(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
This is a big year for anniversaries in China. 4. May marked the centenary of 4. the May Movement, the student demonstrations in front of the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing in 1919, which meant the birth of Chinese nationalism. And then, a month later, the 4. June, the 30 anniversary of the violent suppression of the pro-democracy student demonstrations was the same place. However, this milestone will not be officially recognized, and much less celebrated, in China.
Immortality and taboo
The 1919 demonstrations are immortalized in stone in the monument to the people's heroes in Tiananmen Square. Pointing to the same ideals of science and democracy, the protesters in 1989 also presented themselves as loyal to the nation. But the 1989 movement ended in what is known outside China as the massacre of Heavenly Peace, and in China as the "Tiananmen event". What happened three decades ago is a taboo topic in China, removed from the Internet by the authorities and largely unknown to the country's younger generations.
There is a persistent contradiction in the Chinese state taking credit for May 4, while suppressing the memory of June 4. The 1919 students are celebrated as bold patriots, and join a long Chinese tradition where the intellectuals are placed in a socially responsible role. The imperial scholars of the imperial era took great risks by presenting the power of truth, with the intention of revealing public corruption and inciting reform.
The communist legacy
Early in the last century, university students took up this legacy. In fact, the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) has its roots in the May 4 movement: Student magazines spread Marxist ideas, a Marxist study circle was started at Beijing University, and Mao Zedong himself joined Marxist-Leninism as he worked at the university library and studied at side of.
As May 4 finds broad and popular reverberation in China, student protesters in 1989 – with long hair and jeans rather than pretty dresses and pleated skirts – deliberately referred to it. And, like their predecessors, they emphasized their patriotism as they pointed to the public corruption and economic inequalities that were the result of the economic reforms that followed Mao.
Still, the Chinese state staged the 1989 Tiananmen demonstrations as a "counter-revolutionary revolt", accusing a handful of conspirators of misleading the people. Although the movement attracted worldwide attention, it ended with a breakdown, followed by official silence and a general oblivion that has grown deeper year by year.
Alarm Preparedness
Nevertheless, the June 4th anniversary is increasingly politically sensitive, and the Chinese state always sets itself in alert when the day approaches. In what has become an annual ritual, foreign journalists are prevented from covering the anniversary – as Louisa Lim, former BBC correspondent and National Public Radio Beijing, has pointed at.
China suppresses leftist students who talk and act in ways that are consistent with the Communist Party's original ideals.
Since 1989, the CPC has worked hard to connect young people to the Chinese state and its priorities. Children are taught "patriotism", fidelity is cultivated through the Young Pioneers and the Communist Youth League, and the universities have developed ingenious systems to protect against political discrepancies and reward political loyalty with jobs. Such measures have largely made Chinese youth apolitical. The legacy of May 4 has been effectively divided, with patriotism split from protest.
But the state has not quite succeeded in convincing the students. Students who support the CPC's own Marxist ideology became the last generation of protesters in opposition to the authorities in 2018. Last summer, groups began organizing factory workers in southern China, drawing attention to exploitation, and helping workers form an independent trade union. While claiming their loyalty to the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, the students launched campaigns among people and in the universities.
Ironic oppression
The state has imprisoned dozens of them. videos shows staff at Beijing University trying to block the way for student organizations, and witnesses have confirmed that disappeared Marxist student leaders have been abducted by civilian police. The irony lies in China suppressing leftist students who speak and act in ways that are consistent with the original ideals of CPC. Like the party's first leaders, including Mao, they fight for exploited workers and try to organize them, and sometimes students even go out and work "on the floor". As the teachings of Marxism and Mao's writings have taught them, they examine social conditions and question China's profound differences. And, like their ancestors from May 4, today's young Marxists see themselves as loyal students who speak truths to power. This year's anniversaries for the 1919 and 1989 movements will therefore be particularly important.
The legacy of May 4 is about patriotism and enlightenment. Despite the same support, the 1989 Tiananmen demonstration ended in violence and silence. Foreign observers will no doubt point to the Chinese authorities' contradictory positions on May 4 and June 4, and conclude that China access has power to create their own historical narrative.
But what happened to Marxist students last year highlighted the enduring potential for a loyal opposition. When the People's Republic looks forward to its 70th anniversary for its founding in October this year, it must continue to account for its own history.
