Tiananmen anniversary worth remembering

The all encompassing crackdown on attempts to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre says something about the nature of the regime that still holds China in its grip.

It fears discussion, in the streets, in the media, online, in one’s home, or even an awareness, among its people, of what happened when brave students dared to question the vile dictatorship under which the country’s huge population has suffered for so long.

So it has to censor the fact that Chinese men and women 25 years ago sought the same democratic freedoms and basic human rights that we in the West take for granted. The powerful image of the man standing with arms outstretched in front of the advancing tank is one that I always think of at election time here, a reminder of what not being able to vote for a government and politicians of one’s choice can actually mean.