Tiananmen Students Continue Fight

By Joseph Russell- Talk Radio News Service

A remembrance was held on the West Lawn of Capitol Hill to honor the students that lost their lives during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre 20 years ago. U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ.) spoke with former Chinese student leaders about the importance of remembering the fallen students and the need to continue to fight for Democracy in China.

“The ugly spirit of the Tiananmen Square Massacre continues today unabated in China with brutality and efficiency that only a Nazi could love,” Smith said, adding the Obama administration should not seek to improve the world economy while ignoring the country’s human rights violations.

Dr. Yang Jianli, a Tiananmen survivor and former political prisoner, said that “it is truth that tyrannies fear most; it is truth that build stable societies.” He called for the release of political prisoners and ending the blacklisting of China citizens.

The Tiananmen Square massacre resulted from political protests by college students who demanded government reform. The student’s protest was planned for 40 days, but ended after the 20th day. The government used force to stop the protest when the students erected a statue of the Goddess of Liberty. The statue was destroyed and an estimated 2,000 students were killed by the Chinese military.

Hope For Liberty In China?

By Joseph Russell- Talk Radio News Service

The Heritage Foundation presented a discussion with special guest Dr. Wang Dan, a former student leader of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. The discussion hosted by Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Heritage Foundation Fellow Lee Edwards, focused on the future of liberty in China.

Brownback asserted that with the current global economic downturn “this may be one of the most important times for the Democracy movement,” both in China and around the world.

Dan believes there are still many in China who do not know about the massacre of students during the fight for democracy in Tiananmen Square nearly 20 years ago. The government has largely covered-up the incident and Dan believes it is not surprising that many Chinese youth today have little interest in Democracy. He said that Chinese youth “care more about money than democracy.” However, he said there is hope for liberty in China in the future and America definitely has a role to play.

The 1989 massacre in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square was the result of political protests by college students for democracy. Students protested the Chinese government’s violation of human rights before the government used force to stop the protest. The number of deaths is unknown because the government has censored such information, but it is thought be be around 2,000 students.

Pelosi Received In China With Pomp And Circumstance

By Michael Combier-Talk Radio News Service

Last week’s diplomatic trip to China, the bi-partisan congressional delegation led by the U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said that the government of China was very attentive to what the delegation had to say on the environmental issue and that they were eager to find common ground policies with the United States to resolve the climate change crisis, Pelosi said

“On our way to China, we visited Alaska. And in our own country, we saw the impact of climate change and of the global warming crisis. We saw that the polar cap is melting, the thermal control of the planet is affected... It is urgent to meet the issue of global warming crisis,” said Pelosi today at a press conference in the Capitol.

Pelosi pointed out that the Chinese have observed the same kind of effect in their own country with the melting of the glacier in Himalaya which made the finding of solutions more urgent between the two country.

The focus of the trip was “on climate change and what we can do between our two countries to help reach some agreement that will help serve us all well in the multilateral decision that will be made” in the United Nations - Climate Change Conference held in Copenhagen from December 7-18, Pelosi said.

The passing on May 21 by the Energy and Commerce Committee of the American Clean Energy and Security Act had equipped the U.S. delegation “with the assurance to the Chinese that action will be taken by the Congress of the United States on this subject” and that a significant movement is already underway said Pelosi.

Another issue that was dealt by the U.S. delegation was human rights and the twentieth anniversary’s of the Tiananmen Square protest. The memory of this event was raised by a great majority of Chinese during the trip said Pelosi.

The delegation delivered a letter to the President of the People’s Republic of China, Hu Jintao, and the Chinese government “for the release of prisoners of conscience in accordance with the principles of the Chinese constitution,” said Pelosi.

Pelosi recalled how, 18 years ago, she held a banner “in memory of those who were so brave and courageous” during the Tiananmen Square protest, and now as Speaker of the House, she was able to discuss directly to the President of China and “express to him the concern in Congress on a bi-partisan basis of concern for human rights in China and Tibet.”

On the issue of North Korea, the delegation has worked with the Chinese government to “help bring North Korea back to the six-party talks. In light of the tests that happened while” the delegation was in China, “it came even more urgent for them to exercise their good offices... and to get the six-party talk moving again,” said Pelosi.

An Olympic challenge: Bush should address human rights abuse

As a test of his presidential legacy, President Bush needs to address the human rights violation in China on his visit to the Beijing Olympic Games, said T. Kumar, Advocacy Director for Asia and Pacific for Amnesty International of the United States, especially because, on its own accord, the Chinese government promised to improve its human rights treatment.

Kumar made his message clear: Human rights in China have deteriorated since the International Olympic Committee decided the games would be held in Beijing. 250,000 people are imprisoned in labor camps through the "re-education through labor" detention system. According to Kumar, the Chinese government executes more people than every other country combined.

In his speech in Thailand yesterday, Bush addressed Chinese human rights violations, but that speech was meaningless if he does speak up when he is actually in China, Kumar said. Kumar suggested that Bush meet with"Mothers of Tiananmen," which consists of relatives of Tiananmen Square victims. The Chinese government has decided to designate three areas for peaceful demonstration, Kumar said, and Bush should also visit them.

Bush is sending a conflicted message about religious freedom by visiting state-controlled churches during his visit, argued Kumar. He should also visit independent churches.

Speaking out would be a symbolic victory against human right violations in China. Although it would have not have a significant short-term effect, Bush could set the standard for what the United States expects of China and establish guidelines for the next president, Kumar said.