六四悼念會序言
天安門屠殺二十九週
今天是2018年六月三日，二十九年前的今天,
戊戌年的百日維新，由1894年甲午戰爭的挫敗引發。
戊戌變法，給予國人的啟發、思考，至今仍在。
二十九年前，中國人民像先烈一樣，看到國家的弊病，
八九民運雖然失敗，但迫使中國政府持續經濟改革，實現社會寛鬆。
十九年過去，
過去一個世紀，中國士大夫的徒勞，
加入世界貿易組織以來，中國已得到不少經濟和科技收益。
打壓「零八憲章」，中共已經向世人表明，
有些人認為歷史是由勝利者撰寫的，以為威權政府可以憑藉強權，
歷史真相永存。這是我們的信念。自二十九年前本會成立以來，
世界各地人民良知不朽。人民不會忘記。天安門的理想也會長存。
Our Statement
29th Anniversary of the June 4 Massacre
This year marks the 29th anniversary of the 1989 pro-democracy movement in China. It is also the 10th anniversary of the Charter 08. Some may be of the opinion that these two events are nothing but to-be-forgotten ripples in the great march of Chinese history. Yet they may be mistaken, for, even after 120 years, the failed WuXu Hundred Days' Reform remains vivid in the collective Chinese consciousness. Why?
Defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894 triggered the Hundred Days' Reform. The short-lived reform might have achieved little concrete, as it was squelched by the Coup of 1898. However, the crackdown ultimately shattered the delusion that a totalitarian government would listen to its people. There could be no compromise. Revolution was the only path to a better China. The Manchurian dynasty became history.
Until this day, the Reform has inspired the Chinese. Martyrs including Tan Sitong and his comrades chose to pay for a better country with their lives. They are models to follow.
Twenty-nine years ago, just like the martyrs before them, some Chinese saw the country going down the wrong path. They thought they could wake up an authoritarian government to do the right thing. Like the old Reform, the 1989 pro-democracy movement was cracked down in a massacre on June 4th. When the Communist party demonstrated their top priority was an unchallenged reign over the people, their dream to rescue the party from self-destruction was shattered.
Despite the continuing economic reform, the one-party government never stopped its suppression of dissidents.
Nineteen years later, 303 law-abiding Chinese intellectuals signed and published Charter 08 on December 10, 2008. Signatories of the Charter recognized that social conflicts had escalated, and animosity between the Party and the People had sharpened in their homeland. They wanted change. Charter 08 called for 19 changes, including an end to one-party rule. The Chinese government responded by harassing and jailing the signatories and forbidding media coverage. The restrictions are still in effect today.
Futile attempts by Chinese intelligentsia in the last century have amply illustrated a significant blind spot among the reformists. Self-Strengthening Movement, Chinese Economic Reform, … These movements limited their efforts to mere technological and economic advancement, without committing China to genuine institutional or ideological modernization. As a slogan for reform, "Chinese for Essence, Western for Practical" sounded painless enough over a century ago. Ultimately, however, the last emperor of Qing Dynasty paid with his abdication in 1911. "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" sounded mesmerizing to the Chinese ego, for sure. Nonetheless, history will prove that the narrow focus on economic development before and after the Tiananmen massacre of 1989 WILL NOT propel China to a great nation in harmony, let alone fulfil "the Chinese Dream".
Since joining the World Trade Organization, China has reaped significant benefits economically and technologically. The goodwill of other countries in the world expecting China to become a respectable partner is growing thin. With heightened scrutiny, tension will eventually escalate & destabilize. Competition will always exist, but only with trust will the global trade and cultural exchange continue to thrive. Implementation of the 19 changes listed in Charter 08 could be a good start to achieve a common ground.
By quashing Charter 08, the communist regime has shown the world it will not even pretend to abide by its own constitution, which was adopted in 1982 after the painful experience of the Cultural Revolution. For his peaceful advocacy of a century-old Chinese dream for a democratic system of government, Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to eleven years' imprisonment on December 25, 2009. In custody, Liu was awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, but the totalitarian regime refused to allow even a representative to collect the Nobel Prize for him before his death. Other than Carl von Ossietzky under the Nazi dictatorship, Liu was the second laureate ever to have been mistreated so blatantly. Liu was in effect murdered by the Chinese government under international watch on July 13, 2017. His widow, Liu Xia, is still under house arrest in China now.
Some, who believe that history is written by the victors, assume the past can be fabricated by an authoritarian government through control over education, media and propaganda. We disagree with their assumption. Technology such as the Internet may in fact empower the people against such control, and allow better sharing of observations and retrieval of records. Regardless, a failure to respect our history is a failure to learn from our mistakes. Therefore, we hold all democratic governments -- and all conscientious peoples of our world -- responsible, not only for their actions but for truthful accounts of their actions as well.
The truth will prevail. This has been our conviction since the founding of our organization 29 years ago. We will continue our fight for human rights and democracy. We will continue to hold the government of Beijing responsible for the atrocities in 1989, and for all the crimes it has perpetrated since.
Our collective memory will not fade. Neither will the conscience of all peoples around the world. The ideals of Tiananmen will remain forever with us.
Association of Overseas Hong Kong Chinese for Democracy and Human Rights
June 3, 2018
