China practices crisis communications 20 years too late, and poorly

Assuming these men blocking a view of Tiananmen Square with umbrellas are doing so at the behest of the Chinese government, their actions represent one of the worst ways to deal with the media. (Background: If you weren't aware, today, June 4th, is the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre).



Because of the Chinese government's inane policy, the BBC has downright creepy footage from a country that is either:

1. evidently embarrassed of its own history and expressing this sentiment through policy,
2. so grossly incompetent that it actually believes umbrellas will prevent the media from filming, or
3. so grossly incompetent that it actually believes umbrellas will hide the story from the public eye a full 20 years after the Tiananmen Square incident occurred.

So, in trying to cover up its violent, authoritarian history, China looks more Orwellian than ever. How can Chinese officials justify this policy? Where are the apologies? If China expects to be taken seriously on the world stage (which it does), policies like the one shown in the video must end.