On the 33rd Anniversary of the June Fourth Massacre

Source: Human Rights in China (6/1/22)
For Fairness and Justice, We Will Persevere: On the 33rd Anniversary of the June Fourth Massacre
By The Tiananmen Mothers
[Translation by Human Rights in China]
[Original Chinese text from tiananmenmother.org]

Thirty-three years ago, a brutal tragedy of unparalleled savagery occurred in China, sending shockwaves across the nation and around the world. The ruling Communist Party of China and the Chinese government, in complete disregard of the lives of the hundreds of thousands of students and common people along the ten-mile Chang’an Avenue, used the military to indiscriminately murder innocent people in the capital city of Beijing with live ammunition. The armed forces aimed their guns at them and even drove tanks to crush the crowd, killing and injuring thousands.

This government-led massacre caught Beijing residents completely off guard. At around 10 p.m. on June 3, under cover of darkness, martial law troops rode tanks and armored vehicles from all directions toward Tiananmen Square. On their way, they sprayed students and residents with gunfire and chased after those trying to escape, leaving heavy casualties in their wake. Early the next morning, on June 4, when student protestors evacuated from the square in files and walked to Liubukou in Xidan, the army unleashed poisonous tear gas with paralyzing nerve agents, causing the students and residents at the scene to collapse on the ground, unable to move due to difficulty breathing and a feeling of suffocation. A row of tanks ran over the fallen crowd, killing or seriously injuring more than ten students on the spot.

Among the 203 victims we have found so far are 61 undergraduate and graduate students from various universities, 14 elementary and middle school students, and 14 missing persons. The youngest was only 9 and the oldest 66.

In April and May 1989, millions of students and common people joined marches, petitions, and protests, exercising the rights conferred to Chinese citizens under the Constitution and the law—these were lawful acts that did not violate the Constitution whatsoever. From beginning to end, the movement upheld the principles of peace, rationality, and non-violence. Up until the military crackdown, the entire social order had been stable. This stability was conscientiously maintained by the students and other members of the public in the nation’s capital. The students and the public in the demonstrations were simply demanding an end to corruption and official malfeasance, freedom of speech, disclosure of officials’ assets, and the establishment of a mechanism for civil society to monitor the integrity of government officials.  None of these demands deviated from the constitutional framework. When the two sides disagreed, the protestors did nothing more than ask the government for a reasonable resolution within the scope of the Constitution and the law: through the legal process, consultation, and dialogue.

But the ruling CPC and the Chinese government completely ignored the people’s reasonable demands and chose a course of action completely contrary to modern civilization. They abused their power to savagely and brutally kill and crush their own citizens with bullets and tanks, and subsequently launched a fascist-like nationwide probe, hurling the whole society into a state of terror and putting everyone in danger.

We cannot help but ask: Did the student movement, which merely offered suggestions to help the ruling party and government to serve the people with greater integrity, really warrant military suppression and arbitrary killing of innocent citizens? As the student protests spread from Beijing to the whole country, they became a way for the people to express their good wishes for the government. And what is your definition of “the people”? Do the people become the enemy once they put forth a recommendation? The Chinese ruling party and government then went on to absolve themselves from their murderous crime and responsibility under the guise of “quelling counter-revolutionary riots”—isn’t it too cruel?

Sending the army to slaughter students and civilians in peacetime is undeniably an atrocity against humanity. In the face of the vibrant lives shot to death in the June Fourth massacre, the unilateral, fact-denying characterization and rhetoric of China’s ruling party and government are pale and devoid of humanity. They will not withstand the test of history.

Over the past 33 years, 64 members of our group of bereaved family members of June Fourth victims have passed away. This year we have had two more deaths, Yin Min and Liu Qian. Liu, the oldest member of our group, died in late April this year, at the age of 97.

Seeking government accountability for the massacre in accordance with the law is our legitimate right. For 33 years, we have been pursuing the three demands of “truth, compensation, and accountability” in a peaceful and rational manner, calling for a dialogue with the government through the legal process to resolve the issues related to the June Fourth massacre.

We appeal to your conscience on behalf of the families of those killed. For fairness and justice, we will persevere.

Signers (120):

尤维洁 You WeiJie

郭丽英 Guo Liying

张彦秋 Zhang Yanqiu

吴丽虹 Wu Lihong

祝枝弟 Zhu Zhidi

叶向荣 Ye Xiangrong

丁子霖 Ding Zilin

张先玲 Zhang Xianling

周淑庄 Zhou Shuzhuang

钱普泰 Qian Putai

吴定富 Wu Dingfu

宋秀玲 Song Xiuling

孙承康 Sun Chengkang

于 清 Yu Qing

孙 宁 Sun Ning

黄金平 Huang Jinping

孟淑英 Meng Shuying

袁淑敏 Yuan Shumin

王广明 Wang Guangming

刘梅花 Liu Meihua

谢京花 Xie Jinghua

马雪琴 Ma Xueqin

邝瑞荣 Kuang Ruirong

张树森 Zhang Shusen

杨大榕 Yang Darong

贺田凤 He Tianfeng

刘秀臣 Liu Xiuchen

沈桂芳 Shen Guifang

谢京荣 Xie Jingrong

金贞玉 Jin Zhenyu

要福荣 Yao Furong

孟淑珍 Meng Shuzhen

邵秋风 Shao Qiufeng

谭汉凤 Tan Hanfeng

王文华 Wang Wenhua

陈 梅 Chen Mei

周 燕 Zhou Yan

李桂英 Li Guiying

徐宝艳 Xu Baoyan

狄孟奇 Di Mengqi

王 连 Wang Lian

管卫东 Guan Weidong

刘淑琴 Liu Shuqin

孙珊萍 Sun Shanping

刘天媛 Liu Tianyuan

黄定英 Huang Dingying

熊 辉 Xiong Hui

张彩凤 Zhang Caifeng

何瑞田 He Ruitian

田维炎 Tian Weiyan

杨志玉 Yang Zhiyu

李显远 Li Xianyuan

王玉芹 Wang Yuqin

方 政 Fang Zheng

齐志勇 Qi Zhiyong

冯友祥 Feng Youxiang

何兴才 He Xingcai

刘仁安 Liu Ren’an

齐国香 Qi Guoxiang

韩国刚 Han Guogang

庞梅清 Pang Meiqing

黄 宁 Huang Ning

王伯冬 Wang Bodong

张志强 Zhang Zhiqiang

赵金锁 Zhao Jinsuo

孔维真 Kong Weizhen

刘保东 Liu Baodong

齐志英 Qi Zhiying

方桂珍 Fang Guizhen

雷 勇 Lei Yong

葛桂荣 Ge Guirong

郑秀村 Zheng Xiucun

王惠蓉 Wang Huirong

桂德兰 Gui Delan

王运启 Wang Yunqi

黄雪芬 Huang Xuefen

郭达显 Guo Daxian

王 琳 Wang Lin

朱镜蓉 Zhu Jingrong

穆怀兰 Mu Huailan

王争强 Wang Zhengqiang

宁书平 Ning Shuping

曹云兰 Cao Yunlan

林武云 Lin Wuyun

冯淑兰 Feng Shulan

付媛媛 Fu Yuanyuan

李春山 Li Chunshan

蒋艳琴 Jiang Yanqin

何凤亭 He Fengting

奚永顺 Xi Yongshun

肖宗友 Xiao Zongyou

乔秀兰 Qiao Xiulan

陆燕京 Lu Yanjing

李浩泉 Li Haoquan

赖运迪 Lai Yundi

周小姣 Zhou Xiaojiao

周运姣 Zhou Yunjiao

陈永邦 Chen Yongbang

刘永亮 Liu Yongliang

张景利 Zhang Jingli

孙海文 Sun Haiwen

王 海 Wang Hai

陆三宝 Lu Sanbao

姚月英 Yao Yueying

任改莲 Ren Gailian

倪世殊 Ni Shishu

杨云龙 Yang Yunlong

崔林森 Cui Linsen

吴卫东 Wu Weidong

贾福泉 Jia Fuquan

王德义 Wang Deyi

朱玉仙 Zhu Yuxian

石 晶 Shi Jing

袁 刃 Yuan Ren

包丽梅 Bao Limei

奚贵君 Xi Guijun

钟俊华 Zhong Junhua

轧爱强 Ya Aiqiang

陈卫东 Chen Weidong

郝 建 Hao Jian

We are including the names of deceased fellow members to honor their wishes (64):

吴学汉 Wu Xuehan

苏冰娴 Su Bingxian

姚瑞生 Yao Ruisheng

杨世钰 Yang Shiyu

袁长录 Yuan Changlu

周淑珍 Zhou Shuzhen

王国先 Wang Guoxian

包玉田 Bao Yutian

林景培 Lin Jingpei

寇玉生 Kou Yusheng

孟金秀 Meng Jinxiu

张俊生 Zhang Junsheng

吴守琴 Wu Shouqin

周治刚 Zhou Zhigang

孙秀芝 Sun Xiuzhi

罗 让 Luo Rang

严光汉 Yan Guanghan

李贞英 Li Zhenying

邝涤清 Kuang Diqing

段宏炳 Duan Hongbing

刘春林 Liu Chunlin

张耀祖 Zhang Yaozu

李淑娟 Li Shujuan

杨银山 Yang Yinshan

王培靖 Wang Peijing

袁可志 Yuan Kezhi

潘木治 Pan Muzhi

萧昌宜 Xiao Changyi

轧伟林 Ya Weilin

刘建兰 Liu Jianlan

索秀女 Suo Xiunü

杨子明 Yang Ziming

程淑珍 Cheng Shuzhen

杜东旭 Du Dongxu

张桂荣 Zhang Guirong

赵廷杰 Zhao Tingjie

陆马生 Lu Masheng

蒋培坤 Jiang Peikun

任金宝 Ren Jinbao

张淑云 Zhang Shuyun

韩淑香 Han Shuxiang

石 峰 Shi Feng

王桂荣 Wang Guirong

隋立松 Sui Lisong

田淑玲 Tian Shuling

孙淑芳 Sun Shufang

陈永朝 Chen Yongchao

孙恒尧 Sun Hengyao

徐 珏 Xu Jue

王范地 Wang Fandi

李雪文 Li Xuewen

王双兰 Wang Shuanglan

张振霞 Zhang Zhenxia

肖书兰 Xiao Shulan

谭淑琴 Tan Shuqin

高 捷 Gao Jie

金亚喜 Jin Yaxi

邢承礼 Xing Chengli

周国林 Zhou Guolin

郝义传 Hao Yichuan

陆玉宝 Lu Yubao

曹长先 Cao Changxian

 尹 敏 Yin Min

刘 乾 Liu Qian

 

 

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