The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
China
June 3, 1989 – BEIJING, CHINA - The government of China sent in troops to force pro-democracy protesters out of Tiananmen Square after seven weeks of occupation.
The peaceful protestors had believed that the rapidly modernizing country was ripe for much overdue political and economic reform and were protesting in Tiananmen Square demanding elections.
The extremely brutal Chinese Communist Party has never shared power and has never been shy about using deadly force against its own people. Instead of elections and liberty the CCP unleashed it's military on the peaceful protestors.
The U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recounted: "In the spring of 1989, tens of thousands of students gathered in Beijing's largest public square to mourn the passing of a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader who tried to steer China toward a more open and democratic system. Their actions inspired a national movement. Hundreds of thousands of ordinary people in the capital and throughout China took to the streets for weeks to exercise their freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly by advocating for democracy, human rights, and an end to rampant corruption. The CCP responded with a brutal crackdown, sending the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to open fire in an attempt to extinguish the pro-democracy sentiments of unarmed civilians gathered on Beijing's streets and in Tiananmen Square."
The government of China continues to try to suppress any remembrance of the people who lost their lives that day and in the following weeks and months.
"The CCP actively tries to censor the facts, but the world will never forget. Today we commemorate the bravery of the Chinese people who were killed as they tried to exercise their fundamental freedoms, as well as those who continue to suffer persecution as they seek accountability and justice for the events of June 4, 1989. Their courage in the face of certain danger reminds us that the principles of freedom, democracy, and self-rule are not just American principles. They are human principles the CCP cannot erase," Secretary Rubio wrote.
Amnesty International wrote of China: "The government continued to enforce repressive laws and policies that restricted the right to freedom of expression and other human rights. Human rights defenders were arrested, prosecuted and sentenced to long prison terms. Activists living overseas faced threats and intimidation. New restrictions on religious freedom were introduced in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and prosecutions of intellectuals, artists and other Uyghur cultural figures continued. Chinese authorities' repression of Tibetan culture and language intensified. Renewable energy generation capacity was expanded but China remained heavily reliant on coal. A new national security law further restricted civic space in Hong Kong where dozens of pro-democracy activists were sentenced to long prison terms."
Amnesty International recounted the events at Tiananmen: "Hundreds if not thousands of unarmed peaceful pro-democracy protesters were killed in Beijing and the arrest of tens of thousands of demonstrators in cities across China. The protesters, based in Tiananmen Square in central Beijing, were peacefully calling for political and economic reform. In response, the Chinese authorities responded with overwhelming force to repress the demonstrations."
International television coverage filmed one courageous protestor blocking a tank from entering Tiananmen Square. The tank commander argued with the man asking him to move. He wouldn't and the tank commander wouldn't give the order to run over the man. Chinese authorities reportedly executed both men – the protestor for his defiance and the tank commander for his mercy.
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