“Tomorrow is 6.4″

Well, actually that was a few days ago. But before burying another anniversary in the sand, here is a ‘reply thread’ to a facebook note which I was one of the recipients of. I’ve translated it into English, and kept the participants anonymous - but it’s worth noting, as is obvious from some of the content, that they’re all Taiwanese exchange students. (Correction: I’ve since learnt that only one - A - is an exchange student, the other are friends of A in Taiwan, or mainland Chinese.)

A: Tomorrow is 6.4 again. [reposts this article about the Tiananmen mothers]

B: In the strictly controlled Chinese mainland, try your best not to discuss these topics, especially this sensitive moment, from the ROC constitution’s statutory national territory. Today a Taiwanese girl has been arrested in the Shanghai Expo, just for saying that the Expo doesn’t have the Taiwanese national flag. [Ed: read about it here (in Chinese)]

A: Speaking like that, I’m a little afraid …

C: When you’re abroad, be careful.

A: What can you do … I was wrong … I shouldn’t have shared this essay with everyone … I just deleted everything I should delete … but I’m still a little trepid. I’ll certainly be careful with my behavior …

D: haha, if you’re just posting on facebook it’s not too bad, at least facebook is blocked in the mainland, in general you can be as mischievous as you like, it’s no problem.

A: It’s only facebook … everyone shouldn’t keep talking [about this], I’m very afraid …

C: Don’t think too much about it! Being discreet in what you say and do is enough ~

A: Stop this kind of conversation now, OK!

If you insist …