Meeting In Parliament To Commemorate The 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre
Lord Alton will chair a meeting in the UK Parliament to commemorate the 1989, Beijing’s Tiananmen Square Massacre.
Tiananmen became the focus of large-scale protests – protests which were crushed by China’s Communist regime and crushed with the bloodshed that was in no way proportionate to the protests. To this date, the exact numbers of those killed are not known with the estimates varying between sources – from over 200 to close to 10,000. The numbers 200 or 10,000 are just numbers – but behind them – there are stories of brave people whose lives were cut short as they were fighting for freedom.
The events in Beijing were immortalised by one of the most iconic photos of the 20th century – the tank man – a lone protester standing in front of a line of army tanks.
This very photograph is the portrayal of the truth we have been told for decades that change comes from individuals and minorities.
As an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States, Samuel Adams said:
‘It does not take a majority to prevail … but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.’
This is a message that all those who fight for freedom across regimes globally must keep in their mind, and a message to keep in their hearts, that their fight for freedom matters – no matter their numbers. It is a message re-enforced by Liu Xiaobo the Chinese literary critic, human rights activist, philosopher and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who called for political reforms and was involved in campaigns to end communist one-party rule in China
