A Chinese filmmaker asked people in Beijing about the Tiananmen Square massacre. Here are their disturbing answers.
Thursday marked the anniversary of 1989's Tiananmen Square massacre, during which Chinese troops fired at hundreds of pro-democracy protesters. The country was placed under lockdown, and many survivors of the event were arrested.
Photos of the massacre were banned in China, Quartz explains, and Chinese students don't learn about the event in their history classes. "Chinese society has reached a consensus on not debating the 1989 incident," a Human Rights Watch spokesperson told Quartz.
One Chinese filmmaker, though, wants to remind China — and the rest of the world — about the 1989 event. In his 2005 documentary, A Day to Remember, filmmaker Liu Wei asks students and tourists at Tiananmen Square if they know what day it is. Liu filmed the interviews on June 4, 2005, the massacre's 16th anniversary. Most of the responses to Liu's questions, though, are along the lines of "I don't want to talk about it," "I don't know," or even "Turn the camera off." Liu's video suggests that more than a decade after the event, Chinese residents are still terrified to discuss it. Watch Liu's shocking A Day to Remember below. Meghan DeMaria
The Week
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