China’s online “tank” cake snafu raises Tiananmen questions

By ZEN SOO
AP Technology Writer

HONG KONG (AP) — An online snafu involving China’s most popular e-commerce livestreamer and a cake decorated to look like a tank has raised questions among some Chinese over the violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. It’s a sensitive subject heavily censored by the ruling Communist Party. A standout image from that time was a lone man blocking a tank in the middle of Beijing’s Avenue of Eternal Peace. Li Jiaqi, China’s most popular e-commerce livestreamer, had his show cut short after a woman appeared on camera holding a small cake decorated with wafers and cookies to make it look like a military tank.  Li has not conducted another livestream since.