Asia News: Tiananmen 20 years on
by Bernardo Cervellera
As of today AsiaNews will begin to publish a dossier on the 20th anniversary of the massacre of Tiananmen Square, which took place on June 4th 1989. It will include interventions from the protagonists of the democracy movement of that time and of today. They will speak of the past, but above all, they will speak of the needs and urgent issues that China faces in the present and the future.

05/26/2009 CHINA
Tiananmen: Do not forget the young man who defied the tanks
by Lu Decheng

Lu Decheng, a political refugee in Canada, was a worker who, during the Tiananmen protests, stained Mao’s portrait. For this he was sentenced to life in prison, but was freed after nine years. He describes the heroism of ordinary people who supported the students and warns the international community of the danger that a non-democratic China represents.

05/26/2009 CHINA
Farmers storm police station in Yingde, Guangdong
Incident is sparked by an unsubstantiated rumour that a farmer had died in prison. Poor rural communities are usually deprived of basic rights and are increasingly exasperated. Anything, however small, can lead to street protests that can turn violent.