The Tiananmen Square Massacre Has Been Commemorated At Westminster — 35 years after Tank Man stood in defiance of the CCP’s Tanks and 35 years after the fall of the Communist’s European Berlin Wall. “There is no force that can put an end to the human quest for freedom” -Liu Xiaobo
The CCP decision to ban candle light vigils to commemorate those pro democracy protestors who were murdered led to the first commemoration – held in the Inter Parliamentary Union Room at Westminster. Other Parliaments in the free world are expected to follow.
The speakers included Fiona Bruce MP, the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief; Fengsuo Zhou, a student leader at the time of the Massacre and who is executive director of Human Rights in China and Humanitarian China; Jian Ma, a journalist who was in Tiananmen and who showed and described photographs he had taken; Apple Peiqing Ni, founder of China Dissent Network; Bob Fu, founder of ChinaAid and who escaped from the PRC with his family after Tiananmen; Benedict Rogers, Founder and CEO of Hong Kong Watch; and Jemimah Steinfeld Editor in Chief at index on Censorship.
Fengsuo Zhou brought exhibits from Tiananmen – including a shirt which was blood stained from bullets fired at the pro democracy protestors. He said “Chinese people love freedom and democracy – and are willing to die for it. Without CCP oppression what a different place China would be.”
Fiona Bruce MP raised the case of Zhang Zhan, the citizen journalist/lawyer who remains imprisoned in Wuhan for seeking the truth about the origins of the Covid pandemic and called for respect for Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – on freedom of religion or belief.
Ben Rogers challenged the Chinese authorities to say what has happened to Zeng Yuxuan: “Where is Zeng Yuxuan?”. He and Lord Alton also referred to the imprisonment of Jimmy Lai, Joshua Wong and the 1700 political prisoners in Hong Kong.
Jian Ma described the “sea of people”, the heroes of Tiananmen Square which he captured in many photographs and his memoir.
Jemimah Steinfield warned that the CCP is “brilliant at controlling its past and curating history” and emphasised the importance of never forgetting
Apple Peiquing Ni said that the spirit of resistance will not be crushed and lives on in the white paper protests and in the diaspora. She raised the threats by CCP overseas agents and actors against Chinese students and Hong Kong BNO holders and their families
Pastor Bob Fu highlighted the oppression of people of religious belief and the meeting heard about the genocide of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, the arrests of Falun Gong practitioners and Tibetan Buddhist monks and the incarceration of Christians.
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Do we stand with tank man or with the tanks? That is the question which we all must answer…..
