Today’s a good day to reflect on your freedom.
Today’s the anniversary of the carnage in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, when the Chinese military used force to end student demonstrations for economic reform, freedom of the press, and political liberalization. Hundreds,
perhaps thousands, of demonstrators were killed in the crackdown, according to estimates. The precise number is not known.
The Chinese government has never acknowledged what happened there, and to this day 23 years later, continues to suppress all public discussion of the incident.
The subject of Tiananmen is off-limits for public discussion in China, including references to it on the government-controlled internet in China.
In the ongoing efforts to silence the people, Chinese censors blocked internet searches on terms like “six four” “23” “candle” and “never forget” on Monday.
“Searches for the terms related to the anniversary, such as “six four” for June 4, were blocked on Sina Weibo, the most popular of China’s Twitter-like microblogging platforms.” according to Reuters news service. “Users encountered a message that said the search results could not be displayed ‘due to relevant laws, regulations and policies’,” according to the report.
Numerous internet posts were deleted and bloggers said their posts were “harmonized” within minutes.
“Censors also prevented microbloggers from changing their display photos in an apparent attempt to prevent them from posting any photo commemorating the anniversary,” Reuters said.
Think about these things for a minute today.
Count your blessings: the Constitution of the United States of America, the veterans who fought and died for its survival through the centuries.
And be vigilant. There isn’t a government official alive that, in his heart of hearts, doesn’t want to control the information you receive or what’s said about them.
The thing preventing them from exercising that kind of control, right here, right now, is the oft-maligned document that enshrines your rights as an American and its guardianship by the men and women in black robes who are popularly reviled by people who scorn their “activism” on the bench.
Denise Civiletti, reporter, editor, digital maven and former newspaper editor and publisher, lives and works in Riverhead. She vaguely remembers having a life away from electronic gadgets before being consumed by her role as a digital-hyperlocal-news-entrepreneur-pioneer — lol— publishing RiverheadLocal.com with her husband Peter Blasl.
The survival of local journalism depends on your support.
We are a small family-owned operation. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Just a few dollars can help us continue to bring this important service to our community.
Support RiverheadLOCAL today.
