Part one: History
On June 4th, 1989, Chinese troops and police stormed through Tiananmen Square and rapidly fired at thousands of people, mostly students, who had been participating in a peaceful protest against their government for a greater democracy for several months. Many of the protesters were killed while thousands more were arrested.
One thing that struck me as very important to remember about this event was that these protesters were students, young adults. These people had long lives ahead of them, but instead they were gunned down for protesting peacefully. They reacted in a completely uncivil way when there were many other alternative ways to deal with the situation. The savage acts of the Chinese government on this day should never be forgotten.
Part two: Images
This image of students carrying their wounded classmate to a hospital for emergency treatment was the most powerful in my opinion because you can see the distress and worry in their faces, while the wounded boy looks as if he's barely holding on. This picture shows the effects that the event had on real people and shows that it's not just a piece of history. I can't imagine what it must have been like to be in the position of the wounded boy or the other students, it must have been a very traumatizing time.
I really love this image of the student protest in Hong Kong because it puts the vast majorities of protesters into perspective and shows the community coming together under a common belief. I also really like the fact that it's at night and shows how determined these people are to stand up for their rights and to willingly protest the government, regardless of the conditions.
I like the second image showing all of the protestors. It really helps to show how powerful this movement was and how big it had gotten to.
ReplyDeleteI also like how you mentioned that the protestors where all students and that they where all protesting peacefully. I agree that the government acted to harshly and that they should have tried other options to break up the protest.
Your first photo is really gruesome but I think it shows how nasty this truly was. It has to scare the chines that are now protesting to know that China's Government will go to that of an extreme.
ReplyDeleteI think you are very correct in your assumption in part 1. I think that the Chinese government handled the situation in an incredibly barbaric way which was uncivil and immoral.
ReplyDeleteI like the second picure you used, showing the magnitude of the amount of protesters. It shows how many students truly cared about their government, which I don't think is the case today.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your first picture and your caption really captures what happened in 1989. It was a very viscous event and this picture shows exactly that.
ReplyDeleteI think it is so awful that these kids were all murdered for protesting and standing up for what they believe in. I like how you pointed out that these kids had long lives ahead of them. One of these kids that were killed could've been the person to cure cancer, we will never know now because they were all killed. That picture you put for Hong Kong, I love it because it shows how they are all united and present a global front through technology.
ReplyDeleteThe first image is one that showed what these students had to face on that day. It was said that the hospitals literally had piles of bodies in front because the doctors did not know what to do about them. They were overwhelmed with it all. It is terrible that these students had to carry one of their friends because he was shot right next to them.
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