Not that I would begrudge democratic Chinese to honor the victims of the 4th June 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre and remind the world of truly 1984-ish state despotism in China, but don't we all, and Europeans especially, also have another memorable event to commemorate on that very date?
An event of peaceful, but not less newsworthy nor rememberance-weighty proportions. I am talking of the results of 4th June 1989 first free elections in Poland, in which the population voted out the communist system, and voted in electoral democracy under the banner of the Solidarity (=a mass movement masquerading for the moment as trade union). An event that in turn opened the gates to (r)evolutions in other "socialist block" countries later in the year, those that culminated in the 9th November 1989 people's dismantling of the Berlin Wall, and the spectacular –to say the least– 22nd December execution of Nicolae and Elena Ceauşescu in Romania.
Twenty years ago "SOLIDARNOŚĆ" used this election poster with Gary Cooper (from "High Noon") with a voting card in his hand as its symbol. http://oregonstate.edu/freedomonthefence/sarnecki-noon1989.jpg
I am told, but am unable to find it online, that today a monumental-façade-size version of that poster adorns, if that's the expression, the "Palace of Culture and Sciences" given to the Poles by Joseph Stalin in 1955, which to this day stands in the middle of Warsaw (here a picture from last year, all in blue to honor World Diabetes Day [I think]):
http://bi.gazeta.pl/im/0/5950/z5950340X.jpg |
don't be evil! pointing this out is evil! long life corporations that compromise on principles... little by little, step by step... otherwise, the world actually might become better (and less corporate!) |
Interesting, not to say somewhat shocking. I looked at web Chinese-facing results yesterday for simply "Tianamen Square" yesterday, which includes some SERP screenshots: http://www.seoskeptic.com/search-engine-complicity-in-chinese-censorship/
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It's been a open "secret" in the past years . |
Ianf: Thanks for the nice words about Polish election of June 4th 1989.
The poster news is indeed true: http://miasta.gazeta.pl/warszawa/51,95190,6649309.html?i=0
There's also another big poster of Lech Wałęsa in Gdańsk: http://www.kfp.pl/page,propozycja,klucz,baner0106,tytul,WIELKI%20WA%C5%81%C4%98SA%20ZAWIS%C5%81%20NA%20ZIELENIAKU,index.html |
Google: obeying local laws, we were forced to do cover-up. |