Unveiling China's Media Censorship: The Hidden Story Behind Two Athletes' Controversial Photo
China censored a photo of two Chinese hurdlers embracing after a race, seemingly due to their lane numbers inadvertently resembling the date of the Tiananmen massacre in 1989 This act highlights the sensitivity surrounding the event and raises questions about freedom of expression in China
China appears to have censored a photograph depicting the embrace of two Chinese hurdlers after a race. The reason behind the censorship is their lane numbers, which unintentionally resembled a reference to the Tiananmen massacre in 1989.
The photograph portrays Lin Yuwei, competing in lane 6, and Wu Yanni, participating in lane 4, sharing a hug following the conclusion of the women's 100-meter hurdles final at the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Standing side by side, they displayed stickers indicating their lane numbers as "6 4", widely interpreted as a symbolic reference to the tragic events of June 4, 1989. On that fateful day, Chinese military tanks mercilessly invaded Beijing as part of a brutal crackdown to suppress the pro-democracy demonstrations led by students in Tiananmen Square.
Beijing maintains strict control over any mention of the event, completely removing all references to it from the Chinese internet. They act swiftly to delete any instances on social media, even when the numbers 6,4, and 89 appear together but have no connection to Tiananmen. The race occurred on October 1, China's National Day, a sensitive time when the authorities are especially watchful for any dissent that may divert attention from the celebrations.
The photograph was initially shared by state broadcaster CCTV on Weibo, which is China's Twitter-like social media service, on Sunday night. However, CNN has discovered that the photograph was removed from CCTV's account approximately one hour later. A recent search on Weibo no longer reveals results of the same image. However, scattered posts of another photograph featuring the two athletes clearing a hurdle with their lane numbers visible, albeit in a less noticeable manner, can still be located.
The photo is not available on Baidu, China's popular search engine, and Google services are restricted in the country. However, the image can be viewed in an article published on Monday by Xinhua, the state news agency, although the numbers are cropped out from the picture.
CNN contacted Weibo, Baidu, CCTV, and the Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party for their input.
In addition to silencing dissent against the Communist Party, China enforces strict censorship on topics it considers sensitive or contradictory to the party's principles and beliefs.
The rules have in the past led to the censorship of what might appear to some to be innocuous images, such as womens cleavage and men modeling in lingerie as a gimmick on social media to boost sales.
