Friday 25 June 2010

Tiananmen Square, Beijing

In 1989 there were several incidents in and around Tiananmen Square where intellectuals and students had gathered to mourn the death of Hu Yaobang, a Chinese official, and former General Secretary, who had taken a stand against corruption in the Chinese government and had also led a pro-democracy movement in China. The death of Hu Yaobang was a catalyst for massive rallies by students, anti government protestors and intellectuals opposed to the communist regime across China but more so in Beijing where many thousands of protestors staged events for about 3 months from April to June. Scuffles broke out between the protestors, who were promoting democratic and economic reforms, and the state police and security. The army was called in to clear the area on the 4th June and that day is now remembered in many parts of the world (but not in China) as the day of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Some reports have up to 3,000 people killed but here in China it is still only known as the June the 4th incident and is swept aside as an insignificant event in Chinese political history.

I had expected that the square would be quite large and imposing and I guess I also expected that there would be some attention to the event and memorial to the victims - I am not sure what I really expected! However what I found was simply a fairly large square with Mao's mausoleum in the central area and a number of monuments to the the martyrs of the communist revolution - including a tall obelisk which is the Monument to the People's Heroes - shown in the collage above. There is no evidence of the massacre or the students who died there and life goes on as if it really never happened.

The square is situated in front of the Great Hall of the People and across the road from the entrance to  the Forbidden City and the Palace Museum. The area is easily accessed through the Tiananmen subway station.

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