Tong xin ji shou is a Chinese phrase expressing extreme sorrow and rage. The four-character phrase filled the glaring white space of the editorial page of Wen Wei Po, a pro-Beijing newspaper in Hong Kong on May 21, 1989, following the mainland government’s declaration placing Beijing under martial law after weeks of mass demonstrations in Tiananmen Square. The newsroom had foreseen a bloody massacre in the square two weeks later as martial law meant the use of military force against demonstrators. Since the newspaper was owned and overseen by the Chinese government, the editorial writers could not write any negative editorials. They instead left the space empty except for the four-character phrase. The episode is a legend to journalists in Hong Kong. Even the pro-Beijing media stood up against censorship. Or they did in the past.
