1989 Tiananmen Square Protests

Overview

Tiananmen Square Protests or Tiananmen Square Massacre refer to student-led pro-democracy demonstrations held in Beijing in 1989 which were violently suppressed by Chinese military forces, resulting in an estimated death toll from several hundred to several thousand victims. Discussions of the event were subsequently censured and tabooed in China, which in turn inspired memes mocking censorship in the country.

Background

On April 15th, 1989, following the death of the former General Secretary of Communist Party of China Hu Yaobang, a wave of student protests began in China.^[1] The protestors demanded democratic reforms in the country, end of corruption within the Communist Party, freedom of the press, freedom of speech and association. Starting on April 15th, groups of students started gathering at the Monument to the People's Heroes at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, with more student gatherings beginning in other Chinese cities in the following days.

On the night of April 17th, nearly three thousand Peking University Students joined the protestors, occupying the Tiananmen Square. In the following weeks, thousands of Chinese students staged protests on the square on multiple days, including a nearly 100,000-strong march on the day of Hu Yaobang's state funeral held on the square on April 22nd, 1989.

On May 13th, 1989, over 300,000 people gathered on the Square for a massive hunger strike in anticipation of the highly publicized state visit by Soviet leader Michail Gorbachev.

On May 20th, 1989, the Chinese government declared martial law, mobilizing at least 30 military divisions. Around the same time, internal divisions intensified among the protestors, leading to general disorganization of the protests.

On the evening of June 3rd, Chinese state television warned the residents to stay indoors. At about 10 pm, the 38th Chinese Army moved towards the city center, firing warning shots to disperse the crowds and causing several fatalities. At about 12:15 am that night, armored vehicles arrived at the square, sealing the protestors off at about 1:30 am, with military personnel firing shots at arriving demonstrators trying to enter the square. During the events of the night, multiple protesters were killed by the Chinese army, with death toll estimates ranging from 241 victims (official government figure) to 2,600 (Chinese Red Cross estimate).

The violent suppression of the protests was heavily condemned globally, with the Chinese government's response denounced by Western governments and media.

Developments

Censorship

In the following months, the Communist Party of China banned discussions of the Tiananmen Square protests in the country. Within a year following the June 1989 events, 12 percent of all Chinese newspapers, eight percent of publishing companies and over 150 films were banned or shut down.

Internet searches of June 4 Tiananmen Square made within China return censored results or result in temporary severed server connections. Censorship of June 1989 events has been often referenced in online memes and has been used as a trolling tactic against Chinese internet users.

Online Presence

Use in Memes

The censorship of the event in China has been often referenced in history memes communities such as /r/HistoryMemes (examples shown below). For example, one of the most popular posts referencing the event in the /r/HistoryMemes subreddit, posted on April 15th, 2019, gained over 64,500 upvotes in two months (shown below, top left).^[13] In many examples, the phrase "nothing happened" has been used as a punchline.

Additionally, Tiananmen Square massacre has seen references in ironic memes in related communities such as /r/okbuddyretard and /r/dogelore, as well as on Instagram and iFunny, often used in conjunction with Ironic Doge memes, particularly with Doge in Danger (examples shown below).

Tank Man

Tank Man refers to the unidentified protestor who stood in front of a line of tanks during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest. Photographs of the man's act of civil disobedience have become world-renowned for their historical import and political messaging with many considering them to be among the most important photographs of all time (shown below, left). Due to its prevalence in culture, it has also been subject to many forms of parody, both in popular culture and online (shown below, center and right).

Tiananmen Square Copypasta

Tiananmen Square Copypasta refers to a copypasta mentioning Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, free Tibet, Winnie the Pooh and other subjects censored by the Chinese government. When posted in in-game chat in multiplayer games, the copypasta allegedly results in Chinese players being kicked from the server due to the Great Firewall of China automatically interrupting their internet connection.

On September 12th, 2016, a South Korean 4chan user posted the first known version of the copypasta in a reply to a Chinese user on /int/ board (shown below).^[2] In the following years, the copypasta has been reused by South Korean 4chan users multiple times.^[3][4]

On February 2018, Redditor VR-induced-psychosis posted a screenshot of a YouTube comment in which a Japanese user claimed that texting "June 4th Tiananmen Square Massacre" to Chinese con artists resulted in their internet access being cut off by the Communist Party of China.^[5] In the following days, the post also appeared on 4chan, Funnyjunk and other online communities.^[6][7]

On October 8th, a Chilean /int/ user posted the copypasta, commenting "If you're going to banish them, do it right" (shown below, left).^[8] In the following months, the copypasta received significant spread on 4chan, used as a trolling technique against Chinese users on the imageboard.^[9] On November 26th, 2018, an anonymous 4chan user made a post claiming that he had used the copypasta against Chinese players on a World of Warcraft server (shown below, right).^[10] Reddit repost of thet thread gained over 32,900 upvotes in the six months.^[11]

On December 12th, Redditor AstroHamsta posted the copypasta to /r/copypasta subreddit, gaining over 1,100 upvotes in six months.^[12]

动态网自由门 天安門 天安门 法輪功 李洪志 Free Tibet 六四天安門事件 The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 天安門大屠殺 The Tiananmen Square Massacre 反右派鬥爭 The Anti-Rightist Struggle 大躍進政策 The Great Leap Forward 文化大革命 The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution 人權 Human Rights 民運 Democratization 自由 Freedom 獨立 Independence 多黨制 Multi-party system 台灣 臺灣 Taiwan Formosa 中華民國 Republic of China 西藏 土伯特 唐古特 Tibet 達賴喇嘛 Dalai Lama 法輪功 Falun Dafa 新疆維吾爾自治區 The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region 諾貝爾和平獎 Nobel Peace Prize 劉暁波 Liu Xiaobo 民主 言論 思想 反共 反革命 抗議 運動 騷亂 暴亂 騷擾 擾亂 抗暴 平反 維權 示威游行 李洪志 法輪大法 大法弟子 強制斷種 強制堕胎 民族淨化 人體實驗 肅清 胡耀邦 趙紫陽 魏京生 王丹 還政於民 和平演變 激流中國 北京之春 大紀元時報 九評論共産黨 獨裁 專制 壓制 統一 監視 鎮壓 迫害 侵略 掠奪 破壞 拷問 屠殺 活摘器官 誘拐 買賣人口 遊進 走私 毒品 賣淫 春畫 賭博 六合彩 天安門 天安门 法輪功 李洪志 Winnie the Pooh 劉曉波动态网自由门

Search Interest

External References