35 years after the events on Tiananmen Square: Is there no opportunity to mourn?

In order to maintain and consolidate the one-party dictatorship, even the few remaining opportunities for mourning are being eliminated. There is concern about the growing power of the Chinese Communist Party, which no longer tolerates dissent.

June 4 marked the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square incident, when the Communist Party leadership suppressed the democracy movement of students and others, causing numerous casualties. The Communist Party called the incident a “counter-revolutionary uprising” and justified its violent suppression.

The Chinese government puts the death toll in this incident at 319, but the actual number is likely to be much higher.

It is regrettable that the Communist Party has not responded in any way to the demands of the victims’ families and others for clarification of the truth or compensation. By carefully controlling information, it has nipped in the bud any movement that would have led to a reassessment of the incident.

Even if you try to find out more about the incident in China, you can’t even search for it online. More and more young people are unaware of the incident itself. As the grieving families of the victims and others grow older, it is inevitable that the incident will be forgotten more and more in China.

What is worrying is that the situation regarding human rights and freedom of expression has deteriorated significantly under the government of Chinese President Xi Jinping, which came to power in 2012.

The Xi government has made national security its top priority and has used cutting-edge technology to create a system of surveillance and control over the population. Protests were common in China in the past, but now information about protests is collected by the authorities in advance, and it is difficult for people to express their discontent.

The government may be aware that if criticism of the party and government is not countered, it could lead to the collapse of one-party rule.

Even in Hong Kong, where memorial gatherings were previously permitted, memorial activities have been de facto banned since 2020, when the national security law came into force to crack down on anti-government activities.

In addition to this law, the National Security Protection Ordinance came into force in March this year. Former leaders of pro-democracy groups who had organized memorial services together with others were reportedly arrested for their activities, including posting “inflammatory” messages about the incident on social media.

People are leaving China because they hate the Communist Party’s tightened control. If the iron rule continues, the sense of stagnation in society and the economy will grow, and that could hinder China’s long-term development.

After the incident, Japan announced the resumption of its economic aid even before other Western countries imposed their sanctions on China. Japan hoped that China’s development would lead to the democratization of the country, but it must be said that Japan’s prospects ultimately do not match reality.

As China strengthens its control at home, it simultaneously expands its military capabilities and seeks to change the status quo in the East China Sea, the South China Sea, and elsewhere. Japan must work with the United States and Europe and persistently push China to comply with international norms.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 5, 2024)