By paNOW

Saskatoon remembers Tiananmen Square massacre

Jun 4, 2014 | 11:36 AM

paNOW Staff

Exactly 25 years ago, tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square, Beijing, where the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, under martial law sought to put an end to the six-week protest for democracy held by students and civilians.

Yatong Chen was only six when it happened, living a seven-hour train ride from Beijing. She said details of what occurred June 4, 1989 weren’t taught to her in school and her parents didn’t speak of it.

“It’s kind of a taboo topic in China,” Chen said. “Our parents don’t talk about it because, I don’t know, it’s politics and people from that time are really afraid to talk about politics.”

Chen moved to Canada after high school in 2001, and that’s when she really started to learn about the significance of what happened.

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“I was very shocked and it also leads to a whole new area of questions. I was very surprised that people at that time had such a strong incentive to be heard by the government.”

She said nowadays you don’t see that in China, adding she is still surprised that people back home still refuse to talk about it.

“It’s like people flip pages and to me that seems very wrong.”

Some details surrounding the massacre are unclear, but deaths are estimated in the hundreds while thousands were injured.

“I feel very grateful that Canadians, here, you are still remembering it and I just wish, I just wish someday people in China can talk about it more publicly.”

news@panow.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow