China Bans Image of Athletes Embracing at Asian Games, Suppresses 'Tiananmen' Reference

A photograph of two Chinese female athletes has been censored on Chinese social media due to an inadvertent reference to the Tiananmen Square massacre. The race numbers worn by the athletes form the number '64', which is a common allusion to the incident that occurred on 4 June. Chinese authorities regularly remove any mention of the massacre from the internet as discussions of the event remain taboo in the country. In 1989, hundreds of pro-democracy protesters were shot dead by troops in Beijing, although the exact number of fatalities remains uncertain. The photo in question showed the athletes embracing each other after a 100m hurdles race at the Asian Games. Posts including the photo were replaced with grey squares on Weibo, China's main social media platform. However, the picture can still be found in some Chinese news articles. Discussion of the events at Tiananmen Square is highly sensitive in China, with many younger Chinese having little to no knowledge about the massacre due to government control over information. The government regularly removes posts relating to the massacres from the internet. In 2020, a livestream by a popular Chinese influencer on the anniversary of the massacre abruptly ended after he showed his audience a cake resembling a tank, referencing the iconic image of the Tank Man.