China Blocks Discussion of Tiananmen Square Massacre

The Chinese government is reported to have cut off access to numerous social networking and discussing sites including Twitter, Flickr, Hotmail and YouTube. The move comes two days before the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre and is widely thought to be an attempt to suppress discussion and remembrance of that incident within China.

In 1989 100,000 people gathered in and around Tiananmen Square protesting against China’s authoritarian government and demanding more freedom. The protests ended when the Chinese government sent in the military against the peaceful protesters. In the massacre that followed many civilians were killed. The official Chinese figure is 241 dead however many sources put the number far higher.

This Thursday is the 20th anniversary of the massacre and the Chinese government may well be afraid that free discussion of the issue could undermine their authority and possibly even lead to renewed protests.

It’s not known if any or all the bans will be lifted after this week’s anniversary.