31st Anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre - first ever worldwide online commemoration

Pro-democracy activists held an online event for the first time in history to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, allowing "June Fourth representative groups" to communicate on the same platform. Some representatives did not attend due to pressure from the Chinese government, however. The meeting was also disrupted connectivity issues. Despite the difficulties, hundreds of people attended and shared their memories of the June Fourth Massacre. (Reported by Wu Yixuan & Cheng Wen)

On Sunday (31 May) evening, Beijing time, Humanitarian China and the New School for Democracy jointly hosted an online event to commemorate the 31st June Fourth anniversary worldwide via videoconferencing software for the first time in history.

About 230 attendees from Mainland China and abroad participated in the entire interactive online event lasting over 3 hours. Representatives from each group reminisced about the history of the Tiananmen Square Massacre and discussed the direction of future events. Attendees included Zhang Xianling of the Tiananmen Mothers and Wu Guofeng's father, Wu Dingfu of the June Fourth Victims. Zheng Fang - whose legs were were crushed by a tank - also made an appearance. They were joined by 1989 Tiananmen student leader Wang Dan, Örkesh Dölet, Zhou Fengsuo and American sinologist Perry Link.

Senior journalist Gao Yu and Tsinghua University professor Guo Yuhua were prevented from participating by the Domestic Security Protection Bureau in Beijing. Others were taken away by the police at the beginning of the event. The duration of the event was subject to technical disruptions and verbal abuse from pro-China groups.

At the event, Zhang Xianling of the Tiananmen Mothers recalled that after her son, Wang Nan, was slaughtered near Tiananmen Square, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) martial law troops buried his remains nearby. She said the Tiananmen Mothers continually protested against the authorities to demand accountability, compensation and that the truth be made public. As a result, the authorities cracked down on Tiananmen Mothers and kept them under long-term illegal surveillance. Despite this, she swears to keep fighting.

Wu Guofeng, a student at Renmin University of China, was capturing the scene on film during the protest when CCP martial law troops shot him. He was stabbed to death by a bayonet when they were trying to snatch away his camera. After recovering his body, Wu Dingfu - his father - risked asking a photographer to take a picture of it to leave an invaluable record of history. He hopes that his son would, one day, be exonerated.

Former student leader Örkesh Dölet acknowledged the "1989 generation" and pro-democracy advocates who made sacrifices and demonstrated courage. He stated that they are now embracing a turning point on the 31st June Fourth anniversary as the world comes the realisation of the CCP's provocations against civilisation and world order.

Dölet said, "We have a duty to inform the world about the truth of the CCP the nature of its government. 2020 may be a critical year."

Event organiser Zhou Fengsuo told RFA that this was their first attempt to hold a worldwide commemorative event on the Internet. Despite interference from the Chinese authorities, the occasion's enriching programme, breadth of participants and online interactions with those in the country remained exceptional highlights.

Zhou said, "It encompasses the few most important groups with memories directly relating to 8964. More importantly, it provides a platform for those who personally experienced it and for the victims' families that still live in the country. Beijing resident groups who fought against the troops have appeared for the first time in the discussion. Dong Shengkun spoke of 'defending human dignity, taking to the streets to protect the students and resist against the martial law troops.' All the voices from the movement's participants that year up to today's teenage students are extremely precious."

Lee Cheuk-yan, chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, spoke about Hong Kong's critical situation but insisted that Hongkongers would never give up. Teng Biao, the host of the online meeting, stated in an interview with us that this year's commemoration held special meaning in light of the CCP pushing the Hong Kong national security law.

Teng said, "The atrocities committed by the CCP in Hong Kong and the recent Hong Kong national security law are reminiscent of June Fourth. Hong Kong has continually been commemorating June Fourth. We are also responsible for urging the international community to disallow June Fourth's tragedy from recurring in Hong Kong."

Hao Jian, another event organiser, indicated that this year’s commemoration was more important than the previous ones because China's relationship with the world was at a critical point.

Hao said, "The year 2020 is the true turning point of history. We look back and listen to the echos of the past today. The recollections of Chang'an Avenue at midnight on 3 June 1989, the sounds of gunfire and the trails of blood, they have tremendous significance. China and the world are at a new turning point in history. The Tiananmen Square Massacre and the outbreak of COVID-19 have formed a major juncture in both the history of China and the world."

Additionally, the Tiananmen Mothers published another open letter on Monday (1 June) to express that they had ample reason to hold the Chinese government accountable. They believe that the Chinese government cannot shirk its responsibility for that year's bloodshed and tragedy and the harm caused to citizens. Legally, the Chinese authorities owe the people an explanation; morally, an apology! The Tiananmen Mothers stated they would continue pushing for three basic demands: "truth, compensation and accountability".

Source:

https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/anniversary-06012020101036.html