Dozens mark 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown anniversary

RNZ News

2 days ago

Dozens attended a candlelight vigil at the Tiananmen Square memorial boulder outside St Andrews Presbyterian Church on Monday.
Photo:
RNZ / Gaurav Sharma
Non-profit organisation New Zealand Values Alliance, which advocates for political freedom and human rights in China, organised a series of events in Auckland on Monday to commemorate the 36th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing.
The day started with a car parade and a photo exhibition at Auckland's Aotea Square.
The exhibition showcased pictures of the student-led pro-democracy protests that took place in China in the months leading up to 4 June 1989.
A seminar was organised later in the day at the Ellen Melville Centre, with activists sharing stories of the protests.
A candlelight vigil at the Tiananmen Square memorial boulder outside St Andrews Presbyterian Church ended the commemorations, with the gathering holding a minute's silence for lives lost during the crackdown.
"For the past two decades or so, we gather here every year to remember those who sacrificed their lives for freedom and democracy during the 1989 protests," said Michael Zhuang, a spokesperson for the New Zealand Values Alliance.
Michael Zhuang, a spokesperson for New Zealand Values Alliance.
Photo:
RNZ / Gaurav Sharma
Reverend Stuart Vogel of the Auckland Chinese Presbyterian Church said it was important to mark the protests.
"We need to mark the 1989 events every year as a reminder, and as a caution that the authoritarian regime of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) has never really ended. In fact, if you look at what has happened in Hong Kong or in Tibet or with Uyghurs, the crackdown has gotten worse," Vogel said.
"Unfortunately, the methods of suppression adopted by the Chinese Government goes beyond its borders.
"Chinese New Zealanders who have friends and family in China do not talk openly and freely about the Tiananmen Square incident, or against the CCP, fearing it might put their loved ones in China in harm's way."
A participant wearing a mask to protect his identity claimed he was from Hong Kong and was involved in the 2019 pro-democracy protests there.
"I agree the situation has not improved in the last three decades and what happened in Hong Kong in 2019-20 is a testimony to that," he said.
A young student from China who also declined to be named highlighted what he called "CCP's censorship during the Covid-19 pandemic".
"I was arrested twice for speaking up against the Draconian measures adopted by the regime during the pandemic," he said.
Kane Le of New Zealand Values Alliance.
Photo:
RNZ / Gaurav Sharma
Zhuang said events surrounding the 1989 protests remained a sensitive and heavily censored topic in China.
"References of the crackdown have been removed from history books and there is no mention on other platforms, including social media and search engines."
Wenyu Ding, who claimed to be in Tiananmen Square on 4 June 1989, said the total number of lives lost was still a mystery more than three decades later.
"It is important to note the crackdown by the CCP didn't happen only on 4 June," Ding said.
"Rather it was set in motion a few months prior and went on till a few months later," Ding said.
"Activists were arrested, jailed and in some cases executed. So, we still don't know how many people sacrificed their lives in the 1989 pro-democracy protests across China."
Kane Le, a member of New Zealand Values Alliance, said the aim of the gathering in Auckland was simple.
"Our aim is to remember the sacrifices of that generation and awaken the Chinese people who, we believe, have been indoctrinated by the Communist Party regime," Le said.
RNZ has approached the Chinese Embassy for comment on censorship regarding the 1989 protests and claims of interference in New Zealand's Chinese community.