In the Chinese zodiac, each year in every 12-year cycle is represented by a zodiac animal, and 2013 is the year of the snake. Over the past century, every year of the snake has been marked by at least one event that has significantly affected the course of history.
In 2001, the 9/11 terrorist attacks took place, when four hijacked passenger planes crashed into important buildings in New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. This resulted in a major international shift in government policy towards terrorism, and marked the start of the Global War on Terrorism, which continues to this day.
In 1989, the collapse of communism in Europe took place, including the fall of the Berlin Wall and the revolutions in Eastern Europe.
That same year, Chinese students gathered in Tiananmen Square protesting for change, and were perceived as a threat by communist leaders. The peaceful protests were violently suppressed using military force, and hundreds were killed.
In 1977, the end of the Cultural Revolution was declared by Hua Guofeng, a former leader of the Chinese Communist Party.
In 1965, an article criticizing the stage play, “Hairui Dismissed From Office” was published in a Shanghai newspaper, marking the start of a propaganda campaign that led to the Cultural Revolution. Over the following decade, millions of innocent Chinese citizens were wrongfully persecuted, tortured, and killed.
In 1953, China and the United States signed the Korean Armistice Agreement, bringing an end to the Korean War.
In 1941, Japan declared war on the United States with the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the United States joined World War II. The only two major attacks on U.S. soil in the past century, Pearl Harbor and 9/11, occurred exactly six decades apart.
In 1929, the Great Depression went on to become the longest and most widespread economic crisis of the 20th century.
China’s Great Firewall of censorship has cut its citizens off from the free world, and appears to be the sturdiest and last remaining “Berlin Wall” of our era. Could 2013–the second snake year since the fall of Germany’s Berlin Wall–show us yet another significant turn of events in history?
Read the original Chinese article.
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