China appears to censor ‘Tiananmen’ Asian Games photo with ‘6/4’ numbers

China appears to have censored a picture of two of its Asian Games athletes embracing on the athletics track when the numbers on their uniforms inadvertently matched the dates of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

The incident happened at the end of the women’s 100 metres hurdles final at a packed Olympic Sports Park Stadium in Hangzhou on Sunday, China’s National Day.

Gold medallist Lin Yuwei, who won in a time of 12.74 seconds from lane 6, hugged her compatriot Wu Yanni, who initially won silver from lane 4 before being disqualified for a false start.

A picture of the hug was posted on Chinese social media platform Weibo by state media outlet CCTV, but later deleted, apparently after the connection was pointed out.

The photograph was replaced with a grey square in Weibo posts that had mentioned Wu and Lin hugging.

The phrase “6/4” is a common reference to the Tiananmen Square crackdown, which took place 34 years ago on June 4. Discussion of the deaths and protests are routinely censored by authorities online and scrubbed from China’s internet.

The apparent censorship of the image became a hot topic on Hong Kong’s popular Reddit-like social media forum, LIHKG, where many commenters took a tongue-in-cheek approach.

“It must be that foreign forces with ulterior motives are deliberately using small tricks to politicise the sacred Asian Games. This is unpopular and destined to be in vain,” one user wrote.

“Taking money from Americans to cause trouble again,” said another, while a third commented that “the fifth lane is up to something!”.

Wu finished second in the race, 0.03 seconds behind Lin, with India’s Jyothi Yarraji taking the bronze.

But the event was mired in controversy, starting with an argument between Wu and officials which delayed the start by several minutes.

Amid farcical scenes, with heated discussions taking place on the inside of the track, Lin sat down and removed her spikes while the other athletes tried to stay focused.

A clear false start led to red cards for Wu and Yarraji, with the Indian sprinter insisting she had not set off early, while Wu complained that her opponent had moved first.

A replay established that the false start was Wu’s, who continued to protest before finally reaching a compromise with officials.

“You can run if you want to but it will be under review,” an official told her.

Japan’s Yumi Tanaka finished fourth, but was later bumped up to bronze after Wu’s disqualification was upheld in the official results.

China-based sports reporter Mark Dreyer, who was at the stadium covering the race, was critical of the farcical scenes.

“This simply cannot happen,” he wrote in a column on China Sport Insider. “This is an international meet on Chinese soil, not a reality show where the producers need to find a way to let the star athlete win – and that’s what it felt like.”

Wu later apologised on Weibo to her fans. “I am very sorry that I was disqualified due to a false start. I failed to live up to everyone’s expectations and disappointed everyone.”

False starts have resulted in immediate ejection from events since 2010 under rule changes brought in by the international athletics governing body.

Wu was also red carded at the recent Asian Championships in Bangkok for a false start, and took more than five minutes to leave the track. She argued with officials that the wet track caused her to slip.