Social media blocks app after it reminds users of Tiananmen

BEIJING: A Chinese shopping app has been blocked on social media after a post on the anniversary of the deadly Tiananmen Square crackdown of 1989.

The Weibo page of Xiaohongshu, a Pinterest-like platform where users share travel and shopping tips, published a post on June 4 saying, “Tell me loudly, today’s date is .... !” according to screenshots circulating online.

The date was the 32nd anniversary of the crackdown. It was uncertain if the post referred to Tiananmen, as the company makes similar statements on Fridays ushering in the weekend.

The Tencent and Alibababacked app’s Weibo page remained unavailable on Monday, four days after the post, and was replaced with a notice saying it had been taken down after “being reported for violating laws and regulations”.

The Tiananmen Square massacre is a sensitive issue for China’s Communist leadership.