Chinese activists call on people to wear black

BEIJING - The Assocaited Press

A pro-democracy protester carries a flag of the Goddess of Democracy during a demonstration in Hong Kong May 26, 2013. REUTERS photo

Activists in China are taking to social media to call on the public to wear black on the 24th anniversary of the bloody military crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square.
 
The crackdown on pro-democracy protesters on June 4, 1989, killed hundreds, possibly more. The Chinese government has never fully disclosed what happened on that day and branded the protests a "counterrevolutionary riot."
 
It remains a taboo topic inside the country, but the growing use of Twitter-like sites known as Weibo and other social media - although largely censored - has made it difficult for authorities to control all information about the Tiananmen crackdown.
 
Beijing-based rights activist Hu Jia said he had been appealing online for people to wear black T-shirts on Tuesday or light a candle at home on Monday evening to remember the event.
 
"Thanks to the role of Weibo, there are now more people than any other time in the past 24 years that have come to know and think about the incident," he said.
 
While protests in mainland China are off-limits, tens of thousands have gathered to mark the anniversary in past years in Hong Kong's Victoria Park. The territory - returned by the British in 1997 - operates under a separate political system that promises freedom of speech and other Western-style civil liberties.
 
"When the spreading of information gains momentum, sooner or later, one day a torch will be relayed from Victoria Park in Hong Kong to Tiananmen Square in Beijing," Hu said, referring to the park where the anniversary is commemorated each year.
 
Because of restrictions placed on him as an activist, Hu will be unable to leave his home to mark the anniversary. He said controls placed on him for this year's event - the first since Xi Jinping became leader - were tighter than before. "Last year, I was restricted from going out for shopping, visiting my parents and friends during the period between June 2 and June 5, and this year the restrictions were imposed on me as early as May 25," he said.
 
An academic from Guangzhou, Ai Xiaoming, said she was answering an artist's call on Google Plus for people to send photos of themselves wearing black for an online photo collection to mark the anniversary.
 
"More and more people would like to know the truth about the incident, which makes the authorities more nervous," she said. "Although it's difficult for people to get access to publications in China, they are able to get information through channels such as social media. People face suppression, detention, arrest and even conviction, but the information can't be completely blocked. People have never stopped remembering the incident."
 
Last week, the U.S. State Department called on the Chinese government to fully account for those killed, detained or missing in the 1989 crackdown and to end the ongoing harassment of human rights activists and their families.
 
In response, China accused the United States of "prejudice" and "groundless accusations."