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Market’s Echo of Tiananmen Date Sets Off Censors

Bobby Yip/Reuters

Tens of thousands of people gathered Monday in Hong Kong for a candlelight vigil on the 23rd anniversary of China’s deadly crackdown against students in Tiananmen Square.

HONG KONG — Maybe it was just a coincidence, but when the Shanghai Stock Exchange fell 64.89 points on Monday — uncannily echoing the date of the Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy students on June 4, 1989, exactly 23 years earlier — the Chinese blogosphere went into a tizzy.

Police detained a man in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Monday, the 23rd anniversary of China's crackdown of democracy protests.

“I want to thank all the stock traders!” wrote one microblogger.

“Maybe God does exist?” wrote another.

Whatever the reason, the strange trick that the stock market played on the Chinese Communist Party sent the country’s censors scrambling as well, prompting them to undertake unusually strenuous efforts to block references to the tragedy, which Chinese leaders have tried desperately to erase from their country’s consciousness.

In a nation where numerology is taken very seriously, the censors quickly began blocking searches for “stock market,” “Shanghai stock,” “Shanghai stock market,” “index” and related terms. They also deleted large numbers of microblog postings about the numerical surprise.

And even before tens of thousands of demonstrators clad mostly in black gathered at Victoria Park in Hong Kong for an annual candlelight vigil commemorating the Tiananmen killings, censors were also blocking searches for “Victoria Park,” “black clothes,” “silent tribute” and even “today.”

Not only did the broad index of the Shanghai exchange fall 64.89 points on Monday, but the index also opened that morning at 2346.98, a figure that, to some, looked like the date of the crackdown written backward, followed by the 23rd anniversary.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index is calculated by adding up the market capitalizations of hundreds of stocks and then converting the sum into an index based on a value of 100 on Dec. 19, 1990. Richard W. Kershaw, the managing director for Asia forensic technology at FTI Consulting, a global financial investigations company, said that it would be almost impossible for anyone to coordinate the buying and selling of so many stocks to produce a specific result.

But hackers have targeted the computer systems at other stock exchanges in the past, and Mr. Kershaw said it was at least possible that this might have occurred in China. He predicted that the government would investigate, adding, “You can bet we’ll never hear the results.”

Chinese culture puts a very strong, sometimes superstitious, emphasis on numbers and dates. The Beijing Olympics started at 8:08 p.m. on Aug. 8, 2008, a time and date chosen for the many eights, considered an auspicious number.

The candlelight vigil in Hong Kong drew a crowd that organizers estimated at “over 180,000,” which would make it the biggest of the annual events since 1989. Organizers have estimated the crowds in 1990, 2009, 2010 and 2011 at 150,000.

The police here were more cautious, putting the turnout at 85,000; they had estimated the annual turnout from 2009 through 2011 at 62,800, 113,000 and 77,000, and the 1990 vigil at 80,000.

The turnout on Monday, on a humid evening under a luminous full moon, was particularly hard to calculate.

Six soccer fields in front of a large stage, the core of the park, filled up with densely packed crowds earlier than in previous years. That prompted people to spill over to a series of other fields in the park. Some fields had outdoor screens that were put up to display the proceedings; others had no such provisions, having not filled with crowds in past years.

There was also an unusually large turnout of people who appeared to be in their teens or 20s. Until the last several years, the vigils had been mostly attended by people in their 40s and older — those who had experienced soaring hopes for democratization in 1989, followed by crushing disappointment.

Andy Lo, 20, a university student, said that social media like Facebook had been filled this year with calls to attend the vigil. But he and others there were unable to explain why this had happened.

“I used to think it was just a ritual,” he said. “We want something to change, the voice for change is much stronger now, but I can’t account for it.”

Even 23 years later, the use of tanks and gunfire to disperse unarmed students and other Tiananmen Square protesters remains a point of bitter dispute in China and around the world.

Increased attendance at the Hong Kong vigils has coincided with public concern here and in mainland China about issues including corruption and the inequity of wealth. And retired Chinese officials who were in office in the months leading up to the Tiananmen Square crackdown have begun publishing their memoirs.

The memoir of Zhao Ziyang, the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in the two years before the protest, was published shortly before the 2009 vigil. He was ousted from power immediately after the Tiananmen crackdown by Deng Xiaoping, China’s supreme leader at the time.

A series of conversations with Chen Xitong, the mayor of Beijing in 1989 and a reputed hard-liner, were published last week. He expressed regret that a military assault had taken place, denied reports that he had played a role in organizing the attack and said that “several hundred people died that day.”

Estimates of the civilian death toll in the crackdown have ranged from the hundreds to thousands.

China tightens security measures for the anniversary each year. In the last few days, the government has detained or placed under house arrest an unknown number of dissidents, part of an annual procedure before the anniversary.

The local government of Tongzhou, an eastern district of Beijing, took the unusual step of publishing on its Web site a description of its precautions for the anniversary: “From May 31 to June 4, wartime systems and protective measures should be in effect, and security volunteers, wearing red armbands and organized by the collective action of neighborhoods, should be on duty and patrolling.”

The post was deleted by early Monday afternoon.

Liu Weimin, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, expressed “strong dissatisfaction” with the United States on Monday after the State Department issued a statement on Sunday calling for China to free political prisoners still in jail nearly a quarter-century after the Tiananmen crackdown.

Kevin Drew contributed reporting.

Natural Disasters List June 4, 2012

 
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  • Heavy storms in China
    -Heavy storms and rainfall reported across parts of Northern and Northeast China.
    -"Blue alarm" (lowest emergency level) alert in Beijing. Heavy clouds changed Beijing almost in darkness.
    -Thunder and hail storms reported in north east China [Recent natural disasters In China]
    -Weather forecasters predicts bad weather for another 3 or 4 days.
    -Flooding is also expected. Massive flooding on parts of the Yangtze River killed 4,150 people in 1998.
  • Heavy Sandstorm in Saudi Arabia
    -Heavy sandstorms reported in eastern province of Saudi Arabia.
    -Visibility reduced to zero in Dammam, Dhahran and Alkhobar.
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    Related Post: Sandstorms in Egypt

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  • M 5.9 strong earthquake in Java, Indonesia with epicenter located 98 km SW Cibadak. Light shaking of MMI IV will have felt by the people of Pelabuhanratu, Sukabumi, Cicurug, Caringin 2, Banjar, Bogor and Depok. Weak shaking of MMI II-III will have felt by the people of Bandung, Tangerang, Bekasi and Jakarta. Click here to read detail report on this Jakartian quake.
    11:18 UTC (local time Monday, June 04, 2012 at 06:18 PM @epicenter)
  • M 4.9 moderate earthquake in Taiwan Region (@ 51 km depth) with epicenter located 61 km SE of Su'ao. Just a weak shaking of MMI II-III will have felt by the people of Hualien and Taipei.
    20:38 UTC (local time Tuesday, June 05, 2012 at 04:38 AM @ epicenter)
  • M 2.1 minor earthquake in Switzerland (@ 20 km depth) with epicenter located just below Gordevio. Weak shaking will have felt by the people of Locarno, Monza and Milan.
    19:03 UTC (local time 21:03; 2012/06/04 @ epicenter)
  • M 4.7 moderate very shallow earthquake in Marmaris, Turkey (@ 6 km depth) with epicenter located 13 km NW Marmaris. Light to weak shaking will have felt by the people of Aydin, Izmir and Rodos (Greece). Local seismological center mentions M 4.6 @ 5 km depth.
    Four minor earthquakes (< 3.4) were recorded in Karacha-Marmaris (Mugla) region before this quake. Marmaris is a port town and tourist resort on the Mediterranean coast, located in Mugla Province, southwest Turkey, along the shoreline of the Turkish Riviera. Click here if you felt this earthquake.
    14:19 UTC (local time 17:19; 2012/06/04 @ epicenter)
    Felt Reports
    Alan bush from Marmaris: Standing on the beach when it started to move and vibrate, everyone on the beach was aware of it.
  • M 3.7 weak earthquake in Hawaii Region, Hawaii (@ 38 km depth) with epicenter located 14 km SE from Naalehu. Weak skaing will have felt by the people of Pahala, Hawaiian Ocean View, Volcano, Kealakekua, Captain Cook, Holualoa, Hawaiian Paradise Park, Hilo, Kailua-Kona and Kalaoa.
    10:55 UTC (local time Monday, June 04, 2012 at 12:55 AM @ epicenter)
  • M 4.7 moderate shallow earthquake in Kyushu, Japan (@ 45 km depth) today with epicenter located 36 km SE Yatsushiro. Light to weak shaking will have felt by the people of Hitoyoshi, Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, Miyazaki and Fukuoka.
    06:51 UTC (local time Monday, June 04, 2012 at 03:51 PM @ epicenter)
  • M 3.3 weak shallow earthquake in Lebanon-Syria border region (@ 15km depth) with epicenter located 17 km S Tarabulus aš-Šam. Just a weak shaking will have felt by the people of Al-batrun, Bayrut and Tarabulus aš-Šam.
    06:50 UTC (local time 09:50; 2012/06/04 @ epicenter)
  • M 4.7 moderate earthquake in Offshore Guatemala (@ 98 km depth) with epicenter located 52 km S of Escuintla. Weak shaking will have felt even in parts of El Salvador.
    05:12 UTC (local time Sunday, June 03, 2012 at 11:12 PM @ epicenter)
  • M 6.2 very strong harmless sea quake South of Panama (@ 10 km depth) with epicenter located 346 km (214 miles) S of David. Just a weak shaking of MMI II-III will have felt by the people of Punta de Burica, Sona, Tonosi, San Francisco, Rio de Jesus, Las Palmas, Santiago, Las Tablas, Chitre, Aguadulce and Pocri.
    00:45 UTC (local time Sunday, June 03, 2012 at 06:45 PM at epicenter)
    Update
    M 6.6 another very strong earthquake South of Panama after 2 hours with epicenter located 325 km S from David. Far from the residential areas to cause any damage.
    Update
    Slight tremor was felt in parts of  Costa Rica and El Salvador.

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  • Typhoon Mawar
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    -Sto. Nino Detour bridge in Brgy. Sto. Nino, Busuanga, palawan region reported to be collapsed due to strong current of river.
    -As of 7:00 AM (local time), 04 June 2012,  a total of 108 stranded passengers and 2 light vehicles were reported in Pasacao, Camarine Sur. Click for detail update report on Tphoon Mawar (Ambo).

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  • Wildfire in Sequoia National Forest, California
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  • Earthquake in Chile!
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  • Mysterious cosmic burst captured in trees
    In the late eighth century, Earth was hit by a mystery blast of cosmic rays, according to a Japanese study that found a relic of the powerful event in cedar trees. An extremely energetic event occurred around our space environment in AD 775 ... (but) neither a solar flare nor a local supernova is likely to have been responsible.

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