Remembering Tiananmen – A Call for Memory, Resistance, and Compassion

（Editor’s note: Sino Euro Voices e.V., The Federation for a Democratic China, and China Democratic Party UK Headquarters have held an international zoom conference on June 2nd to commemorate the 36. anniversary of the June Fourth massacre. We publish the speeches of the invited guests here. 編者按：歐洲之聲、民主中國陣線和中國民主黨英國總部於6月2日聯合舉辦「六四」36週年全球網絡視頻紀念會議——【紀念八九民運 創建憲政民主】，本站將陸續發表與會者的發言稿。）

Tashi Delek everyone, 

It is a profound honor to join this call today, united in remembrance and resistance. We gather here to remember one of the darkest chapters in recent history — the Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989. A moment etched into our collective memory. A moment the world must never forget.

June 4th is more than a date. It is a symbol of courage — of Chinese citizens who, armed only with their ideals and dreams for a better future, stood up against the violent machinery of the state. They demanded freedom. They demanded reform and many paid the ultimate price for daring to believe in democracy.

When I think of Tiananmen, I am reminded not only of those brave students and workers in Beijing, but also of the countless Tibetans who have long resisted the authoritarian grip of the CCP. Tibetans were already calling for change – Long before the world witnessed tanks roll into Tiananmen Square.

In 1987, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama who will turn 90th by this year, proposed the “Five-Point Peace Plan” — a peaceful vision for genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people. Inspired by this call, Tibetans took to the streets in Lhasa. They waved Tibetan flags, chanted for independence, and demanded the return of their official leader.

Between 1987 and 1989, the Tibetan capital saw waves of demonstrations. In March 1989, just weeks before the uprising in Beijing, thousands of Tibetans filled the streets again. The response was brutal: after three days of peaceful protests, the Chinese Army opened fire on unarmed civilians. Martial law was imposed, foreign journalists were expelled, and an estimated 60,000 troops and police flooded into Lhasa.

That bloodshed in Tibet was a harrowing prelude to the massacre in Beijing. The same tactics. The same violence. The same silence.

Lhasa remained under martial law for thirteen months. Hundreds were killed. Thousands were imprisoned. And yet, the spirit of resistance — in Tibet, in China, and beyond — refused to die.

Today, 36 years later, the repression has not ended.
Tibetan language and culture are under attack.
Children are forcibly removed from their families and placed into colonial-style boarding schools.
Monasteries are destroyed.
Surveillance is omnipresent.
Religious and cultural expression is criminalized.

And while the Chinese government attempts to erase this history, rewrite the truth, and export its authoritarian ideology abroad, we are here to say: We remember. We resist. We will not be silent.

The Tiananmen Massacre was not just a tragedy for China. It was a warning to the world. A warning of what happens when authoritarian regimes go unchallenged.

In a time when democracy is under threat globally — when loud, well-funded forces promote lies, manipulate the truth, and suppress dissent — it is more urgent than ever to stand up for human rights and for justice.

For me, this day is not only one of remembrance — it is a day of commitment. A day to recommit ourselves to the values that the Tiananmen protesters stood for. A day to defend democracy and human rights wherever they are under attack — from Hong Kong to East Turkestan, from Tibet to Ukraine, from Myanmar to Iran.

Thank you.

札西德勒各位朋友，

我非常榮幸今天能加入這次號召，團結起來，共同紀念和反抗。我們聚集在這裡，緬懷近代史上最黑暗的篇章之一——1989年天安門大屠殺。這一刻深深銘刻在我們的集體記憶中。這是世界永遠不會忘記的時刻。

6 月 4 日不僅僅是一個日期。它是勇氣的象徵——中國公民僅憑對美好未來的理想和夢想，勇敢反抗國家機器的暴力。他們要求自由要求改革，許多人因為敢於相信民主而付出了生命的代價。

當我想到天安門事件時，我不但想起了北京那些勇敢的學生和工人，也想起了無數長期反抗中共專制統治的西藏人。早在世界目睹坦克車開進天安門廣場之前，西藏人就已經開始呼籲改變。

1987年，今年將年滿90歲的第十四世達賴喇嘛提出了「五點和平計畫」──為西藏人民實現真正自治的和平願景。在這項號召的鼓舞下，拉薩的藏人走上了街頭。他們揮舞著西藏旗幟，高喊獨立口號，並要求西藏官方領導人回國。

1987年至1989年間，西藏首府經歷了一波又一波的示威遊行。 1989年3月，就在北京爆發抗議起義的幾週前，數千名藏人再次走上街頭。回應是殘酷的：經過三天的和平抗議，中國軍隊向手無寸鐵的平民開火。當局實施戒嚴，驅逐外國記者，約6萬名軍警湧入拉薩。

西藏的血腥屠殺是北京大屠殺的悲慘前奏。同樣的戰術。同樣的暴力。同樣的沉默。

拉薩戒嚴持續了十三個月。數百人被殺害。數千人被監禁。然而，反抗精神──在西藏、在中國以及其他地方──卻不肯消亡。

如今，36年過去了，鎮壓仍未結束。藏語和藏文化正遭受攻擊。孩子們被強行帶離家庭，送入殖民風格的寄宿學校。修道院被毀。監視無處不在。宗教和文化表達被視為犯罪。

當中國政府試圖抹去這段歷史、改寫真相、並將其威權主義意識形態輸出到國外時，我們在此說：我們記得。我們抵抗。我們不會保持沉默。

天安門大屠殺不僅是中國的一場悲劇。這是對世界的警告。這是一個警告，當獨裁政權不受挑戰時會發生什麼。

當全球民主受到威脅時——當喧囂且資金雄厚的勢力散播謊言、操縱真相、壓制異議時——捍衛人權和正義比以往任何時候都更加緊迫。

對我來說，這一天不僅是紀念的一天，更是承諾的一天。這一天，我們要重新致力於天安門抗議者所代表的價值。這一天，我們要捍衛民主和人權，無論它們在何處受到侵犯——從香港到東突厥斯坦，從西藏到烏克蘭，從緬甸到伊朗。

謝謝。