Tiananmen Square Massacre – A low point in history
The massacre at Tiananmen Square would inevitably go down as one of the darkest chapters in the history of the civilized world, spurring a series of scholarly works albeit many which failed to directly call out the PRC for its atrocities on its own citizens.
Unknown to many the protests that ultimately led to the Tiananmen Square massacre was similar to the May Fourth Movement (1917-1921) led by a group of intellectuals known as the New Youth. In both cases, the ideas were based on liberalism, democracy, economic and social reforms. In the first case, the Japanese brutally crushed the movement while the other culminated in the infamous Tiananmen Square Massacre.
The May Fourth Movement spurred the growth of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) which saw the rise of leaders like Li Dazhao, Chen Duxiu and Mao (who was a protégé of Li Dazhao). Rampant invasions by the Japanese, militarism, control by the warlords, disunity, and the ultimate defeat of the Japanese and the victory of the CCP in the Chinese civil war ultimately turned the PRC into a communist country.
After the establishment of the PRC, two main events occurred the Great Leap forward (1958-1960) and the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) both of which ended in a disaster. Mao’s personality cult, his demise and the power struggle, later on, propelled Deng Xiaoping to the seat of the power ushering in an era of industrialisation and modernisation.
However, by the 1980s the demands of the people grew even more. Be aware that by that time the communists all over the world were also struggling and even in Eastern Europe and in the former USSR there were popular revolts and frequent crackdowns. Hu Yaobang who was the General Secretary of the CCP was forced to resign in 1987 as the hardliners within the CCP saw him as a ‘bourgeois liberal’. His fate would be similar to that of Peng Dehuai (whom Mao had removed after the Great Leap Forward).
On the 15th April of 1989 Hu Yaobang passed away and students, intellectuals and even workers acclaimed him as a martyr for their cause. As students began to throng the Tiananmen Square the government issued stern warnings to them, similar crowd also gathered in other cities such as Shanghai, Nanjing, Changsa, Chengdu and Xian. The visit of Mikhail Gorbachev, the presence of a lot of foreign journalists also drew attention and the CCP was in a fix regarding the solution. The protesters called for rule of law, end to corruption, free press and media and relaxation of control. Moderates such as Zhao Ziyang (the General Secretary of the CCP) advocated a compromise while hardliners such as Li Peng and Deng Xiaoping called for outright suppression of the demonstrations. In the ensuing debate, the hardliners won and sent in the military to forcibly suppress the movement.
Minor scuffles between the troops and the protestors saw the troops retreating, the protestors visibly happy gathered around the statue of the Goddess of Democracy (which was made of papier mâché). By the night of 3rd June Tanks, Armoured vehicles and heavily armed troops stormed the place firing live ammunition into the crowds and dispersing them forcibly. In retaliation, many protestors also attacked the troops but with little success. Soldiers were authorised to use ‘lethal force’ to liquidate all opposition. Tanks rolled down people and most of those who were killed were workers, small businessmen, academicians, journalists and even ordinary people. By the end of 4th of June, the entire square was cleared of all ‘undesirable elements and bourgeois dissidents and thus Chinese democracy was restored’. The most iconic image of the massacre was the tankman, a lone protester standing in front of a column of Type 59 tanks. Jiang Zemin became the General Secretary of the CCP replacing Zhao Ziyang. Arrests continued and many were imprisoned or simply vanished. Operation Yellowbird aided in the escape of many dissidents from the PRC via Hong Kong.
The CCP downplays the massacre calling it the June 4th incident and prohibits any public mentioning or offering of a memorial service to the victims of the massacre. Although various organisations such as the Tiananmen Mothers Led by Ding Zilin have tried to compel the CCP to honour those fallen, the official position of the CCP has not yet changed. Sanctions and condemnations from Western Nations soon followed and even Mikhail Gorbachev was shocked at the massacre, however as years passed by the massacre has become a distant memory.
The CCP’s moments of panic
The CCP and its leadership are insecure to the core– communists depend on the use of suppressive power, control over information, espionage, branding people as counter-revolutionaries (and other nomenclature such as traitors, anti-state, anti-people, enemy of the people) to carry forward their agenda. Insecurity arises because of 3 key factors that are absent in a communist-ruled state which are (a) the absence of the supremacy of the constitution (b) the absence of any democratic ethos and democratic cultural value (c) the absence of regular free and fair elections. The juxtaposition of the state, the government and the ruling party is another error that communists do which shrouds them in insecurity.
The CCP is scared of future protests– the Tiananmen protests exhibited the will of the people to take on the massive Chinese state and despite being brutally crushed and hushing up the massacre, people all over the world have refused to forget it. This makes the CCP even more scared and insecure and they believe that future protests are on the cards. The example of the collapse of the USSR also provoked the CCP to preserve its power at any cost. No wonder the CCP is scared of Taiwan, Tibet, and Xinjiang, criticisms from other states and dissidents and even of its own party members.
The Chinese History– it is marred with a bloodbath, interventions, insecurity regarding identity, territory and the ever-increasing hunger to turn into an overnight superpower. As a result of which it lacks humane characteristics of forgiveness, compassion and natural growth. Hence suppression of anything ‘undesirable’ is seen as a necessity. In the case of the PRC, the leadership of the CCP is marred with infighting, execution and again there is no natural selection.
Drawing out a comparison with other international events– the Hungarian revolution (1956) Czechoslovakia (1968), the building of the Berlin Wall (1961) and the Berlin Blockade (1948), Poland (1970) all exhibit that communism requires secret police, labour camps (gulags), espionage and crushing of any free will to function.
While in opposition they espouse democracy when in power they throttle it-Communism, unfortunately, is not a natural humane ideology, it discusses weaponizing ideas, a bloody revolution and the suppression of any other thoughts. An ideology that calls for a Dictatorship of the Proletariat cannot be democratic. Therefore the concept of a Liberal Left is itself ironic. The same communists who seize power will right away muster control over every aspect of human lives.
A free spirit, capitalism, entrepreneurship, liberty and democratic ideals are all antithetical to communism–Liberty is a natural and humane idea that allows people the freedom to choose (their profession, religion, ideology and other things), communism seeks to control basic human behaviour and where the state( read the communist party) is supreme while the individual is squeezed into a small space.
Creating Hyper-Narratives– Communism depends on the creation of hyper-narratives in which one is portrayed as evil and the other good, the dichotomy created suits their purpose well. Additionally, they also look forward to ‘disinfecting history’ where only one side is reported. Hence public memory of the massacre is limited despite abundant documentation. They enforce public amnesia of such massacres.
Sordid but not done yet
Indeed, as the world’s eyes are on the PRC for its unrestricted biological warfare and more questions are being raised, the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre finds a special mention. For long the world has seen the CCP as any other governing agency, ignoring its inhuman and unnatural existence. The fact that the CCP botched up a pathogenic experiment leading to such a catastrophe should enable the world to reflect on their association with the CCP. For democracies and a communist dictatorship masquerading as a benign governing agency cannot cooperate without accountability from Beijing.
In this context the massacre should remind the rest of the world of the dangers posed by a rogue regime that does not hesitate in sacrificing human lives for ‘stability’, which brings us to the infamous statement made by Deng Xiaoping who is again remembered for his modernizing views on the Chinese Republic that “two hundred lives were a small price to pay for stability”, thus reeking of a Stalinist approach.
