For those who were alive in 1989 we all know what happened on this day. But it seems like most of the media organizations with the exception of organizations in Taiwan have not mentioned what happened on that day. I know the leaders in Beijing would like the world to not mention it and just forget what happened. Did not see anything mentioned on news stations in S Korea, Japan or even in Singapore. Anyway another year passes.

You forgot to mention what happened on June 4th 1989 too.😋

Tiananmen square.

39 minutes ago, johng said:

You forgot to mention what happened on June 4th 1989 too.😋

Actually I was not sure that the "T" word was allowed on the forum?

Ohh ok Tienanam square well I should have realised and remembered because my trip to China was cancelled because of that event. 🇨🇳

1 hour ago, sqwakvfr said:

For those who were alive in 1989 we all know what happened on this day. But it seems like most of the media organizations with the exception of organizations in Taiwan have not mentioned what happened on that day. I know the leaders in Beijing would like the world to not mention it and just forget what happened. Did not see anything mentioned on news stations in S Korea, Japan or even in Singapore. Anyway another year passes.

1 hour ago, johng said:

You forgot to mention what happened on June 4th 1989 too.😋

I was actually there that day (worked in China at the time). Cycled down to just before the square. Took some photos and actually sold them to the Bangkok Post.

Actually the worst violence was during the next 2-3 days mainly on Fuxing Ave with the citizens capturing tanks and military vehicles. My hotel was in the middle. Couldn't get to airport for nearly a week until everything calmed down. Lots of other stories about that time, but not for here.

No worries every culture goes through some bloody grievance one time or another.

The key is to find a way to not murder your countrymen by the millions to achieve control.

2 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

For those who were alive in 1989 we all know what happened on this day. But it seems like most of the media organizations with the exception of organizations in Taiwan have not mentioned what happened on that day. I know the leaders in Beijing would like the world to not mention it and just forget what happened. Did not see anything mentioned on news stations in S Korea, Japan or even in Singapore. Anyway another year passes.

Not really.

This one is just from yesterday:

BBC Audio | Witness History | The protests that sparked t...

How mass student demonstrations in May 1989 led to bloodshed in Beijing

Other examples:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/04/hong-kong-artist-tiananmen-square-massacre-tribute-intercepted-by-police

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/06/04/despite-censorship-young-chinese-are-learning-truth-about-tiananmen-square/

https://apnews.com/article/china-tiananmen-anniversary-june-4-crackdown-169cc977ecd28916ee7fb06d7489f86b

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20260605_03/

Etc..

Edited June 5Jun 5 by candide

Didn't care then, don't care now. Nothing to remember, as I'm not Chinese.

I don't care much about USA history, especially since I left. It was nice for a while, but have no real desire to return.

Only history I care about, is the last 25 yrs. History is a bit irrelevant to living my life. Especially since nobody seems to learn from it.

3 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

But it seems like most of the media organizations with the exception of organizations in Taiwan have not mentioned what happened on that day.

Standard of living for the average Chinese person has gone up significantly since the 1980s.

So no need to bring it up, in my opinion.

Maybe had the revolt succeeded, the people in power now would be a lot worse.

Everyone romanticizes these things way too much.

I guess we should mark July 28th on our calendars for the US equivalent. Or you just move on. The US now isn't the US in 1932. China now isn't China from 1989. Well, unless you are a flag waving US nationalist who insists that "China bad; America good."


July 28, 1932 (the main military action and violent eviction occurred that day).

This refers to the Bonus Army (or Bonus Expeditionary Force) incident during the Great Depression. Around 17,000–43,000 World War I veterans, their families, and supporters (many unemployed and desperate) marched on Washington, D.C., in spring/summer 1932. They demanded early cash payment of service bonuses promised by Congress in 1924 (certificates redeemable only in 1945). en.wikipedia.org

7 minutes ago, connda said:

I guess we should mark July 28th on our calendars for the US equivalent. Or you just move on. The US now isn't the US in 1932. China now isn't China from 1989. Well, unless you are a flag waving US nationalist who insists that "China bad; America good."


July 28, 1932 (the main military action and violent eviction occurred that day).

This refers to the Bonus Army (or Bonus Expeditionary Force) incident during the Great Depression. Around 17,000–43,000 World War I veterans, their families, and supporters (many unemployed and desperate) marched on Washington, D.C., in spring/summer 1932. They demanded early cash payment of service bonuses promised by Congress in 1924 (certificates redeemable only in 1945). en.wikipedia.org

Absolutely not an American Flag waver. Many examples of terrible events in America in the past 250 years. Another example is during the depression the LAPD had officers at the CA/AZ border to screen people who could or not enter the state. This is not well known but did occur. Also, ask anyone who knows about the history of Native People and the US Government and the horrors are too many to mention. American history is ugly and is known throughout world. Just ask the Japanese Americans who were locked up from 1942 to 1945 in violation of their constitutional rights. But Ronald Reagan made up for it by giving them $20,000 as reparations. $20,000 for losing they had built.

I was in China/Beijing just before and just after but this is what I remember the most as I know that location.

I remember it well.

At the time 3 of my friends were in Beijing doing research as part of their PhD studies. They were able to get flights back to Australia by mid June 1989. Later in the month my university held a public seminar on the massacre during which the 3 spoke of their experiences at the time and what they had observed. Unfortunately, the global media coverage of events did not address the true extent and horror of the massacre. Not unexpectedly, the pro China academics attempted to justify the massacre.

The fact that there has been so little media coverage of the anniversary of the massacre in recent years maybe seen as an indication of China's growing global influence (though some may disagree).

Vaguely recall hearing about it..... meh.

HMust have been tough growing up in

.......Nutbush !

2 hours ago, JimHuaHin said:

I remember it well.

At the time 3 of my friends were in Beijing doing research as part of their PhD studies. They were able to get flights back to Australia by mid June 1989. Later in the month my university held a public seminar on the massacre during which the 3 spoke of their experiences at the time and what they had observed. Unfortunately, the global media coverage of events did not address the true extent and horror of the massacre. Not unexpectedly, the pro China academics attempted to justify the massacre.

The fact that there has been so little media coverage of the anniversary of the massacre in recent years maybe seen as an indication of China's growing global influence (though some may disagree).

That is what I was thinking. The major US media do not care much about Asia but I thought the news organizations in S. Korea, Japan or even Singapore would at least devote a few minutes to it.

22 hours ago, johng said:

You forgot to mention what happened on June 4th 1989 too.😋

i'm not surprised.

The world has already forgot about China and what they gave to the world,

in 2019, COVID 19.

19 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Didn't care then, don't care now. Especially since nobody seems to learn from it.

True, except the personal interest of reading history and see the same pattern recycling and nothing changed for thousandths of years.

8 minutes ago, rocketboy2 said:

i'm not surprised.

The world has already forgot about China and what they gave to the world,

in 2019, COVID 19.

Oh come on, and here I thought it was a complot with multiple globalists including Fauci on the team.

29 minutes ago, Hummin said:

Oh come on, and here I thought it was a complot with multiple globalists including Fauci on the team.

Fauci and Co were barred from doing the 'research' at Chappel Hill North Carolina so exported it to Wuhan China where a bat and a pangolin mated in the wet market and the whole world went bats***e crazy !! 😋

Many of us have not forgotten the disastrous reaction worldwide governments took in lockstep

to 'keep us safe'

56 minutes ago, rocketboy2 said:

i'm not surprised.

The world has already forgot about China and what they gave to the world,

in 2019, COVID 19.

Have you forgotten that in 1918, the US gave the world the Spanish Flu?

11 minutes ago, LosLobo said:

Have you forgotten that in 1918, the US gave the world the Spanish Flu?

How interesting, when we are talking about China.

39 minutes ago, rocketboy2 said:

How interesting, when we are talking about China.

Whoosh. That was a reductio ad absurdum. I was mocking your total inability to stick to the topic Tiananmen Square without pivoting to irrelevance

2 minutes ago, LosLobo said:

Whoosh. That was a reductio ad absurdum. I was mocking your total inability to stick to the topic Tiananmen Square without pivoting to irrelevance

Whoosh. piss off.

3 minutes ago, rocketboy2 said:

Whoosh. piss off.

I can only take that as an admission that you lost the argument.

My late father was an export manager for a medical supplies company, and his "patch" covered the not inconsiderable area of the Persian Gulf, Indian Subcontinent and China. As he was ex-RAMC, he had a particular rapport with lab managers in military institutions, even where there was a need for official translation. No internet then, everything was faxes and old fashioned legwork.

His usual route into China then was to fly into Kai Tak, then take a flight into China (though I think, for a change, he once booked himself on a train). He flew into Hong Kong June 4, to find flights to China were blocked. At that time, there was a lot of confusion about what had gone on, so he set up in a hotel, to try and get some work done, and wait it out. He recalled businessmen coming into HK out of China with rolls of film stuffed down their socks, underwear. Journalists had passed them these, so they could get them out of China (again, no Internet then).

I think in the end that trip was a but and he came home. But he eventually got back out there, and was looking forward to seeing the Chinese blokes he had previously befriended at various PLA hospitals. They were all gone, or at least, they were no longer allowed to meet he. He called the new lot party functionaries, he didn't understand what exactly their jobs were. I don't think he did many more trips after that, as he got out of sales and back into the lab.

Following the Tiananmen Square massacre, Jiang Zemin was appointed to lead China. I always found this exchange between Hong Kong reporters and Zemin to be curious, and very "Chinese";

He kind of proves Mike Wallace's point about Chinese paternalistic dictatorship. And the Mike Wallace interview that he enjoyed, starting with the section on the events of 1989: