It was 28 years ago tonight when the Chinese government sent the Mongolian Army into Tiananmen Square to crackdown on the mostly student protestors.

It is against the law in China to recognize today, memorialize the dead, or even speak publicly of this bloody anniversary.   Few people know the short and long-term political ramifications to this event which extended far beyond the borders of China.

Many people are familiar with this image:

However, not as many people are as familiar with the wide shot.

That’s some serious courage right there.

The June 4th 1989 anniversary holds a great deal of personal significance for those who witnessed the events.

Few people even know how most of the regular Chinese military refused orders to open fire on the protesting crowd.   Hundreds of young Chinese military soldiers actually formed lines around the mostly student activists in an effort to protect them.  The Chinese government eventually bypassed the regulars and instructed the Mongolian military divisions who carried out the orders.

No-one really knows how many were killed, and even the families of the fallen were too scared to speak publicly.

Those who were lost live-on in whispered memories of lore.

So many.

So young.

We remember.

 

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