L.A. activists plan vigil marking the 24th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre
Today marks the 24th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, when the Chinese leadership cracked down on student protesters, killing hundreds and possibly more. To mark the date, a…
By Caitlin Shamberg • • 1 min read2009 Vigil For the Tian’anmen Square Massacre in Hong Kong. (Courtesy:Flickr/Fred Lam)
Today marks the 24th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, when the Chinese leadership cracked down on student protesters, killing hundreds and possibly more. To mark the date, a group of activists will gather in front of the Chinese consulate in downtown L.A. and hold a candle light vigil this evening. This week the new Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with President Obama at Sunnylands.
A Chinese student here in LA tells us:
About 20 Chinese human rights activists, survivors of the massacre and their families are expected to attend the vigil. Chinese American artist Weiming Chen will direct a folk performance, in which actors play ghosts, hoping to send a message to the Chinese authority that the people they killed in the military crackdown are coming back to haunt them.
The Tiananmen Square protest was a student-led demonstration for freedom and democracy in the spring of 1989. The protests were forcibly suppressed when the military was ordered to enforce martial laws on Tiananmen Square on June 4. The Chinese government has never fully disclosed what happened, and the incident remains a taboo topic in China.