UHRP Will Not Let the World Forget June 4th
June 3, 2022 | 10:00 a.m. EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact: 塔什肯．多萊特（Tashken Davlet）+1 (401) 702 3816
June 4th. The date marks a turning point in the nearly two-month-long 1989 Democracy Movement that took place throughout China to promote democratic reforms and civil rights.
With the wave of democratization in Eastern Europe and beyond, the Chinese people have also shown their government and the international community that China was ready to join the free world through a series of peaceful demonstrations. China seemed to be standing at a crossroads of history.
But the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had no such plan.
When we imagine enthusiastic and passionate young people willing to die for their ideals, the picture is usually not as literal and graphic. Unfortunately, what this group of young people—who pursued their ideals and took initiative for the future of their beloved country—saw that day was the CCP’s brutal practice of “maintaining stability,” and the international community’s compromises on the value of human rights.
As the tanks drove into Tiananmen square, fear was also etched into the hearts of Chinese citizens. When the western powers decided to adopt a policy of appeasement and re-invited China to join the international community, it not only emboldened the CCP, but also caused more Chinese citizens to feel hopeless.
While the world enjoys the economic and trade benefits of doing business with China and avoids talking about the appalling human rights issues within the country, those in China continue to suffer. Tibetans self-immolated in desperation, Hong Kongers were displaced and dispossessed, and Uyghurs are facing genocide—the tragedies are beyond measure.
People now face more deprivation of liberty and new forms of brutality and repression that were unimaginable 33 years ago. This includes high-tech, near-total surveillance using AI technology; mandatory DNA collection; long prison terms for possession of religious texts; and mandatory government-enforced “boarding schools” that forcibly separate Tibetan and Uyghur children from families.
“Never again” is happening again. Over the years, new research and evidence have been presented demonstrating that Uyghurs are suffering from genocide, and the recently leaked “Xinjiang Police Files” has forced the world to look directly at this tragedy.
The Uyghur Human Rights Project stands in solidarity with all victims of the CCP’s atrocities, and calls on the international community to face up to the consequences of the appeasement policy, and condemn the CCP’s contempt for human rights.
June 4th is a sorrowful day, but remembering these past wounds can also help us find the strength to keep moving forward. The actions of our predecessors let us know that we are not alone in the pursuit of human rights, freedom and democracy. We grieve for their suffering, we carry on their courage, and we give meaning to their sacrifice.