A Statement from our Chairman on the 35th Anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Protests and Massacre

By: Randall G. Schriver |

Today, we solemnly mark the 35^th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. We remember the thousands of peaceful protesters who were brutalized and killed by their own government as they stood up for universal rights and freedoms. They did so in a time of hope, amid a backdrop of promising economic development and social change in post-Mao China. But their calls also followed decades of strict authoritarian rule, government-induced famine, and violent Communist Party-sponsored social upheaval.

The Tiananmen protesters’ bravery is remembered by the older generations in China — who recall that hope and who witness, under Xi Jinping, a fearful return to the one-man rule of Mao — and it is echoed by younger generations today. It was echoed in 2011, in the footsteps of hundreds of citizens across China who silently marched for democracy, transparency, and government accountability. It was echoed by those occupying major intersections during Hong Kong’s 2014 Umbrella Revolution and those belting out “Glory to Hong Kong” during that city’s 2019 protests. It was echoed in October 2022, in the voice of a lone protestor on Sitong Bridge who called out, “We want to eat, we want freedom, we want to vote!” And it was echoed the next month, in the hands of thousands of demonstrators, who firmly held up sheets of blank paper, a symbol their government could not censor.

In Tiananmen, such calls were met with indiscriminate gunfire. Since then, protesters have faced beatings, mass arrests, tear gas, pepper spray, and other draconian measures. As we look back on Tiananmen and remember those who lost their lives or otherwise sacrificed in pursuit of a brighter future, we honor their memory by standing with the Chinese people as they continue to strive for a free China.

The Honorable Randall G. Schriver

Chairman
The Project 2049 Institute