Hello and Welcome. This is The Capitals. Your weekly recap of some of the biggest stories from The Capitals worldwide.
A lone protestor standing in front of a line of army tanks at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square remains one of the most iconic pictures of defiance in the twentieth century. Crushed by China’s Communist Party rulers in June, 1989, Beijing’s Tianenmen Square horror turned 34 this week.
In what started as student-led protests in the mid-1980s, by this time of 1989, catapulted huge sections of the Chinese society, demanding political openness and less censorship.
In the weeks following June 4, 1989, up to one million protestors gathered in Tiananmen Square, making it one of the largest public moments of defiance in the 20th century.
Between June 3 to June 4 in 1989, the troops began to move towards Tiananmen Square, opening fire, crushing and arresting protestors to regain control of the area.
The Chinese government deemed them “counter-revolutionary riots”. They said that 200 civilians and several dozen security personnel died. But in 2017, newly released documents revealed that Sir Alan Donald, the British Ambassador to China was told by a member of China’s State Council that at least 10,000 people were killed in the Tiananmen crackdown.
In 2023, the commemoration of the events of June 1989 remains a muted affair subject to Beijing’s massive censorship. Eight people in Hong Kong were arrested earlier as they staged symbolic protest to commemorate the victims of the events of June 1989.
A carnival celebrating Hong Kong’s handover to China is scheduled to take place at the park where public commemoration of Tiananmen Square horror used to take place in the city for decades. Elsewhere, overseas Chinese commemorated the victims of Tiananmen with symbolic vigils and anti-Communist Party candle marches.
Singapore
Singapore became the most significant diplomatic capital this week as the city-state hosted the Shangri-La Dialogue, one of Asia’s key defence summits. While the lack of US-China talks disappointed many, it’s the Washington-Beijing showdown in itself which emerged as the summit’s highlight despite war in Ukraine being presented as the most pressing issues faced by the world at the moment.
While the Chinese defence minister took a veiled dig at the United States, accusing Washington of indulging in other’s business with a ‘cold war mentality’, the Pentagon flagged China’s ‘increasingly risky’ behaviour in the region.
Meanwhile, Indonesian defence minister Prabowo Subianto’s proposal to bring peace between Russia and Ukraine brought Jakarta support from Beijing but flak from the most capitals in the West. Calling for the cessation of hostilities, Subianto called for a referendum to be held in the disputed areas.
Washington DC, United States
US President Joe Biden this week signed into law the debt ceiling bill that had been passed by Congress preventing a potential default in the largest economy worldwide. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 enables the government to raise the debt ceiling and continue borrowing, ensuring the timely payment of obligations. The enactment of law follows a rare moment of display of bipartisan support which raised the government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling.
Dakar, Senegal
Tensions rose high in Dakar after clashes broke out between the supporters of an Opposition politician and police, leading to 15 deaths over two days.
The army was deployed to the streets but scuffles erupted on Friday night in parts of the capital, Dakar, and in other parts of the country.
The tensions flared up after a court convicted opposition leader Ousmane Sonko of morally “corrupting” a young woman and sentenced to two years in prison. This, his supporters say, is government’s move to take Sonko out of the running for the 2024 poll.
The United Nations, the European Union and Senegal’s former colonial power France have also expressed concern over the violence.
Kampala, Uganda
A group of Ugandan street kids from a Kampala slum will perform at the grand finale of Britain’s Got Talent. The children of the Triplets Ghetto Kids troupe have already wowed the Britain’s Got Talent judges and viewers alike with their energetic dance medley, colourful costumes and captivating smiles.
The Ghetto Kids first became an internet sensation in 2014 when their homemade dance video featuring the hit “Sitya Loss” by Eddy Kenzo, another Ugandan orphan turned music star, went viral.
The clip of several youngsters dancing on a dirt road opened a floodgate of opportunities for the group whose videos on YouTube have had many millions of hits.
They have gone on to win several African and global awards, and have worked with international music stars such as American singer-songwriter Chris Brown and Nigerian Afrobeats star Wizkid.
You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.
