It has been 36 years since the Tiananmen Square massacre shook China and the world. Today, most people in China do not remember or even know about what happened there in 1989. That is not by accident. It is because the Chinese government wants it that way.
What Happened in 1989
The protests that led to the massacre began in April 1989. They started as a tribute to Hu Yaobang, a popular Communist Party leader who had pushed for reforms. After Hu’s death, thousands of university students gathered in Tiananmen Square to honor him. Their tribute soon turned into calls for greater freedom and political change. Students demanded freedom of the press, anti-corruption measures, and more democracy. Workers and citizens joined them, making it one of the largest movements in China’s modern history. As one report described it, “more than a million people filled Tiananmen Square, their hunger strikes, banners, and speeches illuminating a fragile hope that the system might bend.”
The protesters hoped the government would listen. But instead of dialogue, the government chose force. On the night of June 3, soldiers and tanks moved in. They fired live ammunition at unarmed people, including those trying to block their path to the square. In the end, hundreds and possibly thousands of people were killed. The Chinese government says only 319 died, but witnesses and researchers believe the true number is much higher.
A woman from Shanxi Province told reporters, “I vaguely remember hearing about the incident, but I do not know the details.” This shows how deeply the event has been erased from public memory.
The protesters were inspired by the idea that they could change their country for the better. They believed in what they were doing. One of the demands was for the government to talk with them instead of ignoring them. But the government saw their demands as a threat.
The Chinese Government’s Panic and Reaction
The Chinese government declared martial law and sent in the army. Tanks rolled through the streets of Beijing. Soldiers fired at crowds of students and citizens. As one account explained, “On the night of June 3-4, soldiers forced their way through crowds that tried to block them from reaching the square.”
In the days after the massacre, the government called it a “political turmoil” and said the crackdown was the right decision. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian recently said, “On the political turmoil that happened in the late 1980s, the Chinese government has already reached a clear conclusion.” He also said that China will continue on its path of “socialism with Chinese characteristics.”
The Tiananmen Mothers, a group of relatives of the victims, keep calling for an investigation. In their latest online appeal, they demanded “an independent investigation into what happened on June 4, 1989, including a list of all who died.” They also called for compensation and a legal case against those responsible.
How the Government is Trying to Make it Forgotten
Since the massacre, the Chinese Communist Party has worked hard to erase it from history. The government bans any talk about Tiananmen Square. It scrubs references from the internet and censors social media. Even the number “64” is not allowed online because it refers to June 4.
Police patrol Tiananmen Square and check people’s IDs to stop them from holding any memorial events. People who try to remember publicly risk arrest. In Hong Kong, where there used to be large candlelight vigils every year, the government has stopped those too. The group that organized the vigils was forced to disband after a harsh national security law was passed in 2020. Many of its leaders have been jailed.
Chow Hang-tung, a jailed vigil organizer, said she would begin a 36-hour hunger strike “to commemorate this day and reaffirm our commitment.” She said, “We all have our own ways to remember the day.”
The government has even tried to stop people from selling white candles. In Hong Kong, a shop owner was questioned by customs officers for posting a photo of small white candles on Instagram with the caption “June, we don’t forget.”
How the Rest of the World is Reacting
Despite China’s efforts to erase the memory, people around the world still remember. In Taiwan, President Lai Ching-te said on the anniversary that “democratic societies choose to preserve the truth and refuse to forget those who have contributed to the ideals of human rights and the dreams they embrace.”
The British and Canadian consulates in Hong Kong displayed candles to honor the victims. The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said, “The CCP actively tries to censor the facts, but the world will never forget.”
Yet China’s success in erasing the massacre inside its own borders has taught other authoritarian governments a dangerous lesson. They have seen that China suffered no real consequences for killing its own people. In Russia, Iran, and other countries, leaders now use similar tactics to silence their critics. They arrest protesters, control the media, and spread fear.
The Power of Memory and Resistance
While the Chinese government has silenced many inside the country, it has not erased the memory of Tiananmen Square everywhere. Young people in Taiwan, in Vancouver, and in Berlin light candles and post images online. Artists and activists use new technologies to save what China tries to destroy. Even in China, some students learn about the massacre in secret.
One artist, Gao Zhen, created a painting called “Memory 1989” to honor the victims. Now he sits in a prison cell in Beijing, accused of “slandering China’s heroes and martyrs.” His friend, Sanmu Chan, was detained for simply writing “8964” in the air to mourn the dead.
As one article put it, “The lesson from Tiananmen has not been caution, it is coordination.” Authoritarian governments see how China faced no punishment and feel free to do the same.
But the protesters of 1989 had a message that still matters: the demand for dignity, truth, and a political voice. Even as the Chinese government tries to erase that message, people around the world keep it alive. They show that while governments can control the streets, they cannot completely erase the memories of those who stood in Tiananmen Square.
