Hotline Asia (HL) once again calls for your
support to the "Rose Calling" campaign,
launched by the Tiananmen Mothers' Campaign (TMC)
in 2006.
4 June 2007 marks the 18th anniversary of June
4th Massacre at Tiananmen Square, Beijing. That
night, over 55, 000 people gathered at the
Victoria Park, Hong Kong in memory of the victims
in 1989. The number of participants of the candle
night vigil hit the peak since 1997. The people
reportedly become more united due to a recent
speech of Ma Lik, a pro-China deputy which
claimed that the military assault in 1989,
Beijing, was not a massacre. Hong Kong has
continued to hold the vigil for 18 years;
unfortunately, it is still the only city in China
where people can join June 4th memorial
activities freely and publicly.
Eighteen years after the June 4th Massacre,
mothers and families of the victims are still
under harassment, surveillance, and intimidation
by the state. They are deprived of the freedom of
communication and movement. In addition, they are
denied the basic right to mourn their beloved
ones who were killed in the Massacre, especially
on "sensitive" dates such as the June
4th anniversary and Qing Ming festival where the
Chinese traditionally mourn their deceased family
members. In 2005, three members of the victims'
families were arrested on the charge of
endangering the state security, after receiving
T-shirts printed with the words "Tiananmen
Mothers" from Hong Kong.
Despite its increasing economic and political
powers in the international community, the
Chinese government is still afraid of the
exposure of the Massacre and the related
responsibilities it needs to bear. It suppresses
the testimony of the old and infirm family
members of the victims, in apparent attempt to
erase the truth from people's memory.
As a result of the persistent blockade of news
and information by the state, many Chinese people
remain uninformed about the Massacre. To bring
out the truth, some Tiananmen mothers such as
Ding Zilin have been striving to collect personal
testimonies from the victims' families. Up till
now, 186 cases have been recorded. These records
were published by the TMC in a book in September
2005 in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, the book was
banned in China.
Recognizing that many of the Tiananmen mothers
and family members of the victims become aged and
as they deserve to reclaim their basic human
rights to mourn peacefully, the TMC launched the
"Rose Calling" campaign last year to
support them to fight for justice.
The "Rose Calling" is a three year
campaign, the objective of which is to pressure
the Chinese government to allow the Tiananmen
mothers and family members of the June 4th
victims to mourn their beloved ones openly and
freely, which is part of their basic human
rights. Street petitions and workshops have been
organized in Hong Kong to raise public awareness
and support to the issue. However, to make this
campaign more successful, international support
is most important. Please show your support by:
- signing the online petition at www.tmc-hk.org/forum.php;
or
- forwarding the information and urging
more people to support the petition.
Hotline Asia has been supporting the Tiananmen
Mothers in their struggle for justice since 2000
by issuing UA000523(7), support
campaign, with online campaign, video CDs and
postcards on behalf of TMC. Information on TMC's
latest actions can also be found on their web site.
Source:
Tiananmen Mothers' Campaign
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