speak of it.

a very good family friend of mine married a young chinese women,she's 22 I think and she just moved here last year...and she was telling me how amazed she is that we can shit talk our Presidents without getting in trouble.