"The first victory we can claim is that our hearts are free of hatred. Hence we say to those who persecute us and who try to dominate us: ‘You are my brother. I do not hate you, but you are not going to dominate me by fear. I do not wish to impose my truth, nor do I wish you to impose yours on me. We are going to seek the truth together’. THIS IS THE LIBERATION WHICH WE ARE PROCLAIMING."
Oswaldo José Payá Sardiñas (2002)
Chinese students march under a banner of late Chinese reformer Hu Yaobang
When Chinese reformer Hu Yaobang died suddenly of a heart attack on April 15, 1989, students responded angrily, with the majority of them assuming that his death was related to his forced resignation. On the day of this reformer's sudden death, small, spontaneous gatherings to mourn Hu began around Tiananmen Square's Monument to the People's Heroes.
The death of Hu gave the motivation for students to congregate in large numbers. Posters sprouted on university campuses eulogizing him and demanding for Hu's legacy to be honored. Within a few days, the majority of posters addressed bigger political themes such as corruption, democracy, and press freedom, and the protests continued.
On April 26, 1989, the People's Dailypublished an editorial aimed at scaring students into submission, but it had the opposite effect, enraging them and rallying thousands more to demonstrate in Tiananmen Square. It was a strategic error of the first order committed by the Chinese Communist regime's highest echelons.
On April 27, 1989 soldiers fail to stop students entering Tiananmen Square.
Imagine for a moment that for 51 days of demonstrations beginning on April 15, 1989
thousands of students gathered nonviolently to protest and demand
reforms. Protests had taken place before in China in 1986, but had not been
sustained. This time, in part due to the regime's demonizing of the
student demonstrators, the protests grew and did not dissolve.
At the height of the student movement in China, over one million people marched in the
streets of Beijing. This movement ended with the government's crackdown
and the Beijing massacre of June 4th.
Below is the documentary, The Gate of Heavenly Peace,
that captures the days of protest leading up to the crackdown and the
massacre.
Nonviolent resisters should learn as much as they can about this important movement. Finally, the
struggle for a free China continues to the present day and needs our solidarity.
It is also important to challenge the official narrative that nothing
happened, or worse that it was a "vaccination." Thousands were killed,
and it was not just students, but also workers in solidarity with
student protesters.
Chinese Communist Defense Minister Wei Fenghe on June 2, 2019 at a regional forum defended the Tiananmen Square massacre claiming "[t]hat incident was a political turbulence and the central government
took measures to stop the turbulence, which is a correct policy."
At least 10,000 killed during the Tiananmen Square massacre.
The official newspaper, The Global Times, doubled down claiming that the mass killings and crackdown were "[a]s a vaccination for the Chinese society, the
Tiananmen incident will greatly increase China's immunity against any
major political turmoil in the future." The message is clear the Communist Chinese regime in China is willing to kill large numbers of Chinese to remain in power.
A 2017 declassified British diplomatic cable revealed that
"at least 10,000 people were killed in the Chinese army's crackdown on
pro-democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in June 1989."
Bodies at Shuili hospital mortuary. All died from bullet wounds. Credit Jian Liu
The Pro-Democracy Movement that had taken to the streets
in April of 1989 was violently crushed by the Chinese communist
dictatorship beginning on the evening of June 3, 1989.
By dawn on June
4, 1989 scores of demonstrators had been shot and killed or run over and crushed by tanks of the so-called People's Liberation Army.
Between June 3 and June 5, 1989 other tank drivers ran over protester
On June 5, 1989 in Beijing, following the massive and bloody crackdown
after six weeks of protests that began in Tiananmen Square and spread
across 400 cities in China, a man risked all to protest what had
taken place.
Wearing a white t-shirt, black trouser, and carrying
what appeared to be a shopping bag he walked out on the north edge of Tiananmen Square, along Chang'an Avenue and faced down a column of Type-59 tanks.
We must also remember the courage of the late Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo who saved the lives of many young
Chinese in Tiananmen Square in June of 1989 obtaining safe passage for
them and persuaded these students to leave before the massacre
unfolded. This courageous and nonviolent human rights defender was
jailed in 2008 and died on July 13, 2017. Below is one of his last interviews prior to being unjustly imprisoned.
"We believe that the truth can be made
public by first releasing the names of the dead and then going step by
step until the true history of the killing is eventually restored."- Tiananmen Mothers, June 1, 2021
Tank men face off on June 5, 1989 on Changán Avenue in Beijing, China
Human Rights in China (HRIC) is right when it observes that "to remember is to resist." 32 years have passed and we continue to remember, despite the efforts of the Chinese Communist Party, and their allies to erase this crime against humanity.
We remember the
thousands of students and workers murdered by the People's Liberation
Army and the more than 800 imprisoned.
The Pro-Democracy Movement that had taken to the streets
in April of 1989 was violently crushed by the Chinese communist
dictatorship beginning on the evening of June 3, 1989. By dawn on June
4, 1989 scores of demonstrators had been shot and killed or run over and crushed by tanks of the so-called People's Liberation Army.
Between June 3 and June 5, 1989 other tank drivers ran over protester
On June 5, 1989 in Beijing, following the massive and bloody crackdown
after six weeks of protests that began in Tiananmen Square and spread
across 400 cities in China, a man risked all to protest what had
taken place. Wearing a white t-shirt, black trouses, and carrying
what appeared to be a shopping bag he walked out on the north edge of Tiananmen Square, along Chang'an Avenue and faced down a column of Type-59 tanks.
The lead tank tried two drive around him, but the man repeatedly ran in
front of the tank to prevent its passing. The tank driver turned off his
engine and the rest of the column of tanks followed suit. The protester
climbed on top of the tank and began to talk with them. Eventually he
climbed back down and the tank driver turned the engines on but the
protester once again blocked the tank column.
Wider perspective of the Tank Man protest with the full column of tanks
Thousands more would be rounded up, arrested and sentenced to prison in show trials. As many as a thousand received death sentences that were carried out. This time two men, dressed in blue, approach the protester and escort him off the main avenue and disappeared into the crowd.
At least seven spent over two decades behind bars, and there names are Zhu Gengsheng, Li Yujun, Jiang
Yaqun, Chang Jinqiang, Miao Deshun, Shi Xuezhi, and Yang Pu. The last to be freed, that we know about, Miao Deshun, was freed on October 15, 2016. He was jailed for 27 years. They were living ghosts.
Below we share the 2021 statement of the Tiananmen Mothers and their continuing demands for truth, memory and justice.
Some Tiananmen mothers hold up photos of their loved ones.
Our Faith and Perseverance Will Never Change: On the 32nd Anniversary of the June Fourth Massacre
On June 4, 1989, in a time of peace, the Chinese People’s Liberation
Army, under the leadership and command of the ruling authorities, sent
tanks, armored vehicles, and soldiers with live ammunition onto the
ten-mile Chang’an Avenue in Beijing. Without restraint or scruples, they
shot and crushed unarmed students and citizens, and even destroyed the
bodies to cover up their crimes. As a result, some of the victims’
families have heard nothing about their loved ones after they left home,
not knowing if they were dead or alive, as if they had vanished from
the face of the earth.
This massacre—devoid of humanity and sending shockwaves around the
world—was stupefying and unconscionable. On that sleepless night,
residents huddled in the streets and alleyways to discuss the escalating
situation. Despite hearing gunshots, those good-hearted people still
thought the army was merely shooting rubber bullets to scare the people.
The students and residents at the scene were equally naive in clutching
to their illusions about the government, until people around them
started to collapse, their bright-red blood staining the ground. Only
then did the crowds start to panic, flounder, weep, and take cover.
Still more residents risked their own lives to rescue those who had
fallen around them, using all means of transportation available to
them—such as flatbed tricycles, carts, and vans—to rush the injured to
nearby hospitals as fast as they could.
In the spirit of saving lives and healing wounds, hospital staff
poured all they had in them into rescuing those injured. Many hospitals
took in more people than they could possibly operate on and were forced
to triage the patients for surgeries. Due to the overwhelming number of
wounded people, many waited for hours without treatment. Because of the
delay, some lost their limbs in otherwise preventable amputations and
others their lives. In the face of tragedy, the selflessness and
sacrifice of the ordinary residents of Beijing who rushed to rescue
others despite their own risks was both laudable and gut-wrenching.
Preserving life is the instinct of humanity. In stark contrast was the
viciousness and brutality of the authorities who violated the
constitution and sent in the army to crack down on the unarmed students
and residents.
As to how many people were killed and injured in the end—the
government has not uttered a single word for the past 32 years. All
Chinese people have been stripped of the right to learn about the
tragedy and even forbidden to openly commemorate the dead or hold the
ruling Communist Party of China and the government responsible for the
bloodbath. The government’s immorality and use of silent contempt to
deprive each individual’s right to life have led to the blocking of all
information related to the June Fourth massacre. Having grown up in a
false sense of prosperous jubilance and enforced glorification of the
government, many young people nowadays have no idea of or refuse to
believe what happened on June 4, 1989, in the nation’s capital.
Back in 1949, Beijing, a city with a history of more than 3,000 years
and had served as the capital of three dynasties, was peacefully
liberated by the army without a single shot or cannon fired. Sadly, 40
years after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the
passionately patriotic people of Beijing were slaughtered by the martial
law troops, who called themselves the “people’s army,” in a human
tragedy of blood and tears.
We, relatives and families of the victims, have experienced the most
painful agony in life, and our hearts have known no joy ever since. The
middle-aged bereaved parents back then are now gray-haired seniors. They
hope to see the law bring fairness and justice in their lifetime—a wish
that, once fulfilled, will console their shattered hearts and allow the
spirits of their children to rest in peace. And as for the children who
lost their fathers or mothers in June Fourth, and traumatized by
growing up in incomplete families, allowing the public to learn about
the massacre will also bring them solace. However, almost 32 years
later, we still don’t see any official attempt at unsealing and
disclosing information about the bloodshed, and the killing in June 1989
remains a taboo for the government.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the
Communist Party of China, and a great deal of preparation and
propagandistic efforts have been put into the celebration. In mid-April,
the government also published a high-profile speech delivered on July
1, 2016 by Chinese President Xi Jinping—who also serves as the General
Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Chairman of the Central
Military Commission—at a commemoration of the CPC’S 95th founding
anniversary. In his speech, Xi demanded that “all Party members
shall put the people in the most prominent place in their hearts and
adhere to the fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly,
effectively realizing, protecting, and developing the people’s broadest
interests. The people’s support, approval, satisfaction, and affirmation
should be regarded as the fundamental standard for the success or
failure of all of our work so that the Party may enjoy an inexhaustible
source of strength.”“Our greatest threat as the ruling
party is corruption. . . . [We must] be in fearful reverence of the
people, the Party, and the law and discipline, and use our power with
fairness, in accordance with the law, to the benefit of the people, and
with integrity, to maintain the unsullied political nature of the
incorruptible CPC members.”
In 1989, the social incident that was triggered by the student
movement in Beijing and involving the participation of people from all
walks of life in many major cities across the country—who used peaceful
and rational demonstrations to voice their opposition to bureaucratic
profiteering, embezzlement, and corruption to the government—was the
most quintessential manifestation of a healthy society. When the public
spotted embezzlement and corruption in the CPC’s powerful elite during
the Reform and Opening Up, what the government should have done was to
assess its performance based on the people’s demands and resolve social
conflicts in accordance with the law, rather than seeing protests as
turmoil and using the state’s military force to indiscriminately murder
innocent people in broad daylight on the streets of Beijing.
We believe it is the unavoidable responsibility of the CPC and the
Chinese government to resolve the June Fourth massacre, and redressing
the tragedy is the first step to governing the country by law,
respecting the people’s own agency, and ensuring their position as the
masters of the country. Doing this would let the people CPC members have
nothing to hide and seek no personal gain, and that the Party’s conduct
is also subject to the supervision of the law. We look forward to the
day when the CPC and the Chinese government can sincerely and
courageously set the record straight and take up their due
responsibility for the anti-human 1989 massacre in accordance with the
law and the facts.
We have been calling for a peaceful dialogue with the government
since the late 1990s to discuss the June Fourth tragedy and ways to
resolve it in accordance with the law. To this end, we have publicly put
forward the three demands of “truth, compensation, and accountability”
and established a dialogue group. We believe that the truth can be made
public by first releasing the names of the dead and then going step by
step until the true history of the killing is eventually restored.
Compensation should be paid to the relatives of the victims, and those
responsible for ordering the shooting should be held legally
accountable. We look forward to seeing the CPC and the Chinese
government bow down and apologize to the entire nation for this
atrocity!
Our group lost two more mothers of victims to illness in 2020, and we
have lost 62 bereaved family members thus far. As the years go by, the
parents in our group are getting older by the day, and some of the
elderly have left us forever. However, our faith and perseverance will
never change!
Standoff At Tiananmen How
Chinese Students Shocked the World with a Magnificent Movement for
Democracy and Liberty that Ended in the Tragic Tiananmen Massacre in
1989 http://www.standoffattiananmen.com/
He stands alone blocking the tanks heading east on Beijing's
Cangan Blvd. in Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989. The picture above was taken by Associated Press photographer Jeff
Widener.
Below are two videos beginning with a song by Chinese rocker Cui Jian who played a concert for the students in Tiananmen Squareduring the protests and prior to the crackdown, and the documentary, The Gates of Heavenly Peace (both in English and Chinese) that provides a fuller context.
In memory of those who stood up for their rights, lost their lives and for those still unjustly imprisoned today in China.
The power of two individuals to make a difference still remembered thirty years later. Help end the mystery of what happened to them.
Tank men face off on June 5, 1989 on Changán Avenue in Beijing, China
30 years ago today on June 5, 1989 in Beijing, following a massive and bloody crackdown after six weeks of protests that began in Tiananmen
Square and spread across 400 cities in China, two men would risk all. One to protest what had taken place and the other for refusing to run him over.
The lone protester was wearing a white t-shirt and black
trousers carrying what appeared to be a shopping bag and walked out on the
north edge of Tiananmen Square, along Chang'an Avenue and faced down a column of Type-59 tanks involved in the Tiananmen Square
slaughter to express
his moral outrage and blocked them.
Wider perspective of the Tank Man protest with the full column of tanks
The lead tank tried two drive around him, but the man repeatedly ran in
front of the tank to prevent its passing. The tank driver turned off his
engine and the rest of the column of tanks followed suit. The protester
climbed on top of the tank and began to talk with them. Eventually he
climbed back down and the tank driver turned the engines on but the protester once again blocked the tank column. This time two men, dressed in blue, approach the protester and escort him off the main avenue and disappeared into the crowd.
It is important to
remember that the driver in that lead tank refused to run over the
protester. Both individuals are heroes and both their fates remain
unknown.
Between June 3 and June 5, 1989 other tank drivers ran over protesters
The 2004 Frontline Documentary "Tankman" explored the significance of this act, and attempted to discover what happened. They were unsuccessful. Now Initiatives for China has a campaign underway to petition the Chinese government to reveal the truth of what happened to the two Tiananmen tank men. Chinese human rights defenders and former prisoner of conscience Jianli Yang is disseminating a petition to get the Chinese government to tell us what happened to the “tank men.” Please sign it and share it with others.
Following
the June 4, 1989 crackdown and massacre on June 5th one man stood up to a line of tanks involved in the Tiananmen Square slaughter to express
his moral outrage and blocked them. At the same time it is important to remember that the driver in that lead tank refused to run over the protester. Both individuals are heroes and both their fates remain unknown.
The 2004 Frontline Documentary Tankman explores the significance of this act, and attempted to discover what happened. Now Initiatives for China has a campaign underway to petition the Chinese government to reveal the truth of what happened to the two Tiananmen tank men. Below is the text that Chinese human rights defenders and former prisoner of conscience Jianli Yang sent and asked to have reproduced to spread the word.
Please Sign on the Petition to Seek Truth About the Two Tiananmen Tank Men
The
iconic image on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square bravely confronting PLA
tanks is one of the most important photographs of the twentieth
century. It represents ordinary citizens confronting the State
violence, and it is not forgotten by history. Over more than two
decades, the whole world has been asking: Where is the tank man? As of
today, the background of the tank man "Wang Weilin," and his subsequent
fate are still unknown to the world. At the same time, we should not
forget that, despite the CCP's massacre order, the soldier in the tank
chose not to shoot or run over his compatriot. The most logical
explanation is that his conscience made him disobey the order. This
soldier is equally a hero. As Time magazine pointed out: “[T]he heroes
of the tank picture are two: the unknown figure who risked his life by
standing in front of the juggernaut and the driver who rose to the moral
challenge by refusing to mow down his compatriot. "
Nobody
knows the fate of the two heroes, but it is our responsibility to know
and to find them. For together, they symbolize that timeless truth that
moral courage will triumph over cowardly cruelty.
We
hereby launch the initiative of collecting signatures across the world
to petition Xi Jinping for the identities, background, and
the whereabouts of the two tank men. Please sign your signature and
encourage others to sign. There is no deadline for this project, and we
will continue to collect signatures until the truth is obtained.
(2). Enter First Name, Last Name, Email, Country, City or Zip code.
(3). If a street address is asked, and privacy is a concern, please enter N/A.
(4). Click sign
Note:
When more than one people want to use one same device to sign, the
previous signer must click the small arrow beside the signer’s name and
then click Log Out before the following one to enter through the link.
Fuller picture of column of tanks one person stopped on June 5, 1989
Tiananman, China June 5, 1989 The killing had started on the night of June 3rd
and intensified in the early morning hours of June 4, 1989 with tanks
running over demonstrators. It was bikes versus tanks and the tanks
always won.
Until June 5, 1989 when Tank Man appeared and with his moral
courage and outrage stood down a column of tanks. 26 years later, we
still don't know his name or what happened to him. But we remember how
he gave us hope with the power of one person to say: Enough! Stop!
In memory of those who stood up for their rights, lost their lives and for those still unjustly imprisoned today in China.
24 years ago in June of 1989 in China the Goddess of Democracy stared down Mao in Tiananmen Square and in the aftermath of the Beijing Massacre one man stared down a row of tanks in defiance. These acts of defiance, resistance and freedom will never be forgotten. Nor the price they paid.
BBC News - June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Square Massacre
The Tankman is a documentary that explores what happened on June 4, 1989 in China and the aftermath.
Twenty four years later in Hong Kong thousands gather to remember the victims. The chants at the end are "Vindicate June 4th!" and "Never give up!"
June 4, 2013: Hong Kong, China
Following the June 4, 1989 crackdown and massacre on June 5th one man stood up to a line of tanks involved in the Tiananmen Square slaughter to express his moral outrage and blocked the tanks.
Posts
