Past and present Taiwanese presidents honour 1989 Tiananmen protests while gatherings are banned
- Former president Ma Ying-jeou said Beijing needed to face up to history over the protests, and that would help bridge cross-strait differences
- A Hong Kong censorship-tracking project uncovers Weibo messages deleted on Friday, including posts about the need to acknowledge history
Mainland China has never allowed public remembrance of the 1989 protests which demanded political reforms and greater freedoms, and Beijing heavily censors all information relating to the event. The movement ended with a violent military crackdown on June 4, 1989 that killed hundreds or even thousands, according to some estimates.
“I believe all Taiwanese people who are proud of freedom and democracy will never forget this day in history, and will hold tighter to our convictions,” Tsai wrote.
Ma, who favours direct dialogue between Taiwan and the mainland, urged more communication in his Facebook post. He said Beijing needed to face up to history over the 1989 protests, and that would help bridge the cross-strait differences instead of the two sides drifting further apart.