The contradictions of the market reform era are fading as China enters a new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics. China's Faustian bargain with Western capital is over, as it emerges with the strength to focus on domestic markets, innovation, and new economic zones.

The West lingers in the "what ifs" of the past, having "lost" the opportunity to mold China to its will in 1949 and again in 1989. But China has always only belonged to itself. As Western chauvinists cling to the past, China forges into the future with all those who wish to join.

The Tiananmen protests have become a fetishized fantasy weaponized by Westerners to demonize China and to paint Chinese people as blindly unaware of the protests. Contrary to Westerners' infantilizing beliefs, Chinese people young and old widely know about & discuss the protests.

The Western fetishization & weaponization of the Tiananmen protests are an insult to the memory of the Chinese people who were involved, and it has become a weapon to bludgeon China and the Chinese people with and to serve the West's own imperialist interests to attack China.

The Tiananmen protests are a traumatic moment for China & the Chinese people. However, it is important to note that the West's performative memorialization of the event are an insult to Chinese people's pain & are done merely to further their imperialist agenda against China.

If you truly care about Chinese people, then you will not exploit & use the painful memory of the Tiananmen protests as a trump card to advance the West's agenda & attack the Chinese govt, which is the same government that 1.4 billion Chinese people every day stand together with.

Due to popular request, Qiao Collective has consolidated this thread into a piece on our website. Read our reflections on the Tiananmen protests, the pain that remains, the West’s weaponization of this event, & our deep love for China & the Chinese people. https://www.qiaocollective.com/home/a-note-on-the-tiananmen-protests