This Thursday, June 4th, marks 37 years since the Tiananmen Square massacre. The massacre was marked by the brutal repression of hundreds, possibly thousands of unarmed student protesters calling for democratic reforms. As the Guardian notes, the passage of time and concerted efforts by Chinese authorities to suppress memories of the massacre mean that it risks fading into grey. Advocacy groups have endeavoured to protect the legacy of the victims. The China Unofficial Archives, a US-registered non-profit that aims to protect “censored and suppressed Chinese history”, the Guardian notes. The group hosts a range of material about the Tiananmen Square protest – a soldier’s diary, a subversive documentary by state-employed filmmakers and most recently, a collection of photographs which shed light on the joy and hope of protesters right before the massacre. One group has been particularly vocal since the massacre – mothers of victims. Safeguard Defenders, Asian human rights NGO published the video of an elderly lady, Mrs. Zhang whose son was shot in the head during the massacre. She is one of the founding members of the Tiananmen Mothers, a group calling on the government to acknowledge the massacre and hold those responsible accountable. This year, the restrictions were particularly harsh – mothers banned from visiting their children’s grave and from holding their annual memorial ceremony. The Taipei Times opinion piece here reminds us that June 4^th vigils have been banned since 2020 in Hong Kong. The writer says pays tribute to overseas commemorations of the massacre in cities like Taipei, London and Vancouver. The writer adds: “The migration of these vigils is more than an act of defiance; it is evidence of the forced relocation of public memory.”

Albanians have protested nationwide for several day over a luxury new resort project. In this detailed article by Tirana Times, the paper explains that the luxury resort project is backed by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son in law, Ivanka Trump and Qatari investors. The tourism project has turned a local land dispute on Albania’s southern coast into a “national political crisis.” The project in Zvernec is situated inside one of the country’s most sensitive coast ecosystems. Tirana Times says the land dispute has become about wider grievances – corruption, arrogance of power and disgruntlement with the ruling government. Panorama, one of Albania’s most widely read newspapers reports that one protester called for Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign and called him a “master thief and traitor to Albania.” In the midst of this national anger, one unlikely symbol has emerged: the flamingo. Politico says the Zvernec coastline is home to flamingos, 200 migratory bird species, nesting sea turtles and monk seals – hence why the movement has now been nicknamed Albania’s “flamingo revolution.”

German director Wim Wenders has agreed to pull one of his films out of circulation due to a child actor being topless in it. Actor Nastassja Kinski was just 13 when she starred topless in a scene in the 1975 film “Wrong Move.” For the past 15 years, she campaigned to have the film removed saying it was her first film, and Wim Wenders should have but didn’t protect her. Now finally, the award-winning director known for films like “Paris Texas” and “Perfect Days” has agreed to withdraw his film from distribution and issued a public apology to the actor

Finally, football had prescient Paul the Octopus who could predict winners of games – the NBA has Air Corgi! The cute little corgi was filmed punching balls into a basket with her nose and in the process correctly predicting the San Antonio Spurs’ 4 games to 3 games victory over the Oklahoma Thunder in the Western Conference. In this new video, she predicted a Spurs victory over the Knicks in the NBA finals in seven games. But she did get it wrong for Game 1 – predicting a Spurs victory – they actually lost to the Knicks overnight!

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