Hundreds of people gather in downtown Taipei to commemorate Tiananmen Square massacre

Taipei, June 4 (EFE) – Hundreds of people gathered this Wednesday in downtown Taipei to remember the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre, which marks its 36th anniversary today, on a day that was also used by local politicians to criticize Beijing and reaffirm the democratic character of the island. The square in front of the Chiang Kai-shek memorial, a symbol of Taiwan’s authoritarian past, once again served as the main stage for the commemorations, on an island that, in the face of increasing restrictions in Hong Kong, has become the only Chinese-speaking territory where these types of tributes are still held. Under the slogan ‘Resist cross-border repression and oppose totalitarian expansion’, hundreds of attendees —mostly young professionals and students— observed 64 seconds of silence in the rain in commemoration of the victims.

Previously, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) —the body in charge of relations with China— reported that it received a threatening email today indicating the placement of explosives in offices of the Executive Yuan (Government), which would be detonated if the commemorative event went ahead, reported the local media SET News.

The Council processed a complaint and conducted an inspection, which concluded without any explosives or suspicious objects being found, according to the media.

Likewise, the New School for Democracy, one of the main organizers of the event, denounced last Monday that it had received “anonymous letters” aimed at preventing the event from taking place, and stressed that such behavior constitutes an “open challenge to the fundamental principles of peaceful assembly”.

“The vigil of June 4th is a key public action in defense of universal human rights and in safeguarding freedom and democracy (…). Any threat or sabotage against this activity represents an attack on the freedom of expression of society,” the entity stated in a statement.

“We refuse to forget history”

Taiwanese President, the sovereignist William Lai, also referred this Wednesday to the anniversary by highlighting the importance of “not forgetting history” and “keeping the memory alive” of the massacre.

“Authoritarian regimes often opt for silence and oblivion; democratic societies, on the other hand, choose to preserve the truth and not forget those who sacrificed themselves for human rights and the dreams they harbored,” the president wrote on his official Facebook account.

For the Kuomintang, the main Taiwanese opposition party and a formation favorable to strengthening ties between Taipei and Beijing, the Tiananmen Square massacre could not extinguish “the faith in freedom” of the Chinese people.

“We commemorate June 4th to remember how difficult it has been to fight for democracy and freedom. Democracy cannot retreat. Faced with authoritarianism and dictatorship, the people must step forward,” the party stated via Facebook. The Tiananmen Square massacre occurred on the night of June 3-4, 1989, when soldiers and tanks of the Chinese Army advanced into the central square of Beijing, where hundreds of thousands of students and workers had been demonstrating for weeks, demanding an end to corruption and calling for greater political openness.

The death toll from the military repression of that day is not exact and ranges from hundreds to thousands, depending on the source.