May 4, 1969: 55 years ago, May 4 1969, dozens of members of the Red Guard Party marched [...]

55 years ago, May 4 1969, dozens of members of the Red Guard Party marched into Portsmouth Square wearing field jackets and blasting “The East is Red” to interrupt a group of Chinese foreign students who had gathered to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the May 4th Movement

The Red Guards had planned the event with the foreign students, who initially invited the guards to provide security in fear of a KMT-supporter attack on the rally, but wanted to appear to seize control of the event and address contemporary poverty and racism in Chinatown

After taking the stage the guards platformed Black and Brown speakers, including BPP members, to express solidarity with the struggle of Chinese people. The Guards then assailed the crowd of mainly elderly Chinese residents for ignoring current issues in San Francisco’s Chinatown

Minister of Information for the Red Guard Party, Alex Hing, retrospectively described the stunt as one of many episodes of “political theatre” performed by the guards to convey a certain sense of militancy. Portsmouth square would remain their main stage https://t.co/0VYTDLrWsO

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