25 years ago, Beijing struck the rebellion on Tiananmen Square. Today, the party pursues anyone who speaks publicly about the massacre. This is not a sign of strength, but of fear.
Every time when the massacre marks on the Tiananmen Square, Bao Tong has to vanish. He is forced to “break”. This time the police took him, no one knows where. The man is 81 years old, a retired and a grandfather.
The passing of Mr. Bao? He was one of the men in the party, who would have preferred further negotiated 25 years ago with the students, than to let them shoot. And he dares to speak publicly about what happened in 1989.
More than 50 women and men as Bao Tong has to be picked up the government in recent weeks, witnesses, lawyers, civil rights activists. Some might be released when the anniversary of Tiananmen is over.
One could also make fun, that running a 1.3 billion people, which soars to a world power, in front of men has as Bao Tong fear. That she intimidates Chinese employees of the Western media. That they the emoticon of burning candle can disappear on the eve of June 4, some remembered as on the short message service Weibo to the dead of Tiananmen.
Tiananmen Square Massacre Anniversary:China demonstrates not strength, but fear
You might find it funny if it were not so pathetic. The China of today is literally 25 times richer than the spring of 1989, could be 25 times more confident. The Chinese have accomplished something in the past few decades, for which they are admired: You have established a modern industrial state from a developing country who has changed the world. To celebrate China’s performance, a comparison with the hollow superpower Russia and its achievements over the past 25 years is enough.
But China’s leaders believe her citizens continue to be less than 25 years ago. It is unthinkable that a group of protesters delay on the Tiananmen Square, the protesters would be arrested immediately. It is inconceivable that senior party cadres would talk with critical citizens – what they did in the spring of 1989 before they put down the uprising.
China’s government is not even the memory of 1989, let alone a debate. This is not a sign of strength, but of fear. It is a sign of how fragile is the foundation on which rests the rule of the party.
On Tuesday, China announced its latest economic data. They are excellent. The companies plan to invest heavily, the service sector is booming. From the fears and nightmares of the rulers of the political risks of China is in such reports never mentioned. The 25th Anniversary of Tiananmen is an occasion to remember.
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