A prominent veteran of the Tiananmen Square [9] protests in China has dubbed US presidential hopeful Donald Trump [10] a "privileged comeback king" and a threat to values of freedom that the United States represents. Taiwan-exiled Wuer Kaixi [11] made his comments after Trump described the 1989 protest movement in Beijing as a "riot." Wuer Kaixi wrote on Facebook [12]: "Speaking personally, after 27 years in exile from that 'riot'... I think I can speak for all fellow exiled and imprisoned Chinese in condemning Trump... I am not alone in appealing to the very same Americans who offered Chinese such as myself refuge when our own government deserted us to put aside partisan disputes and unite against Trump."
In an exchange on CNN last week, Trump was asked about his 1990 comments on the Tiananmen Square massacre, in which he referred with seeming admiration to "the power of strength." In a pseudo-retraction, the candidate responded: "I said that is a strong, powerful government that put it down with strength. And then they kept down the riot. It was a horrible thing. It doesn't mean at all I was endorsing it." (AFP [13], March 15)
But Trump's actual comments from 1990 actually were actually approving: "When the students poured into Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government almost blew it. Then they were vicious, they were horrible, but they put it down with strength. That shows you the power of strength." (Mediaite [14], March 10) Very telling from the same guy who now routinely says of protesters at his campaign rallies things like "I'd like to punch him in the face," and "I love the old days. You know what they used to do to guys like that when they were in a place like this? They'd be carried out on a stretcher, folks." (WP [15], Feb. 23)
We've noted before the strange irony [16] that both pillars of the hard right [17] as well as exponents of the idiot left [18] have sought to justify the Tiananmen Square massacre—as well as repression of the 2014 Hong Kong protests [19]. Nice company you are in, pseudo-left fools.
