May 4th Movement and June 4th Movement
by Wei Jingsheng • June 4, 2020 at 4:00 pm
Wei Jingshen, chairman of the Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)
The May 4th Movement in 1919 and the June 4th Movement in 1989 have many similarities and differences. The first similarity is patriotism, both campaigns were under the banner of patriotism. But the patriotism of the May 4th Movement was a patriotism against foreigners, while the patriotism of the June 4th Movement wasn't. In 1919, it was foreigners who bullied China during the May 4th Movement; in contrast, during the June 4th Massacre, people found out that it was the Chinese government that bullied the Chinese people.
