Tiananmen Bloody History May Be Completely Lost If Museum Digitalization Is Not Accelerated

Tiananmen Museum Visitors (Source: Commons Wikimedia)

JAKARTA - A museum that records the violence of Chinese troops against pro-democracy protesters on Tiananmen Square immediately digitizes its collection. Museum managers are worried that the new National Security Act (UU) will create uncertainty.

Launching Reuters, Tuesday, July 7, the management is currently raising funds to realize the digitization plan. Legislation products related to secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign troops have been in effect since last week.

No kidding, the Law carries a sentence of up to life for the substance above. Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters denounced what they see as China's gradual erosion of Hong Kong's freedoms by the ruling Communist Party in Beijing. The accusation was later denied by China.

Lee Cheuk-yan, chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of China's Patriotic Democratic Movement as the manager of the museum, was not sure whether the museum would be treated as subversive or considered against the Chinese government.

"We hope that physical artifacts will not be confiscated in the future. And that's what really worries us," said Lee Cheuk-yan.

Tiananmen nan taboo

China's crackdown that took place in 1989 remains taboo in mainland China. In fact, various public discussions were censored. Nearly 30 years on, it is still difficult for ordinary Chinese citizens to know the truth about the incident. As we have discussed in "Remembering the Massacre of Tiananmen Square Trying to Be Erased from the Memory of Chinese Society".

The Chinese government has not accepted responsibility for the massacre. A formal investigation was never held and the government did not provide information about those killed.

In mainland China, activists have been detained for commemorating the bloody events. Internet searches for any term related to Tiananmen, even the date of the incident, were blocked by China's censorship apparatus.

"The Chinese government has done a thorough job of erasing the Fourth of June from the historical memory of most young people in China. But the older generations in China who lived at that time, and the world outside China, have not forgotten this event," said Andrew Nathan, a science professor. politics at Columbia University.

Andrew is one of the great sources of reference regarding the incident. He was involved in editing the book The Tiananmen Papers, which released classified Chinese government documents about the tragedy.

Every year, tens of thousands of people gather to light candles to commemorate this bloody tragedy. The event is regularly organized by the Hong Kong Alliance. However, this year the warning was not implemented because the police did not get permission. COVID-19 is an excuse.

"We believe you can ban events but you cannot ban our hearts, our memories ... We will continue to remind the world of what happened 31 years ago," said Lee Cheuk-yan.

The museum is located in a lively commercial area in the Kowloon City district. The museum also plays video footage of troops shooting at protesters as well as cartoons and graphics of the event. The colorful posters also depict Hong Kong's own protest movement, including the movements of recent years.

"It's very important to have a place at least to remember what happened, because I feel we shouldn't forget history," said German Moles, a student from Spain who was visiting the museum.