Why do we remember the Tiananmen Square massacre?

Originally published at Alhurra

On a June night in 1989, gunfire echoed through the heart of Beijing, as the cries of young protesters opposing repression were drowned out by the rumble of tank treads.

Since that night, China has buried the memory of Tiananmen behind a wall of silence. But “the world will not forget,” said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday, marking the 36th anniversary of the massacre.

“Many Chinese sacrificed their freedom—and even their lives—in pursuit of democracy, and thousands of human rights defenders still suffer in Chinese prisons,” said Teng Biao, a human rights scholar at Hunter College in the United States.

“Those people represented a different China than the one represented by Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party,” he added in an interview with Alhurra.

The systematic repression of the memory of Tiananmen by Chinese authorities goes beyond historical revisionism—it is a strategy to control the collective memory of the Chinese people.

Beijing permits no mention of Tiananmen on social media, continually scrubs internet search results, and bans media from publishing any account that deviates from its official narrative.

Spring 1989

The 1989 protests grew out of deepening social and economic turmoil and accelerated after the death of Hu Yaobang, a reformist leader, on April 15. University students transformed the mourning into a mass movement calling for political reforms.

Although Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms had spurred growth in the 1980s, they also caused problems: income inequality, corruption, and cronyism within the ruling party.

Growing anxiety over inflation and the future of graduates created fertile ground for protest.

Initial calls to mourn turned into demands for freedom of expression, press, and assembly, and the lifting of restrictions on demonstrations.

Protesters also called for financial transparency among officials and the establishment of a democratic system ensuring accountability and protection of individual rights.

The peaceful movement quickly spread beyond university campuses to include workers and ordinary citizens in Beijing and other cities.

Teng Biao noted: “Two things happened in China in 1989: a peaceful democratic movement and a bloody massacre. Both events have deeply shaped Chinese politics and global geopolitics for more than three decades.”

“It is the duty of the Chinese people,” he added, “and all those who support freedom and human rights worldwide, to remember the Tiananmen Massacre and continue the resistance.”

The Night of Blood

As protests escalated, Chinese leadership split. While some, like Party Secretary Zhao Ziyang, called for de-escalation, Deng Xiaoping prevailed, labeling the movement a “riot” and paving the way for brutal repression.

On May 20, martial law was declared in Beijing. On the night of June 3–4, the crackdown peaked: military units, tanks, and armored vehicles poured into the capital’s center and opened fire on student and worker protesters around Tiananmen Square and nearby streets.

Casualty estimates vary due to official censorship. The government reported “over 200 dead, including 36 university students,” and “over 3,000 injured,” while Western sources and human rights groups cite “hundreds or thousands killed” and “thousands injured.”

After the massacre, Chinese authorities launched a sweeping crackdown, arresting thousands of protesters, many of whom were tried unfairly on charges of “counterrevolutionary activity.”

The Wall of Silence

For 36 years, the Chinese government has maintained an unbreakable wall of silence around the Tiananmen Massacre, enforcing systematic censorship to “erase the event from memory.”

It has ordered the deletion of any digital content referencing the massacre. Chinese search engines tightly filter any image, mention, or detail about the event.

Media outlets are forbidden from publishing any account that contradicts the official version.

Those who dare challenge authorities face arrest on charges like “inciting subversion” or “creating unrest.” Even survivors—some of whom lost limbs—are forced to lie or remain silent about their injuries.

But one brave group defied the state: the Tiananmen Mothers.

These mothers have never stopped demanding an independent investigation, a full list of victims, compensation, and accountability, according to the Associated Press.

They remain under heavy surveillance and face constant harassment and threats, yet they persevere.

Victoria Candles

For decades, Hong Kong was the only place on Chinese soil where the Tiananmen anniversary could be openly commemorated.

Tens of thousands used to attend the annual candlelight vigil in Victoria Park, listening to recorded messages from the Tiananmen Mothers and chanting pro-democracy slogans.

This year, a Chinese food carnival took over Victoria Park. Police stopped a woman walking through the park with a lit mosquito lamp, then released her.

After the 2019 protests and the enactment of the National Security Law in 2020, Hong Kong authorities permanently banned the vigil—first citing COVID-19, then branding it a crime.

Memory of the World

Despite efforts to erase it in China, the memory of Tiananmen lives on abroad.

In 1989, the crackdown drew swift global condemnation. Western countries imposed arms embargoes on Beijing, canceled high-level meetings, and labeled the massacre a “humanitarian disaster.”

The U.S. State Department continues to release annual statements demanding that China hold perpetrators accountable and stop persecuting activists.

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared, “We will not forget the massacre.”

“Today, we honor the courage of the Chinese people who were killed while trying to exercise their fundamental freedoms, and those who still suffer persecution while seeking accountability and justice for the events of June 4, 1989.”

British, German, and Canadian embassies commemorate the anniversary with symbolic candles or illuminated displays.

Taiwan uses the occasion to highlight the contrast between its pluralistic democracy and China’s one-party rule.

Min Mitchell, former editor-in-chief of Radio Free Asia, said the Tiananmen Massacre is not just a historical tragedy in a foreign country for Taiwan—it’s a reminder of the CCP’s core nature and the risks Taiwan faces as it pursues an independent political and social path free of coercion.

“In 1989,” she told Alhurra, “Taiwan was just beginning its own political transition after decades of martial law and one-party rule. Since then, Taiwan’s difficult but deliberate choice to embrace democracy has increasingly set it apart from the People’s Republic of China.”

Teng Biao added that “Taiwan today stands as Asia’s champion of freedom and democracy. For its own security and prosperity, it must support those who fought the Chinese Communist Party dictatorship—like the students and protesters of 1989.”

The Fight Isn't Over

Thirty-six years later, the Chinese government still has not acknowledged responsibility for the massacre. No one has been held accountable. No official investigations have been conducted. No accurate figures have been released on the number of dead, arrested, or disappeared.

Human rights groups like Human Rights Watch continue to demand that Beijing lift censorship, allow commemorations, compensate victims’ families, hold perpetrators accountable, conduct an independent investigation, and permit exiles to return.

But Beijing insists that China’s subsequent economic growth “proves” it handled the 1989 protests correctly—as if prosperity justifies bloodshed and suppression of truth.

The Communist Party’s approach to dissent after Tiananmen became known as the “Tiananmen Model”: heavy-handed force, strict censorship, denial of responsibility, and rewriting history to justify repression.

Beijing has applied the Tiananmen Model to Uyghurs in Xinjiang and pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong.

Why We Remember

Human rights defenders argue that remembering the Tiananmen Massacre is not just an act of defiance against forgetting—it is a gesture of solidarity with those still suffering under repression.

To remember is to affirm that human rights do not expire.