1 of 1 Lin Yuwei and Wu Yanni’s identification numbers taped to their hips spell out “64” Photo: Portal Lin Yuwei and Wu Yanni’s identification numbers taped to their hips spell out “64” Photo: Portal
A photo of two Chinese athletes hugging after a run was censored on Chinese social media.
The reason: The identification numbers that Lin Yuwei and Wu Yanni wore on their hips during the race formed 64 when the athletes hugged each other.
The number has become a common allusion to what happened on June 4th (4/6 or 4/6, depending on the most common date format in each country): the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.
Discussion of the massacre is still taboo in China and authorities routinely delete any mention of the topic online.
This year, troops shot dead hundreds of prodemocracy protesters in Beijing’s square.
It remains unclear how many people actually died that day, but estimates from human rights groups range from several hundred to several thousand deaths.
The censored athletes hugged after a 100meter hurdles event during the Asian Games, where Lin won gold. She was on lane #6 next to Wu’s lane #4.
On Weibo, one of China’s largest social media platforms, users made several posts congratulating Lin on her victory. However, posts that included a photo of the two hugging were censored.
However, the photo does not appear to have been completely deleted from the internet as some Chinese news outlets still use the image of the two athletes.
China has won nearly 300 medals so far at the Asian Games, currently taking place in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. The event is scheduled to last until October 8th.
The debate over the Tiananmen Square massacre is extremely sensitive in China generations of younger Chinese have grown up with little or no knowledge of the events.
Publications on this topic are regularly removed from the Internet, which is tightly controlled by the government.
Last year, a popular Chinese influencer’s livestream on the eve of the 33rd anniversary of the massacre ended abruptly after he showed his audience a cake shaped like a tank a reference to the iconic image showing a civilian standing in the way in front of a line of tanks and tries to block them.