![]() In this 1989 photo, a man stands alone to block a line of tanks heading east on Beijing's Cangan Blvd. The massacre made headlines around the world - as did iconic images such as “Tank Man” defying the troops on the square. Hundreds of people were killed on June 4, 1989, in Tiananmen Square. China’s internet censorship typically ramps up in the weeks leading to the event’s anniversary. That means Microsoft is forced to censor search results for Chinese users, according to Chinese law - particularly images and information about the Tiananmen Square protests and the killings that ensued. (MSFT) spokesman said they were taken offline by mistake, attributing the removal to “human error.” The images reappeared around the world - outside of China - on Saturday.īing, unlike its major competitors including Google (MSFT)’s search engine, Friday - the 32nd anniversary of the event. The photos were taken down globally from Bing, Microsoft "I can understand why the Chinese government is trying to build a positive image of China.Microsoft blocked images and videos around the world of “Tank Man,” the unidentified protester during China’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. "Western media is maybe trying to criticise China, trying to dig out something bad the government did," Lily said. Some of the students who spoke to the ABC understood why the government wanted to forget what happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989. The political environment here is getting tighter and tighter," she said. It's not good for us and our prospects to discuss it. Everyone's different and I don't talk about this with them very much," he said.Īnother student studying at Renmin University was nervous when asked about the anniversary. "I don't know what my friends and fellow students know about 1989. The student said he does not use VPN software to get around Chinese censorship, because it is illegal. ![]() But Communist Party former general secretary Jiang Zemin said he was never found.Some speculate he may have been a 19-year-old student who was later executed.The identify and fate of the man who blocked the Chinese tanks is unknown.It was many years ago," said a 22-year-old law student in Beijing. Whatever students in Beijing know about the historic events of 1989, they mostly know to steer clear of discussing it, particularly with Western journalists. "Big yellow duck" was added to the blacklist when the government came across the meme in 2013. June 4 is the busiest day of the year for online censors, who block search terms including "today", "anniversary", "remember", "tank man" and "candlelight". This image went viral in China on social media platform Weibo on the 24th anniversary of Tiananmen. The Chinese internet has been scrubbed of all but the official accounts. Textbooks do not mention the violence that left hundreds, maybe thousands, of students dead near Tiananmen Square. "What they wanted for their country is different to what I want for my country." How China scrubbed 'tank man' from the internet Maybe they were trying to do something, but it then morphed into something else," he said. "Those students were very young, very easy to be manipulated. ![]() "If you are a young person here who is interested in what happened, you can find ways to read about it online," he said.īut the student said he believes the government's actions in 1989 were "correct". The third, a 20-year-old student, was comparatively well-informed. His 19-year-old classmate claimed he did not know but appeared nervous when asked. One of them said he genuinely had no idea about it. Three accounting students from China's University of Mining and Technology had very different reactions when asked about the 30th anniversary by the ABC. June 5: An unidentified man blocks a convoy of tanks before being pulled away by onlookers.June 4: Chinese troops retake Tiananmen Square, firing on on civilians and students.May 19: An estimated 1.2 million people attend a rally in Tiananmen Square.April 18: Thousands of students march to Tiananmen Square, calling for democratic reforms. ![]() April 15: Former Communist Party chief Hu Yaobang, a leading reformist, dies aged 73."I've never heard of that, was it some sort of student movement?" asked a 19-year-old accounting student, who said she doesn't use VPN software to access censored websites like Google.Įven among friends, there are big differences. The history of the Tiananmen protests is not taught in Chinese schools. ![]()
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