Monday, April 28, 2014
(Difficulty) Remembering Tiananmen Square in China
In mainland China, talk of what happened in Tiananmen Square is still taboo, but in Hong Kong, there is more freedom to remember the protests that were brutally stopped in 1989. In fact, a museum in Hong Kong, the first of it's kind, has been opened to remember the protests at Tiananmen. (additional sources: 2012 BBC article on surveillance and detainment of political activists marking the anniversary of the protests and timeline of the events surrounding it). What key COGOPO concepts are illustrated here?
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This really shows government type in China. The brutal and oppressive regime tactics in 1989 and how the government continues to cover it up today. The people lack the freedom to speak out, and this reflects in how the topics are rarely covered. However, because the people can not criticize the government it stays stable, like the apple metaphor in the article, everything looks fine from the outside, but the inside is corrupt, rotten. Really, any topic related to the government staying in power, its rule over the people, and its appearance as a true government is covered by this event.
ReplyDeleteI think key COGOPO concepts are surveillance, autonomy, capacity, institutions, and to some extent, coercion. All of these terms help to emphasize the aggressive nature of the Chinese government in repressing any dissent, and acting independently of the people's vision of Tienanmen Square. The attacks on media, ans submissing of the events also supports the idea that China's government is repressive and authoritarian.
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