Some Big Lies

Today is the twentieth anniversary of the day the ROC (Regime Oppressing China)* set tanks on protesting students and slaughtered them. The ROC is still in charge, and has spent twenty years indoctrinating young Chinese people with a fanciful version of events (involving Hong Kong sending a tank and America sending a Statue of Liberty – no, seriously) and “disappearing” anyone who would dare disagree (ie, who was there). And of course it’s making damned sure no-one tries any kind of remembrance at the Square itself today.

No-one really expected otherwise, of course. After all, how can a regime apologise for something it would happily do again? (If any students managed to congregate in the square and demand democracy, does anyone doubt the PLA would be happy to re-enact their side of the incident?)

The comments on the ABC story from young Chinese people who’ve grown up hearing the official ROC version of events are illuminating. The following appear to be the best spin/outright lies the regime has managed to concoct in twenty years:

• “Policemen and soldiers were killed before the civilians”
• “US sent ‘statue of liberty’ to the square”
• “Hong Kong hired tank pretending to be Chinese to stir up students”
• The students were advocating “Western” democracy, which somehow “China was not ready for” (we know this because we asked the peop… wait, that’s the whole point, we refuse to do that.)
• “the wrong-doing of government does not make some of the organisers, student leaders of the protest who were protected by foreign government then and are now living abroad, totally innocent.”
• “those demonstrations went bad when west jumped into it”
• “no government in the world is perfect”
• Doesn’t matter – “Do many of you realise that a lot of Chinese (and i do mean a lot) don’t give a rats about the events on that day because they have prospered – and that includes people who were actually there!”
• “Has the US ever apologised for the atroctites their troops committed in Vietnamand their interference in political cultures in some many parts of the world?”
• “China remains a bogeyman and an easy target for media outrage.”
• “I don’t see how you can criticise the actions of some governments without examining the actions of those you elect to act on your behalf.”
• “the Chinese people don’t want to talk or worry about this incident, because it could be considered degrading to their country and people.”
• “every government would use army to protect their power.”
• “At least Peoples Liberation Army did not go there to detroy a country like International Police U.S.A simply because Iraq doesn’t want to listen to George W.Bush. and They want the oil on the other hand.”
• “In a relativistic society, we can’t say that democracy is morally better than a dictatorship”
• “I feel like to vomit when someone pretend to be humanitarian when their ancient invaded in to China and killed millions people there.”
• “This news is 20 years old. get over it and move on. China has.”
• “Some people may argue human rights above all else, but for people like myself, $$$ and food on the table ranks so much higher.”
• “the students occupied the square for more than 2 months, the traffic in Beijing and some other big cities were totally unavailable. The goverment used all peaceful approaches to let them leave, but they didn’t. Even in the middle night of 4/6/89.”
• “some people killed policemen and soldiers in a brutal way at first, I have to ask, if policemen or soldiers being deadly attcked in Australia, will they SHOOT?”
• “the students and those so called’leader’ in the square didn’t appeal in a reasonable way. what they want is change the government. it’s not acceptable by all Chinese people.”
• “how a sovereign state conducts its own domestic policy and actions is its business and no-one elses not even Americas!”
• “The reporters need to report something so that to keep their job. That’s all I can see in this piece of junk. What a waste of tax-payer’s money”
• “If you have ever read the ancient history of China,you might understand why government crackdowned the protest,those protest damaged the entire city,even the whole nation for more than 7 weeks,China was on the verge of splitting,the final decision was wise.Students ‘ aim is good,but they forgot their main job is to study.”
• “All Chinese backs the action taken by party.”

As “Bob Bobbings” retorts to the last one –

(1) You have no idea whether this is true or not, because “all Chinese” are not told what happend.
(2) You have no idea whether this is true or not, because “all Chinese” are not asked their opinion.
(3) Even if you were right, the majority does not have a right to kill minorities. Has the Australian government the right to kill all Chinese in Australia, if the population developed its racist tendency, and supported it? Obviously not.

Democracy is not a “western value” – it is a universal principle, that governments should represent their people. Anything short of democracy is a group of tyrants doing what they want without their people’s permission.

But it’s amazing what you can trick people into believing if you control every source of information and brutally punish anyone who steps out of line, isn’t it?

*Yes, I know that is also the acronym of Taiwan. But “Politicians Repressing China” doesn’t work as well.