China bans all internet searches for ‘big yellow duck’ as part of Tiananmen Square anniversary clampdown after prankster substitutes ducks for tanks in viral image
- Chinese police stationed outside cemetery where victims of Tiananmen are buried
- Authorities blocking Chinese Twitter searches of sensitive terms related to historic demonstrations
- Chinese dissidents including artist Ai Weiwei criticise Beijing for censorship
- Streets of Hong Kong packed with protesters as pro-democracy residents demonstrate against crackdown
By Matt West
|
The Chinese authorities have banned
the phrase 'big yellow duck' as an internet search item after a
prankster substituted tanks for ducks in a doctored version of a world
famous photograph taken during the Tiananmen massacre
China has begun an annual crackdown on efforts by families to commemorate the
victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre, 24 years after the
pro-democracy demonstrations were crushed by the People’s Liberation
Army.
A number of internet search terms have been banned including 'tomorrow'
"today", "tonight", "June 4" and other number combinations that might
refer to what the Chinese call the June Fourth Incident .
Scroll down for video
Censored: The Chinese authorities have banned
the phrase 'big yellow duck' as an internet search item after a
prankster substituted tanks for ducks in this doctored version of a
world famous photograph
Tank man: The world famous image of a protestors standing in front of oncoming Chinese tanks during the 1989 protests
Popular: The doctored photograph is a reference
to the 54-foot yellow duck created by Florentijn Hofman, which floats in
Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour. This shows a copy of the duck in Tianjin,
China
As reported by International Business
Times, 'Big yellow duck' has also been censored as a search item. It
comes after a user on Sina Weibo, a Chinese social network, posted a
doctored version of the famous Jeff Widener's photograph of a protester
confronting a line of tanks in the square.
The
doctored photograph instead features four ducks in row instead of the
tanks. it was a reference to the 54-foot yellow duck created by
Florentijn Hofman,
which floats in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour.
Families
of the victims of the massacre have been barred from visiting their
graves by more than a dozen Chinese police stationed outside the main
'Stone Gate' entrance to the Wanan graveyard where many of the victims
are buried.
The exact
number of victims of the massacre on June 3-4 and the political
crackdown which followed soon after is unknown but it is believed to run
well into the hundreds if not more.
Commemoration: Tens of thousands of people
joined a candlelit vigil in Hong Kong to mark the anniversary of the
Tiananmen Square protests today
Crowds: Demonstrators swarmed the city's Victoria Park in memory of the brutal crackdown carried out by the Chinese government
Freedom: The commemorations have only been allowed to take place in Hong Kong amidst heightened security in mainland China
Vibrant: Protesters brought a series of eye-catching banners aimed at undermining the government's anti-democratic policies
The Chinese Government considers the peaceful protest
by students and workers to have been a 'counter-revolutionary' revolt,
and has previously defended the decision to send in tanks and troops.
It has never provided an official death toll.
The move by Beijing is
part of a major push to suppress discussion of the massacre across China and Hong Kong, particularly online and around
certain parts of the capital.
Security personnel were patrolling
the narrow streets close to Beijing's Forbidden City and outside the former
house of Zhao Ziyang, the Communist party secretary who was purged and
held under house arrest following the protests.
Authorities have also detained or
enhanced surveillance on 10 prominent dissidents, according to the Hong
Kong-based advocacy group China Human Rights Defenders.
Hardy: Protesters braved the elements to show
their opposition to the military crackdown which killed the Chinese
democracy movement
Passion: A man brandishes a candle as he protests next to a statue depicting the 'Goddess of Democracy' in Hong Kong
Moving: But in mainland China the authorities have blocked sensitive search terms to avoid controversy
Repression: Some protesters sat behind bars to symbolise the Chinese government's hardline authoritarian policies
Online
searches for a range of keywords on Sina Weibo, China's version of
Twitter, have been blocked, from ‘Tiananmen’ to ‘candle’, which has been used to
encourage digital vigils.
Instead activists turned to overseas websites to commemorate the event and criticise authorities.
‘The
dispute in this country is basically stuck on whether to light a candle
or to extinguish it,’ dissident artist Ai Weiwei posted on Twitter.
Rights
lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan said on Twitter that he had been blocked from Sina
Weibo for seven days for sharing 'sensitive information' -- urging
others to honour victims by posting an image of a lit candle.
Forum: Participants at a discussion meeting in Victoria Park in front of a poster of Beijing's Tiananmen Square
Tributes: Wreaths left in Hong Kong to commemorate the iconic events of the 1989 protests
Security: There was a heavy police presence in Tiananmen Square itself to prevent the possibility of a memorial protest
A
mocked-up picture was circulating online of the 1989 ‘Tank Man’
photograph of a civilian staring down a long row of tanks headed toward
Tiananmen Square -- with the military vehicles replaced by plastic
ducks.
The image could not be found on domestic websites within the
‘Great Firewall of China’ as the country's system of internet controls
is known.
The high-profile dissident Hu Jia wrote on Twitter the
broad crackdown on discussion of Tiananmen demonstrated the
government's weakness.
The event underscored the ruling Communist
Party's ‘illegal nature’, he wrote. ‘The unprecedentedly high pressure
for the 24th anniversary of June 4 actually reveals the authorities'
fear.’
Contrast: Chinese tourists in the square seemed carefree today; many are unaware of what happened in 1989
Innocent: A little girl holding the Chinese national flag dances in Tainanmen Square as the portrait of Chairman Mao looks on
Over the weekend China accused the US
of 'prejudice' after it urged Beijing to provide a full account of the
crackdown on activists after the Tiananmen Square protests.
Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the US should 'stop interfering in China's internal affairs'.
The Chinese authorities had already reached a 'clear conclusion' about the Tiananmen Square protests, he added.
On
Friday, the US state department said the 24th anniversary of the
'violent suppression of demonstrations in Tiananmen Square' prompted it
to remember this 'tragic loss of innocent lives'.
Protesters participate in a candlelight vigil in
front a backdrop showing Beijing's Tiananmen Square in June 1989, at
Hong Kong's Victoria Park June 4, 2013, to mourn those who died in a
military crackdown on pro-democracy movement at the square in 1989.
Tuesday marks the 24th anniversary of the military crackdown of the
movement. REUTERS/Bobby Yip 
HONG KONG - JUNE 04: Tens of thousands of people
take part in a candlelight vigil on the 24th anniversary of the
Tiananmen Square protests during heavy rain on June 4, 2013 in Hong
Kong, Hong Kong. Held to mark the crackdown on the pro-democracy
movement in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989.Pro-democracy
groups hope to draw 150,000 people to the annual candlelight vigil in
Hong Kong's Victoria Park, the only commemoration on Chinese soil.
(Photo by Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images)
Tens of thousands of people carry umbrellas in
the rain take part in a candlelight vigil at Hong Kong's Victoria Park
June 4, 2013, to mark the 24th anniversary of the military crackdown of
the pro-democracy movement at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989.
REUTERS/Bobby Yip 
No comments:
Post a Comment