Flying the Flag of the Republic

Flying the Flag of the Republic - A Record of the Suppression of the Counter-Revolutionary Riots in Beijing
飘扬，共和国的旗帜——平息北京反革命暴乱纪实
Produced by	Propaganda Department of the Political Work Department of the People's Liberation Army
Distributed by	National Art Museum of China
Release date	July 28, 1989 (1989-07-28)
Running time	105 minutes
Country	China
Language	Standard Mandarin Chinese

Flying the Flag of the Republic - A Record of the Suppression of the Counter-Revolutionary Riots in Beijing is a documentary compiled by the Publicity Department of the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in July 1989 to commemorate the PLA soldiers who died in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. The video was released on July 17, 1989,  and premiered at the National Art Museum of China on July 28, 1989. The documentary was also broadcast on China Central Television.

Content

The 105-minute film Flying the Flag of the Republic tells the story of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests from the perspective of the Chinese government. ^[1] It is divided into four parts: "The Storm Rises", "The Tide of Turmoil", "The Truth of the Riots", and "The Merit That Will Go Down in History". ^[2]

Distribution and screening

Flying the Flag of the Republic was published by Beijing Higher Education Audiovisual Publishing House on July 17, 1989. It is divided into four episodes: "The Storm Rises", "The Tide of Turmoil", "The Truth of the Riots" and "The Passionate Souls". ^[3] The premiere was held at the National Art Museum of China on July 28, 1989, and Li Ruihuan cut the ribbon for the premiere. ^[2] From July 31, 1989, it was screened at the exhibition "Suppression of the Counter-Revolutionary Riots in Beijing" jointly organized by the Propaganda Department of the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army, the Publicity Department of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee and the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution. ^[4] The documentary was also broadcast on China Central Television. ^[5]

After the video was released, Shanghai prisons and labor camps played the video to prisoners, ^[6] and schools such as Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, ^[7] Zhenjiang Shipbuilding College, ^[8] and Chaozhou Jinshan Middle School organized groups of students to watch the video. ^[9]

Reactions

Zhou Keyu, deputy director of the General Political Department, said that this was "precious historical evidence that many comrades risked their lives to capture at the scene" and "will help the people further understand the truth". The People’s Daily said that it “used detailed on-site video footage to recreate the entire process of how a small number of people created unrest and the counter-revolutionary riots in the capital occurred, developed, and were quelled”. ^[2]

References

1. 关岭 (2020-06-04). "春秋笔：敏感六四 被遗忘的37名共和国卫士". 多维新闻 . Archived from the original on 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2021-08-02. 另外，邓小平当时还为戒严部队题词"共和国卫士"、"首都卫士"。中央军委决定为戒严部队全体官兵颁发"首都卫士"纪念章、纪念册，并编辑出版《共和国卫士》一书，摄制《共和国卫士》纪录片。 Archived 2021-08-02 at the Wayback Machine
2. 刘回年; 罗玉文 (1989-07-29). "《飘扬，共和国的旗帜》电视片首映式昨在京举行 《平息反革命暴乱，保卫人民共和国摄影展开幕》 李瑞环和杨白冰分别为首映式和开幕式剪彩". 人民日报 (in Chinese (China)). p. 第1版.
3. 新华社 (1989-07-17). "平暴纪实录像片出版". 人民日报 (in Chinese (China)). p. 第4版.
4. 徐运平 (1989-09-01). "血写的教科书——平息北京反革命暴乱展览侧记". 人民日报 (in Chinese (China)). p. 第1版.
5. 魏伟 (1989). "从观看《飘扬,共和国的旗帜》谈起——认真做好声像档案的收集工作". 四川档案 (6). Archived from the original on 2019-08-01. Retrieved 2019-10-16. Archived 2019-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
6. 《上海监狱志》编纂委员会 (2003). "第五章 教育改造 第二节 思想政治教育". 上海监狱志. 上海: 上海社会科学院出版社. ISBN   7-80681-330-6. Archived from the original on 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2019-10-16. Archived 2020-11-04 at the Wayback Machine
7. 新华社 (1990-02-01). "山西高校加强思想教育 六千多大学生申请入党". 人民日报 (in Chinese (China)). p. 第1版.
8. 唐明觉 (1989-09-16). "引导学生进行自我教育 镇江船舶学院开展主题班会活动". 光明日报 (in Chinese (China)). No. 14536. p. 03版.
9. 陈俊生 (1989-12-15). "运用形象直观的录像教材 潮州金山中学加强德育工作". 光明日报 (in Chinese (China)). No. 14626. p. 02版.