For the past 34 years, the height of “politically sensitive periods” for the Chinese government invariably falls around the same day: June 4, the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing. And, as use of the internet has become increasingly ubiquitous in China, online surveillance and censorship go into overdrive during this period.
On June 4 1989, the People’s Liberation Army opened fire on unarmed civilians staging a pro-democracy protest in the centre of Beijing. The number of deaths is still not confirmed, as it remains a taboo subject. But estimates vary from several hundred to several thousand. A secret diplomatic cable from the then British ambassador, Sir Alan Donald, citing a source within China’s State Council, claimed that at least 10,000 people were killed.
The massacre and oppression that followed have become the most sensitive and significant subject over which the Communist Party endeavours to have total control in China. The journalist Louisa Lim’s book The People’s Republic of Amnesia reveals the extraordinary determination and capacity the state possesses to rewrite history, erase public memories and silence dissent.
