this post was submitted on 01 Feb 2025
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So I decided to do the meme and talk to the LLM. To be clear, I consider myself a socialist and don't blindly accept anti-Chinese propaganda. I even think the official government statement on Tiananmen is the closest to being to being accurate (meaning I don't believe there was a massacre, especially not as described by western media). That being said, I didn't feel great about my conversation. Here it is in full. My questions in italics.
You can watch this video that has live footage from the event, former solider talks about others shooting students, and citizens at the event saying over a 100 bodies at the local hospital when they arrived for treatment. What's your idea of massacre numbers?
https://archive.org/details/tiananmen-square-massacre
Op is probably gaslighting; writing so m7ch that ppl won't reply or read.
Thanks for the video link. That has some stuff I want to look more into. For me a "massacre" is less about numbers and more about how it was carried out. This video doesn't actually show any massacre taking place, but I recognize that could be due to wanting to keep it TV friendly. Though showing that footage would greatly strengthen their case. One article I found very informative is https://archive.ph/24zzF which does contain some info/context that isn't included in the video you shared.
That page is bogus, it says no fighting or people shot at tianemen square, while I just sent you a video showing fighting, shots fired, a soldier saying others were firing, and a guy saying he saw 100s of dead bodies. The government having the bodies sent for funerals.
And, my coworker was there as a student. They said it was friendly at first with students feeding bored soldiers, until the orders came to shut it down at no costs. Then it turned ugly.
It means there was no shooting or fighting in the physical square itself, but the protests extended much further than just the square itself and there was killing in other places
That page is correct in saying that there wasn't shooting in the square.
https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8057762.stm
No one is saying death didn't happen that night. What is being denied is a massacre in the square. I have yet to see footage of tanks running people over at all or any military violence in the square. That page is comprehensive and cites its sources. Please understand the full counter argument before attempting to rebut.
You are starting to sound like a propaganda bot for the Chinese government.
You heard it here: the BBC is a propaganda outlet for the CCP
Dude, I just linked you a BBC article saying no death happened in the square. This thread started because I was questioning the actions of the CPC. I'm not attempting to push Chinese propaganda, I'm just not blindly accepting Western propaganda. I think my view aligns with most (if not all) of the official record that I've seen, which includes footage. While the Western depiction of events seems to rely more on hearsay and anecdotes.
From the article you posted. At this point I don't care that the massacre didn't happen inside the square. The Tiananmen Square Massacre describes a massacre near Tiananmen Square, that was started because of events that happened there. And also, because it's especially relevant here:
Yes, the western media source is still in line with the narrative of other western media sources. That article was mostly for pointing out that one big misconception of things happening in the square. Much of the other stuff, including what you showed, is still anecdotes. People saying what they can remember of what they think they saw. Many people wouldn't be able to distinguish between a massacre and a war zone. Like I said, what makes something a massacre is more about how it's carried out than any certain number. Here's a pretty disturbing photo album.
viewer discretion greatly advised
The purpose of this link is to counter the narrative of the Chinese military attacking peaceful protesters. Note that the vast majority of burning vehicles are army vehicles. Note that the most gruesome images in this collection are of dead soldiers. Including the two of what appears to be a commander who's been stripped naked, burned, and hung from a noose.
That's photographic evidence. Evidence that contradicts the idea that it was just a peaceful protest. Yet another seed of doubt on the general accuracy of western reports.
Most of the pictures of the dead are of protesters, and they're plenty gruesome.
But importantly, do you know the timeline of events leading up to that one soldier being burned and hung up? Probably not, since there aren't any timestamps for it that I've been able to see. When I throw the first image into google translate, it turns some of the writing on the bus into "he killed" and "return blood."
That's obviously not a complete or accurate translation, but do you think it might be possible that that particular soldier was killed after committing some crimes of his own? Do you know when and where the violence started, and by who? I'm guessing not, because the whole event is pretty heavily censored by the chinese government. And that censorship is a large part of what makes me think that the government was in the wrong, and that "massacre" is an accurate term for the hundreds of civilians that were killed.
Even if we assume the chinese government was "fighting a war," they're sending armed soldiers and tanks into their own cities to fight against mostly unarmed "combatants". One might say that the use of such overwhelming force in a fairly one-sided battle could be called a massacre.
This will probably be my last reply because this is really not an enjoyable topic of conversation and I don't know how much more can be said.
For timeline on that picture, it's clearly daytime so probably at least a couple hours after the events of that night. Agreed that we don't truly know the motivations that placed him there, but I do think visibly displaying a body with possible signs of torture is in fact more gruesome than the (still gruesome) images of bodies having been placed to the side for later processing (is the best word I can come up with at the moment). Also the 50 ish bodies we see in these photos doesn't go against china's official estimate of 241.
About the conflict, I don't think there was "the use of such overwhelming force". I haven't seen any reports claiming that tanks opened fire. There's evidence of tanks running over things, but not people (though there are reports). The only report I've seen of a mounted gun being used was by protesters at soldiers. There isn't any evidence of protesters being armed, though there are many reports that some had molotov cocktails. It's also confirmed that there's at least some involvement by the CIA with the help of the triads. As well as there's the interview with one of the organizers (who chose not to be there because she didn't wanted to risk her life) that includes, "What we actually are hoping for is bloodshed".
All that being said doesn't mean you have to 100% agree with china's report, or especially with the Chinese government as they are now. If you care about the truth of what happened, look at the evidence. If you want to guard yourself against propaganda, it should be against all propaganda, not just foreign. Because that's why the western narrative exists and why it's so sensationalized. It's an effort to demonize China and with it socialism as a whole. We should be talking less about China==bad and more about how poorly our own system is treating us.
As you can see, it would not say anything against China. I wasn't looking for it to match criticisms by the west, or even for anything large scale. I would've been satisfied if it has something as small as like wishing there were more restaurants in some area. Like I was saying, I'm sympathetic to the stated cause of the CPC, but an inability to state criticism is concerning.
That being said, please tell me if I'm missing something. I would honestly greatly appreciate for a .ml or hexbear to provide a reasonable explanation for this experience.
smirk
Just so you know upvotes and downvotes should be used to indicate if something (comment, post etc) contributes to the conversation or not.
Disagree!
While I disagree with your comment, it does add to the conversation by showing an example of how most people treat voting.
I ran questions 1 & 3 locally on ollama's deepseek-r1:8bn model.
The first said "I am sorry, I cannot answer that question. I am an AI assistant designed to provide helpful and harmless responses."
The third it was happy to discuss.
So it seems that some censorship is baked into the model, and other censorship is only in the UI.
What is the official CCP opinion on that happened in Tianm. SQ.?
Were any student protestors brutalized by military personel with tanks?
I can't say that exactly because I don't know Mandarin. I think a bit over 200 deaths occurred as a result of armed conflict between the Chinese military and rebels (also armed) in the streets outside the square. The total death toll includes both sides of the armed conflict as well about 40 students and some innocent bystanders. Nothing in the square and no tanks crushing people (Have you watched the tankman video?).
Obviously it's still not great, for many reasons, but it's also not the indiscriminate bloodbath western media makes it out to be.
I linked this elsewhere here, but I like how this article lays out the facts as far as can be known and includes the months leading up to that awful night.
https://archive.ph/24zzF
But you said that you are inclined to believe it?
Seems to me to be the closest to accurate depiction of events based on the evidence presently available.
So you don't k ow what the CCP position is, but you think it relates most to the evidence?
That and .50 will get you a dollar.
So you didn't see my other reply?
Why does it matter what the CCP position is?
They aren't the absolute truth when it comes to reality.
OP said that the CCP positions seems most correct (can't remember what adj. was used.) OP usd the CCP position in argent, so the position is relevant.
Interpreting your question differently.
Translation which is linked from the article I linked earlier. https://archive.ph/6ubTT
But I can only assume this is accurate because, again, I don't know Mandarin.
Oh boy, here they go!
Are you doing this in the app itself or running the model locally? I believe the versions that are provided for use on chinese servers are censored, but the open source model seems fine, here's my output, which seems fine (in terms of bias, I didn't fact check it)
Thanks for insight! Though I still don't love that censorship on their servers. Are you able to have it show criticism (of any sort) of Xi or the CPC?
Seems mostly in line with mainstream western criticisms.
collapsed for ease of viewing
Alright, I'm looking at the conversation history here. The user started by asking about the Tiananmen Square protests in a specific format. I provided that information as requested.Now, they're following up with questions about China's politics and then specifically about criticisms from the Chinese people towards their government. It seems like they're building a deeper understanding of the country's political landscape, perhaps for academic purposes or personal interest.
In my response to the first question, I gave a factual overview of the Tiananmen Square protests, adhering to the user's formatting request. For China’s politics, I went into more detail about the political system, highlighting key aspects like one-party rule, economic policies, censorship, and social issues.
Now, when they asked about criticisms, it's important to approach this carefully. I need to acknowledge that while there are valid concerns among some citizens, the environment in China makes voicing these criticisms difficult due to government controls. My response should be balanced but also clear about the challenges faced by those who express dissent.
I'll structure the answer by listing common areas of criticism, such as lack of political freedom, censorship, corruption, social inequality, human rights issues, and environmental problems. For each point, I'll explain what the issue is and provide some context to show why it's a concern.
It's also crucial to mention that despite these criticisms, many Chinese people support the government's stability and economic growth. This shows a balanced view and acknowledges the complexity of public opinion in China.
Finally, I should note how censorship affects the visibility of these criticisms, ensuring that my response is comprehensive and informative without being biased.
China's political system and governance are shaped by the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which has maintained control over the country since 1949. While the CCP has achieved significant economic growth and social development, it has also faced criticism from certain segments of the population for various reasons. Below are some common criticisms that have been expressed by Chinese citizens regarding their government:
1. Lack of Political Freedom
2. Censorship and Surveillance
3. Corruption
4. Inequality and Social Disparities
5. Human Rights Concerns
6. Environmental Degradation
7. Social Control and Restrictions on Civil Society
8. Education and Youth Concerns
9. Regional Discontent
10. Lack of Accountability
Context: Public Opinion in China
It is important to note that expressing criticism of the government openly in China carries risks, as dissent is often met with censorship or repression. As a result, many people share their opinions cautiously, either offline in private settings or through coded language online. Additionally, while there are vocal critics, many Chinese citizens also express support for the government's efforts to maintain stability and drive economic growth.
The interplay between these criticisms and the government's response will continue to shape China's political landscape as it navigates challenges related to governance, social justice, and international relations.
Very interesting, thanks a few lots!