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In China, a deliberate amnesia about ’89 crackdown

By Joe McDonald
Published June 1, 2014 6:55am ET
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In China, a deliberate amnesia about ’89 crackdown
In this Wednesday, May 28, 2014 photo, a man looks at his smartphone next to Chinese policemen and a paramilitary policeman standing guard near a giant electronic screen showing a Chinese government propaganda message reading "Dream road ahead, People's Communist party" on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. Communist leaders have spent 25 years making sure there is no opportunity to discuss the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown that crushed pro-democracy protests at a cost of hundreds of lives. Far from easing off as China went through three changes of ruling party leadership and a revolution in social media, a relentless campaign aimed at erasing public memory of the most tumultuous event of the past three decades has been steadily updated and tightened. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) | Andy Wong

BEIJING (AP) — Remember June 4, Shi Shusi asked the 1.5 million readers of his popular microblog last year. Moments later, his postings were erased. A note from the microblog operator said they were “inappropriate publicity.”

This year, a discouraged Shi hasn’t posted anything about the anniversary of the 1989 crackdown that crushed pro-democracy protests at a cost of hundreds of lives.

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