The HRIC Daily Brief is a daily selection of news stories and commentary related to human rights in China, drawn from Chinese- and English-language news and online media sources that we monitor daily. In addition to headlines and source links, HRIC also provides English translation of Chinese headlines.

Tuesday, June 04, 2019

June Fourth 30th Anniversary (“六四”三十周年)

On This Day — June 4, 1989:

  • 1:00 a.m. The troops have blocked off all approaches to Tiananmen Square. Various people who witnessed the killings of civilians report to the BWAF and to the students’ Command Headquarters, urging them to withdraw.
  • 2:00 a.m. The first troop transport trucks enter the square. Chai Ling and Li Lu call on those remaining on the square to gather around the Monument to the People’s Heroes.
  • 3:00 a.m. Hou Dejian and Zhou Duo negotiate with army officials to give the students time to vacate the square. Withdrawal will be unconditional, officials reply, adding that it must take place before daybreak. They indicate the southeast as the safest way to exit.
  • 4:00 a.m. On the square the lights go off. The statue of the Goddess of Democracy is toppled by a tank.
  • 4:30 a.m. The tanks and the troops stationed in the north corner of the Square begin to move forward. Students vote and eventually agree to leave. The soldiers shoot out the students’ loud speakers. Led by the Command Headquarters, the students walk away from the Monument to the People’s Heroes toward the southeast part of the square. A row of armored vehicles moves slowly toward the monument. Other troops arrive from the west, squeezing the crowd. As the students leave, army tanks crush tents on their way. The student guards are the last to leave, with soldiers about 18 feet behind them firing warning shots.
  • 5:00 a.m. As the students pass Qianmen, residents line the streets and applaud. The army throws tear gas and shoots at students and citizens near the square and in other areas of the capital. Some people are crushed under tanks. The number of victims is not known.
  • 6:20 a.m. Tanks crush retreating students.
See HRIC chronology and resources.

China rises but 30 years after Tiananmen, crackdown remains taboo
Al Jazeera, June 4, 2019

Related:
HRIC’s “Unforgotten” project: profiles of June Fourth Victims
‐ Project subsite homepage
‐ HRIC statement
‐ Profiles of the “Unforgotten”

30 years ago: Crackdown in Beijing
China Digital Times, June 4, 2019

Beijing silent as tight security surrounds Tiananmen Square anniversary
The Guardian, June 4, 2019

In Beijing, disappearances and security controls ensure quiet Tiananmen anniversary
Los Angeles Times, June 4, 2019

Tiananmen anniversary draws silence in Beijing but emotion in Hong Kong
The New York Times, June 4, 2019

“We must do more than remember”: what Tiananmen means to the Chinese diaspora
The Guardian, June 4, 2019

Tiananmen Square: What happened in the protests of 1989?
BBC, June 4, 2019

Reporting from Tiananmen Square in 1989: “I saw a lot I will never forget”
Al Jazeera, June 4, 2019

时报“六四”档案:“街头的痛苦、愤怒和眼泪”
”In the streets, anguish, fury and tears”
The New York Times, June 4, 2019

Interview: “The ideas the students came up with were very good”
Radio Free Asia, June 4, 2019

Tiananmen Square: Japanese diplomats feared Chinese troops would storm embassy
South China Morning Post, June 4, 2019

EU still mourns Tiananmen crackdown victims: spokeswoman
Reuters, June 4, 2019

China rises but 30 years after Tiananmen, crackdown remains taboo
Al Jazeera, June 4, 2019

“I have never again returned to Tiananmen”
Voice of America, June 4, 2019

“Bearing witness is really all we have”: Memories of covering the Tiananmen aftermath
NPR, June 4, 2019

Thirty years on, China is still trying to whitewash the Tiananmen crackdown from its history
The Conversation, June 3, 2019

Remembering June 4th
China Digital Times, June 3, 2019

Tiananmen 30 years later: “Hope has not died” say Chinese dissidents
The Christian Science Monitor, June 3, 2019

Beijing after Tiananmen: Part 1
The Diplomat, June 3, 2019

“Sacred day”: Chinese remember Tiananmen killings by fasting
The Guardian, June 3, 2019

Washington Tiananmen vigil attracts first-timers for 30th anniversary
South China Morning Post, June 3, 2019

30 Years Ago: Residents Block Army Move
China Digital Times, June 3, 2019

寻找“坦克人”:自由与反抗的神秘象征
30 years after Tiananmen, “Tank Man” remains an icon and a mystery
The New York Times, June 4, 2019

He stayed at Tiananmen to the end. Now he wonders what it meant.
The New York Times, June 3, 2019

Tiananmen Square crackdown: 21 most-wanted student leaders’ stories
South China Morning Post, June 3, 2019

Xinjiang (新疆)

Xinjiang camp whistle-blower Sauytbay seeks asylum elsewhere
The Diplomat, June 3, 2019

Related:
Chinese internment camp whistleblower seeks asylum in Sweden
Voice of America, June 3, 2019

Access to Justice (司法公正)

Tiananmen Square: Chilling treatment of mums desperate for justice after massacre
Mirror, June 3, 2019

Rock singer goes missing in China amid Tiananmen crackdown
Sydney Morning Herald, June 3, 2019

Access to Information (信息公开)

In China, a Reuters partner blocks articles on the Tiananmen Square Massacre
The New York Times, June 4, 2019

China silences dissidents, blocks information on Tiananmen anniversary
Associated Press,, June 4, 2019

On 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen protests, Weibo completely cracks down on the T-Word
What’s On Weibo, June 3, 2019

晚報:被指封鎖數百中國異見者帳號,Twitter 致歉但解釋是系統出錯 (Twitter apologizes for the shutdown of Twitter accounts of hundreds of Chinese dissidents, says it was an error)
The Initium, June 3, 2019

Citizen Participation (公民参与)

Badiucao: Chinese dissident cartoonist revealed
BBC, June 4, 2019

Related:
Dissident Chinese cartoonist shows his face on Tiananmen anniversary
Reuters, June 4, 2019

China’s rebel cartoonist unmasks
Foreign Policy, June 4, 2019

How the Tiananmen Massacre Shocked, Then Inspired a Chinese Political Cartoonist
The New York Times, June 4, 2019

Relatives of Tiananmen victims turn time of anxiety into activism
Voice of America, June 4, 2019

六四30周年:首次重返天安门的“六四”学生领袖
Tiananmen Square: The moment a student leader returns for the first time
BBC, June 4, 2019

Government Accountability (政府问责)

Beijing wants ex-Hong Kong police chief Andy Tsang Wai-hung, who oversaw teargassing of Occupy protesters, to lead UN agency fighting drug crimes
South China Morning Post, June 5, 2019

China’s workers at constant risk from unsafe buildings and structural collapse
China Labour Bulletin, June 4, 2019

30 years after Tiananmen, China still suspicious of student-labor ties
Voice of America, June 4, 2019

Tiananmen: China rebukes Pompeo on 30th anniversary of protests
BBC, June 4, 2019

Related:
Pompeo urges China to release human rights prisoners to mark Tiananmen crackdown
Reuters, June 3, 2019

On Tiananmen anniversary, Canada says it has real concerns over China's human rights
Reuters, June 4, 2019

UK urges China to respect rights on Tiananmen crackdown anniversary
Reuters, June 4, 2019

China issues U.S. travel alert warning of harassment of Chinese travelers by law enforcement bodies
Associated Press, June 4, 2019

Taiwan urges China to “repent” for Tiananmen Square crackdown
Al Jazeera, June 3, 2019

Related:
Taiwan urges China to 'repent' for Tiananmen, China paper says event is merely history
Reuters, June 2, 2019

Chinese daily: Tiananmen “immunized China against turmoil”
Agence France-Presse, June 3, 2019

“We stopped the turbulence”: Tiananmen crackdown was “correct”, says China
Sydney Morning Herald, June 3, 2019

China warns students, academics of risks of studying in U.S.
Reuters, June 3, 2019

China offers money to Tibetans to display portraits of Xi Jinping
Radio Free Asia, June 3, 2019

ICTs and Human Rights (信息技术与人权)

Canada court to hear Huawei extradition case details June 6
Reuters, June 4, 2019

Apple is now restricting Chinese language podcasts in China
TechCrunch, June 4, 2019

Hong Kong (香港)

Tiananmen Square massacre marked with Hong Kong vigil
The Guardian, June 4, 2019

Related:
Hong Kong prepares for commemoration of 1989 Tiananmen crackdown
Al Jazeera, June 4, 2019

Hong Kong holds somber Tiananmen vigil as Beijing goes into lockdown
Reuters, June 3, 2019

“Record turnout of over 180,000” at Hong Kong candlelight vigil to mark Tiananmen crackdown’s 30th anniversary but for many, city’s controversial extradition bill was extra spur
South China Morning Post, June 5, 2019

Hong Kong remembers Tiananmen, concerned about its own future
Agence France-Presse, June 4, 2019

In Hong Kong, a publisher struggles to document Tiananmen’s carnage
The New York Times, June 4, 2019

83% of young Hongkongers say Beijing was in the wrong over the Tiananmen Massacre – HKU survey
Hong Kong Free Press, June 4, 2019

The Hong Kong teachers whose lives are inexorably linked to Tiananmen Square crackdown making sure their pupils are taught about events of 1989
South China Morning Post, June 4, 2019

Hong Kong's students remember Tiananmen because those on the mainland can't
Sydney Morning Herald, June 4, 2019

Video: “We don’t need to chant slogans” – 100 attend “alternative” Hong Kong Tiananmen vigil
Hong Kong Free Press, June 4, 2019

Extradition law is 'final nail' in Hong Kong's coffin: activist
Reuters, June 4, 2019

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam ‘will not simply follow orders from Beijing’ on extradition requests and can refuse transfer of fugitives accused of crimes against defence or foreign affairs
South China Morning Post, June 4, 2019

Hong Kong pupils petition against extradition bill as protests build
Reuters, June 4, 2019

【逃犯條例】覆美國會議員聯署信 林鄭:指修例損害法治、人權 沒有根據 (Extradition law: Carrie Lam replies to joint letter from US Congress: No evidence that Extradition Law amendments harm rule of law and human rights)
The Stand News, June 4, 2019

Remembering Tiananmen Square is dangerous, even in Hong Kong
The Atlantic, June 3, 2019

Former Tiananmen student leader barred from Hong Kong vigil
Sydney Morning Herald, June 3, 2019

Prosecutors in mainland China can reopen criminal cases years later and seek fugitive transfers, Hong Kong security chief John Lee admits
South China Morning Post, June 3, 2019

Commentary (评论)

30 years on from China’s Tiananmen Massacre, it’s time for truth
Human Rights in China, June 4, 2019

王丹:我从领导天安门抗议中学到了什么
What I Learned Leading the Tiananmen Protests
The New York Times, June 4, 2019

30 years after Tiananmen: How the West still gets China wrong
Foreign Policy, June 4, 2019

How Tiananmen crackdown left a deep scar on China’s military psyche
South China Morning Post, June 4, 2019

Tiananmen crushed Asia’s wave of rebellion
Foreign Policy, June 4, 2019

Surviving Tiananmen: The price of dissent in China
The Nation, June 4, 2019

Telling the truth about Tiananmen will make China stronger
Sydney Morning Herald, June 4, 2019

时报“六四”档案:“街头的痛苦、愤怒和眼泪”
When China massacred its own people
The New York Times, June 4, 2019

China continues to deny Tiananmen, but we won’t let the world forget
The Guardian, June 3, 2019

Kuora: How many Chinese know about the ‘June Fourth Incident’? More than you think
SupChina, June 3, 2019

Six questions and four articles about Tiananmen Square
ChinaFile, June 3, 2019

Tiananmen 1989: Lessons for today
The Diplomat, June 3, 2019

“六四”在中国是个禁忌,但总有人会记得
Thirty years after Tiananmen: Someone always remembers.
The New York Times, June 3, 2019

Opinion: Why we remember Tiananmen Square
Deutsche Welle, June 3, 2019

China shows it has no regrets over the Tiananmen slaughter
Sydney Morning Herald, June 2, 2019