On the 37th Anniversary of June 4, Malaysians Urge Attention to Political Motives Behind China's Outreach

(Central News Agency reporter Huang Ziqiang, Kuala Lumpur, 4th) The June 4 incident marked its 37th anniversary. Malaysian politicians and activists said today that as China rises and Malaysia-China relations deepen, public memory of the June 4 incident in Malaysia is gradually fading. Nonetheless, the political implications behind China's expanding outreach activities remain a subject of concern for some Malaysian public opinion.

On June 4, 1989, Chinese Communist troops suppressed a student movement in Beijing's Tiananmen Square that had been calling for political and economic reforms, causing many student and civilian deaths and prompting some individuals to flee abroad.

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te posted on Facebook and the social platform X, expressing hope that China would face up to the June 4 incident, acknowledge the truth, and open a dialogue for reconciliation. U.S. figure Marco Rubio also issued a statement noting that China's censorship cannot erase the history of June 4, and that the victims will eventually be vindicated.

Malaysia maintains friendly relations with China. Although the June 4 incident has rarely been a focus of public discussion in recent years, some media outlets have run special features reviewing the related history and examining how Malaysian society should understand China from the perspectives of historical memory, nationalism, and multiculturalism.

Selangor State Assembly Speaker Lau Weng San told Central News Agency that overall understanding of the June 4 incident within Malaysia's Chinese community is gradually fading, and particularly the younger generation generally lacks awareness of the event's original circumstances.

He said the Malaysian government tends to adopt a balanced and nuanced diplomatic strategy in handling relations with China and takes domestic public opinion into account when conducting foreign affairs; it will neither take as hard a stance as Japan or the Philippines, nor fully align with China as some African or Latin American countries have.

Lau added that in the face of U.S.-China competition and rising tensions across the Taiwan Strait, Malaysia still prefers to handle differences through communication and dialogue, emphasizing the rule of law, reason, rules, and transparency. He said the Malaysian public's attitude toward China has become more complex than before and cannot be understood from a single perspective.

Josh Hong, a former coordinator for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said that over the past 37 years China's economic and technological strength has rapidly increased, and Malaysian attention to the June 4 incident has gradually declined. Human rights groups and Chinese community organizations have in recent years rarely held public discussions or memorial events related to June 4.

He pointed out that Malaysia has long followed a pragmatic foreign policy, which has led it to adopt a relatively low-profile stance on sensitive issues such as the South China Sea and to avoid proactively challenging regional powers like China.

He also said that China engages Malaysian civil society through academic, cultural, religious, and educational exchanges, and that such exchanges often carry certain political objectives; some Chinese community organizations may not be fully aware of the united-front implications involved.

Regarding how Malaysian society views China, Hong said Malay society accepts the convenience brought by Chinese investment and products but does not necessarily approve of China's political system and ideology.

(Edit: Zhang Zhixuan) 1150604

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