On June 4th, 2007, the 18th anniversary of the June 4th crackdown, a classified ad in the bottom right corner of page 14 in the "Chengdu Evening News" read: "Paying respects to the strong mothers of June 4th Incident victims!" This was an expression of support for families of June 4th Incident victims, and a protest against the Chinese Communist authorities who conceal the truth.
When the advertisement was discovered, the issue of the "Chengdu Evening News" was already on news stands; the news spread quickly. The newspaper immediately began trying to confiscate copies, but many had already been sold. The authorities ordered the copies sequestered, then investigated and punished a number of top- and middle-level "Chengdu Evening News" personnel.
This advertisement was organized by Chen Yunfei, a former participant in the 1989 democracy movement. With the authorities strictly guarding against any content in commemoration of the June 4th Incident, he chose to use the classified ads, where censorship was less restrictive. Those responsible for review at the time hadn't even heard of the June 4th Incident, thinking it to just be a mining accident, so they allowed the advertisement to be published.
Although the "Chengdu Evening News" was subsequently closed up, the authorities did not deal with it in a high-profile manner, so as to avoid raising concerns. Chen Yunfei was released quietly soon after being detained and investigated by the police, then was later placed under surveillance for six months on suspicion of inciting subversion of state power. Later, he attempted to pay tribute to Zhao Ziyang in Beijing several times; he was then subjected to Chengdu police monitoring and warnings. In 2011, he was placed under house arrest as a result of the Jasmine Revolution.
References: [德國之聲("Deutsche Welle")(Chinese)] (https://www.dw.com/zh/长平观察二十六年的沉默以后/a-18429064); [自由亞洲電台("Radio Free Asia")(Chinese)); [https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/china_64-20070605.html); [] (https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2015/05/07/a1195530.html); [自由亞洲電台("Radio Free Asia")(Chinese)] [https://www.voachinese.com/a/chengyunfei-funeral-passport-20130129/1592752.html); [BBC中文網("BBC News Chinese Edition")(Chinese)); [https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/china/2011/04/110406_chen_yunfei_house_arrest)
