China blocks app’s social media after post on Tiananmen anniversary

A Chinese shopping app has been blocked on social media after a post on the anniversary of the deadly Tiananmen Square crackdown of 1989, as Beijing’s censorship kicked into gear around the sensitive date.

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….!”, as per screenshots circulating online. The date was the 32nd anniversary of the crackdown. But it was uncertain if the post referred to Tiananmen, as the company regularly makes similar statements on Friday ushering in the weekend.