Tiananmen Mothers face blackout as China tries to silence memory of June 4 crackdown

On the 36th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre, families of victims held an annual memorial at a Beijing cemetery even as authorities left them incommunicado amid a tightening grip by China on commemorations of the 1989 crackdown against pro-democracy protesters.

For the first time, authorities banned the members of the Tiananmen Mothers group from carrying mobile phones and cameras as they gathered at the Wan’an cemetery, severing their contact with the outside world. But the elderly mothers still laid flowers for their loved ones who were killed in the June 4, 1989, crackdown, Radio Free Asia learned.

“This year, the authorities are more sensitive to the June 4 incident than ever before,” said Li, a former reporter at the state-run People’s Daily who witnessed the 1989 incident. Like other sources in this article, he requested anonymity for safety reasons.

“The Tiananmen Mothers’ memorial service is the most basic expression of humanity, but it is regarded as a political act,” Li added.

Another source confirmed to RFA that the memorial proceeded under heavy surveillance on Wednesday. A group of family members visit the cemetery every year, despite China’s ban on public commemoration of June 4.

“Several elderly mothers walked into the cemetery silently, holding white chrysanthemums in their hands, and laid flowers in front of their relatives’ graves,” said the source, who observed the scene at the cemetery.

“There were plainclothes officers patrolling the gate and the surrounding area, and parking was prohibited on the roadside,” the source said.

On the evening of June 3, National Security Bureau agents warned participants against bringing phones or cameras, demanding “civilized mourning,” the source added.

RFA could not reach Tiananmen Mothers representatives on Wednesday, and attempts to contact their relatives, human rights lawyers, and scholars who follow the group also yielded no response. Nor could RFA reach the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau office to seek comment.

On May 31, the Tiananmen Mothers issued an open letter signed by 108 relatives of victims. In it, they reiterated their long-held demands from the ruling communist party: investigate the incident without bias, publicize records of the incident with names of the victims and compensate their families, and prosecute those responsible.

“For 36 years, we have repeatedly sought dialogue with authorities, but we have only been monitored and suppressed,” 88-year-old Zhang Xianling, one of the founding members of the group, said in a recent video, her voice breaking with emotion as she spoke.

Zhang’s son Wang Nan was shot dead at the intersection of Beijing’s Nanchang Street and Chang’an Avenue in the early hours of June 4, 1989. He was 19 at the time.

Estimates of the death toll from the Tiananmen massacre have ranged from a few hundred to several thousands. In 2009, the Tiananmen Mothers published a detailed map showing where some of the victims died. The Chinese government, however, has never made public the actual number of those who died or were injured.

Widespread digital censorship

In the days leading up to and on the June 4 anniversary, Chinese authorities imposed strict digital censorship measures.

In early June, users of Tencent’s mobile game “Golden Spatula Wars” found their WeChat profile pictures were uniformly changed to green penguins, with the ability to modify avatars disabled.

“Penguins were originally a symbol of entertainment, but now they have become a mask of censorship,” wrote one user on X.

On June 4, all WeChat users, as well as users of other Tencent platforms, found they couldn’t modify their profile pictures. Tencent attributed the restrictions to “purifying the online environment during the college entrance examination period,” but netizens questioned whether this represented another form of political censorship.

Every year around the anniversary, Chinese social media platforms block keywords such as “square,” “tank,” and “8964.” “June 4” is also a banned online search term, while any social media posts related to the incident are immediately deleted, with accounts that post such content facing suspension.

Human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang was ordered by Chinese police on Wednesday to delete his commemorative post on X. Meanwhile, the embassies of Germany, Britain, Canada and other countries in China posted commemorative messages on Weibo, triggering a large number of comment deletions.

The British Embassy uploaded photos and cartoon videos of “Tank Man” – the iconic image of a lone protester facing down tanks at Tiananmen Square.

Restrictions in Hong Kong

Tight security was imposed at Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay and Victoria Park. These used to be sites of annual candlelight vigils and memorials but the gatherings have stopped since Beijing tightened its grip over the once semi-autonomous territory.

Armored vehicles and a large number of security personnel were deployed to the two sites on Wednesday morning, two sources said.

By noon, several people who were suspected to be marking the anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre were taken away, including an elderly woman and two middle school girls holding white flowers, sources said. Another man who was seated silently at Victoria Park with his eyes shut and holding a white electronic candle was also taken away by police officers, they added.

Hong Kong police also inspected several “yellow economic circle” themed businesses. The color yellow has been associated with the democratic cause since the 2014 umbrella mass protest movement in the city. Pro-government and pro-police views are described as “blue.”

The consulates of several countries in Hong Kong, including Britain and Canada, posted photos of a candlelight and messages to not forget the June 4 incident.

The U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong also posted U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s message marking the anniversary.

“Today we commemorate the bravery of the Chinese people who were killed as they tried to exercise their fundamental freedoms, as well as those who continue to suffer persecution as they seek accountability and justice for the events of June 4, 1989,” Rubio said.

“The CCP actively tries to censor the facts, but the world will never forget,” Rubio said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.

Commemorations in Taiwan

Like Rubio, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, in posts on X and Facebook, praised the courage of the Chinese students who participated in the 1989 pro-democracy protests, saying their “courage and sense of responsibility have left a profound testimony to humanity’s pursuit of ideals.” He added that the June 4 incident must never be forgotten.

“Authoritarian regimes erase history; democracies have a duty to preserve it,” Lai said.

“Today, we remember those who marched for freedom in Tiananmen Square. Taiwan stands firm with like-minded partners on defending democracy and human rights to ensure a free society for future generations,” he wrote on X.

In Taiwan, around 3,000 people gathered outside Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei on Wednesday evening to mourn the victims of the Tiananmen massacre.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, which oversees cross-strait issues, condemned bomb threats that it and other government departments had received to scare off participants at the June 4 commemoration event.

Edited by Tenzin Pema and Mat Pennington.