Ahead of the 34th Anniversary of Tiananmen, Chinese Women Protest
"China Must Become a Country Everyone Wants to Visit"
As China tightened security ahead of the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen democracy protests, it was reported that a woman in the capital Beijing held a one-person protest by waving the US flag and distributing leaflets.
According to Hong Kong's Ming Pao and other sources on the 5th, on the 3rd, outside the National Stadium where the Beijing Winter and Summer Olympics were held, a woman waved the Stars and Stripes and a banner while distributing leaflets to people.
At that time, a large crowd had gathered at the National Stadium to watch a concert. The woman, who was outside the venue, suddenly climbed onto the stage and waved the US flag and the banner.
The woman also distributed leaflets containing the message, "China must become a true free democratic country that embraces the world. It should not be a place people want to escape from, but a country everyone wants to come to."
Security personnel and police then climbed onto the stage, subdued the woman by knocking her down, and confiscated her belongings, but videos of the woman quickly spread online.
Notably, the 3rd was the day before the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen democracy protests, a day when China’s security is extremely tight. The media reported that the incident occurred while guards were deployed on major overpasses in Beijing ahead of the Tiananmen 34th anniversary.
On the 3rd, a day before the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen democracy protests, a man was being arrested by the police in Causeway Bay, a bustling area in Hong Kong. Authorities announced that on the same night, four people were arrested for disrupting order or engaging in provocative acts in public places, and another four were taken into custody for disturbing public peace. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Meanwhile, the Tiananmen democracy protests refer to the event on June 4, 1989, when university students and citizens demanding democracy and political reform were brutally suppressed with bloodshed by the Chinese government using tanks and armored vehicles. Since then, China has labeled the Tiananmen protests as an "anti-revolutionary riot" and strictly prohibits all related discussions and commemorative activities.
Unlike China, where mentioning the Tiananmen protests is taboo, Hong Kong held large-scale candlelight vigils every June 4th evening at Victoria Park to commemorate the victims of the Tiananmen protests until 2020.
However, after the implementation of the National Security Law on June 30, 2020, candlelight vigils have disappeared even in Hong Kong, and a "historical erasure" related to the Tiananmen protests is underway.
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