As China's communist authorities continue a period of intense political struggle, there have been rumors that major aspects of the Party's political platform are to be reevaluated. Among the most historically significant reforms being called for by some tied with the Party is the re-evaluation of 1989's Tiananmen Square massacre of student protestors.
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The anniversary of the June 4th massacre in 1989 of students in Tiananmen Square is once again approaching. Accurate historical accounts of the massacre have long been censored in mainland China, where the events are a major politically sensitive issue.
This year is seen as especially significant, as the Communist Party is in the midst of a once-in-a-decade leadership transition—one that has been marked with explosive political developments, widely reported to reflect intense struggles at the Party's highest levels.
Many inside and outside the Party have proposed specific political reforms. According to some Chinese news sites, there are even plans circulating to “rehabilitate” the 1989 protest movement—a move that would be politically unprecedented as an endorsement of democratic politics.
“Li Wei” is the alias of a former Communist Party journalist interviewed by NTD in Hong Kong, where she spoke at the “June Fourth Commemorative Museum”, a museum dedicated to exposing the uncensored history of the protests and the ensuing crackdown. Li Wei's former position as a journalist was with the Party's leading newspaper, the People's Daily.
She said quote: ”I never imagined that the incident still hasn’t been resolved after so many years. This is one of the most cruel, distorted and unfair facts which lasts such a long time.”
Victim of the June 4th incident, democracy activist Zheng Cunzhu, said that the Communist Party’s strategy is to (quote) “hide the truth” and that its conservative leaders expect the Chinese people to forget about the incident as time elapses.
[Zheng Cunzhu, Democracy Activist]: [Male, Mandarin]
“Many believe that the next generation of CCP leaders may carry out some kind of political reform. However, no matter who attempts to do this, whether a CCP leader or not, he has to deal with facts such as the June 4th massacre and the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. These problems have to be dealt with.”
“Li Wei” revealed that 90 percent of journalists at the People’s Daily supported the student movement in 1989, including herself.
As a result, after the June 4th massacre, the entire office experienced a political purge. From managers and editors down to journalists, only two of the previous staff remained after the incident. Since then, “Li Wei” has never worked as a journalist again.
