Tiananmen Square witnesses remember an air of celebration, and then 'Orwellian silence'
Student protesters and journalists in 1989 recall the joy and hope before the crackdown
by Lily Kuo in Beijing
Jun 04, 2020
2 minutes
It was mid-morning in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on 1 June, 1989. Someone had turned on a boombox playing 80s disco music, and people began to dance. A young couple spins in a small opening in the crowd. The woman smiles slightly, her eyes almost closed, as her partner in a loose dress shirt and blazer turns her. Around them, people are clapping.
It is a photo that captures a side
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