Tiananmen Square massacre: China’s ‘white terror’ since 1989
June 3, 20167:00am
Debra Killalea news.com.au
CHINA has been accused of carrying out three decades of white terror against Tiananmen Square massacre victims’ families.
In an open letter released ahead of the anniversary of the event, The Tiananmen Mothers have lashed out at the Chinese government claiming their families continue to suffer threats, intimidation and detention to this day.
The claim they are constantly harassed in a bid to stop them speaking out about the killings which made global headlines and shone a light on China’s human rights record.
The advocacy group has long been campaigning for an investigation into the Tiananmen crackdown, as well as calling for accountability and compensation.
What started as peaceful demonstration for democracy on June 4, 1989, turned deadly when hundreds of people were killed after the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) stormed the streets and opened fire.
It is not known how many were killed but independent observers estimated it was more than 1000.
China refuses to mark the occasion and to this day millions of Chinese still don’t even know about the massacre.
A toy tank rolls over a T-shirt, stained in red to mimic blood and with characters that read ‘64’ to commemorate the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown against pro-democracy activists. Picture: Tengku Bahar/AFPSource:AFP
All references what happened that day remain systematically censored in print and on the internet.
The families of those killed reveal how their pain lives on.
“Twenty-seven years have passed since the June Fourth Massacre of 1989,” the letter reads.
“For us, family members of the victims’ families, it has been 27 years of white terror and suffocation.”
The letter, translated by Human Rights in China, goes on to say how dozens of family members who are now dead revealed their final regret was not being able to see justice done.
The families reveal how they are continually subjected to intimidation by practices by police and are constantly eavesdropped on particularly as the anniversary draws near.
“For 27 years, the police have been the ones who have dealt with us. For 27 years, they have also been our frequent visitors at home ... We the victims’ families are eavesdropped and surveilled upon by the police; we are followed or even detained, and our computers searched and confiscated.
“The police use contemptible means such as making up stories, fabricating facts, issuing threats, etc, against us. All these actions undoubtedly desecrate the souls of those who perished on June Fourth, and insult the honour of the living.”
Protesters march with a symbolic coffin representing the death of democracy during a pro-democracy rally ahead of the anniversary in Hong Kong this week. Picture: Tengku Bahar/AFPSource:AFP
The letter mentions the plight of elderly teacher Ding Zilin, who lost two family members last year, and who is not allowed contact from any other victims families.
Security officials have confined Din to her Beijing home, with campaigners revealing “she is physically and mentally exhausted and her state is worrisome.”
Her husband Jiang Peikun died last year without ever seeing justice for their son who died after being shot in the heart.
However the families refuse to be intimidated and will not be silenced by such “detestable perversity”.
“We have nothing left to fear,” they wrote.
TIME FOR JUSTICE
Amnesty International said the time for justice for families is slipping away.
Amnesty said a thorough inquiry into the 1989 military crackdown was crucial and scenes from that day which flashed around the world will never be forgotten.
In a statement it blasted the continued silence of the Chinese government and said those responsible must be held accountable.
The massacre was followed by a nationwide crackdown which Amnesty said resulted in several bloody incidents and thousands of arrests in the subsequent weeks and months.
Despite the world knowing what took place, China refused to acknowledge it or to take action on behalf of the victim’s families.
The image that became a symbol of the Tiananmen Square massacre, tank man. The identity of this protester, who blocked a line of tanks heading east onto Cangan Boulevard in front of the Beijing Hotel, remains unknown to this day.Source:AP
“The government has never accepted responsibility for the human rights violations during the military crackdown or held any perpetrator legally accountable,” Amnesty said.
“With each year that passes, justice becomes ever more elusive for family members of the hundreds if not thousands who were killed or injured in Beijing and across China.”
Amnesty said not only did families deserve compensation for their loss but the government must acknowledge what happened.
It also called on Chinese authorities to cease harassment and prosecution of individuals and to immediately release all those detained for exercising their rights to freedom of expression.
The last known person to still be in prison directly related to the 1989 military crackdown, Miao Deshun, is set to be released later this year, according to the human rights group.
“The Tiananmen Mothers’ cries for justice are clear,” Amnesty said.
“What is needed now is the political courage and leadership to face the events of 1989 in an open and honest manner, and ensure that justice delayed is not justice denied.
CRACKDOWN CONTINUES
China has been determined to silence those who even dare to bring the massacre up, or who write about what went on.
In May 2015, labour rights activist and democracy advocate Liu Shaoming was detained over an online essay reflecting on what he witnessed on June 3 and 4.
He was later arrested on charges of “inciting subversion of state power” and is still awaiting the verdict.
Photo: Tiananmen Square today. Picture: IstockSource:Supplied
The defiant activist said his essay was written with the “intention of letting his countrymen not forget that piece of history, to reflect on those times which can seem unbearable to remember, in order to warn and prevent tragic history from repeating itself.”
In January this year, democracy activists Tang Jingling, Yuan Xinting, and Wang Qingying, were convicted by the Guangzhou Municipal Intermediate People’s Court for “inciting subversion of state power”.
Three months later lawyer Pu Zhiqiang formally had his license revoked after he was found guilty by a Beijing court of “picking quarrels and provoking troubles” and “inciting ethnic hatred”.
Human Rights watch has called on the Chinese government to tell the truth about what happened that day and said it owed a debt not only to its own people but the world.
Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, called on authorities to end the campaign of fear and harassment over its people.
“Chinese authorities owe a debt of justice and accountability to survivors of the massacre and their family members,” she said.
“Political repression since 1989 has not eliminated yearnings for basic freedoms and an accountable government — instead it has only compounded the Party’s lack of legitimacy.”
Police push back a pro-democracy activist in Hong Kong. A protest such as this in mainland China would not happen. Picture: Tengku Bahar/AFP
She added the Chinese government has kept tight control over basic human rights — particularly freedoms of expression since 1989 but it had worsened since President Xi Jinping came to power in March 2013.
“Instead of advancing, China has stagnated, and even regressed, in terms of political reforms since 1989,” Ms Richardson said.
WHAT HAPPENED
Thousands of Chinese people had been calling for greater transparency and democratic reform in the weeks leading up to June 3-4.
The protest, which took place in the world famous square, grew by the day with many refusing to leave. Some even staged hunger strikes.
Two weeks earlier the Communist Party imposed martial law and ordered the army to take back the square, but defiant protesters told them to go home.
Humiliated the government ordered the army back to take control, calling the protest a “counter-revolutionary rebellion”.
Then on June 4, all hell broke loose and tough and brutal action was enforced.
Protesters were shot, thousands more were arrested and in the weeks after many activists revealed how the intimidation and fear continued in a bid to control the dissent.
READ MORE: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/true-stories/tiananmen-square-massacre-chinas-white-terror-since-1989/news-story/004c1fb54cbf34067be6e868962226a2
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READ MORE: As Tiananmen Anniversary Nears, June 4 Disappears from the China's Web
An armored personnel carrier is shown in flames near Tiananmen Square during unprecedented democracy protests that were met with a government crackdown that killed an unknown number of demonstrators, June 4, 1989. _ AFP
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/as-tiananmnen-anniversary-nears-05052016125211.html
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