Taiwan commemorates June 4 Incident with social media posts

Taipei, June 4 (CNA) Taiwan's government leaders and political parties on Tuesday marked the 35th anniversary of the June 4 Tiananmen Square Incident with social media posts touting Taiwan's democracy and freedom, while sharing their thoughts on the incident.

President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said in an article commemorating the anniversary posted on Facebook that the event is a reminder that those who care about democracy and freedom have a common belief: Only democracy and freedom can really protect the people.

The memory of the June 4th Incident will not disappear in the torrent of history, and people will continue to work hard to ensure this historical memory is never forgotten and moves everyone who cares about Chinese democracy, wrote Lai, who was sworn in as Taiwan's new president on May 20.

"This reminds us that democracy and freedom are hard-earned. We must build consensus with democracy, respond to authoritarianism with freedom, face authoritarian expansion with courage, and confront challenges with unity," Lai wrote.

The Tiananmen Square Incident, occurred on June 4, 1989 in Beijing, when thousands of student-led demonstrators calling for democracy, free speech and a free press in China were brutally crushed by the military.

Meanwhile, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said on Facebook Tuesday that given Taiwan's geographical proximity to its giant neighbor, "in addition to working hard to safeguard our hard-won democratic freedom, we also always remember that a country worthy of respect should protect the people's right to free speech."

Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) wrote in a Facebook post: "We will continue to remember June 4 and remind each other that democracy, freedom and human rights are not distant slogans, but a way of life that we constantly pursue and strive to uphold."

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) also stated in its official Facebook page that while China has ramped up efforts to wipe the June 4 protests from history, DPP Chairman Lai Ching-te has said the incident represents the Chinese people's pursuit of democracy and freedom and a history not to be obliterated and forgotten.

At the same time, opposition Kuomintang Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) also published an article on Facebook marking the anniversary.

He stressed on the eve of the June 4 incident, Taiwanese students gathered at the plaza in front of National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei and stayed connected via phone with their Chinese counterparts in Tiananmen Square.

At that time, people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait were closely connected, crossing the boundaries of time, space and ideology. In that moment, what connected the two sides was not just history, culture and blood, but also the common expectation of pursuing freedom, democracy, human dignity and other universal values, Chu wrote.

Thirty-five years later, the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan's official name), through its third wave of democratization reforms, has proved to all people of Chinese ethnicity who are still pursuing freedom and democracy that Taiwan has the experience, ability and determination to maintain its democratic system, Chu wrote, adding that a stable democratic and constitutional system is the best guarantee of freedom.

The KMT will always stand with those who pursue freedom and democracy, firmly defend the ROC and guard this beacon of democracy, Chu said.

In addition, Taiwan People's Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said via a Facebook post that a measure of a country's progress is its ability to face the difficulties in its history, adding that for China it is time to face squarely what happened on June 4, 1989 in Tiananmen Square.