Revolution #167, June 7, 2009
June 4, 2009: 20th Anniversary of Tienanmen Square Massacre
June 4, 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the violent suppression of protests of youth in Tiananmen Square and workers in other parts of Beijing by China’s new capitalist rulers. Demonstrations had been growing for weeks. While the student protestors were to a large extent influenced by Western capitalist ideas of democracy, the students galvanized dissatisfaction in society, and the protests became a focus for millions of people in China who were sick and tired of corruption in high places, growing income inequalities, inflation, promotion of crude self-interest, and many other injustices in Chinese society, and there were radical and pro-Mao currents within these protests.
These injustices had returned to China after socialism was overthrown in 1976, after the death of Mao Tsetung. Though the Chinese regime maintains the label of “socialism” and “communism,” China is a capitalist society. These rulers are the “capitalist roaders” whom Mao had warned against and whom the Cultural Revolution was directed against.
The U.S. and other imperialist governments put on a show of condemning the massacre. But they know “one of their own kind” when they see one: the twenty years since the 1989 massacre saw massive inflows of Western capital into China, as China emerged as the major sweatshop for world capitalism. When China was a genuine socialist society, there was neither exploitation of the people, nor repression aimed at the people. Only another socialist revolution will save China.
Online at Revolution, read a 1999 interview with Li Minqi, who was a student participant in the 1989 Tiananmen protests. This interview, “The Tiananmen Square Rebellion: An Inside Story”, offers a special perspective on the course and impact of these events of May-June 1989.
Available at revcom.us
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