27 years on, Tiananmen victims’ moms vow to fight

In this iconic image from June 5, 1989, an unidentified man temporarily stops the advance of a column of tanks heading to Tiananmen Square.

Mothers of some of those killed in the bloody crackdown on China’s 1989 Tiananmen pro-democracy movement are condemning the Chinese government for failing to account for their children’s deaths and vowing to continue pushing for the truth ahead of this weekend’s 27th anniversary of the events.

Signed by 131 mothers and published by the advocacy group Human Rights in China, the letter said victims’ families continue to suffer from harassment and intimidation by Chinese security services for pursuing their quest for justice for their loved ones.

“For 27 years, the police have been the ones who have dealt with us. For 27 years... we, the victims’ families, are eavesdropped and surveilled upon by the police,” the letter said. “The police use contemptible means, such as making up stories, fabricating facts, issuing threats, etc., against us.” While such treatment “undoubtedly desecrates the souls of those who perished,” the mothers, who along with their families are known as the Tiananmen Mothers group, said they were convinced their campaign will eventually produce a full and objective reckoning of the events.

The letter condemns the Chinese government for its apathy, accusing it of ignoring pleas and wiping out public memories of the movement and the bloody crackdown on the night of June 3-4, 1989, in which hundreds, possibly thousands were killed.

The government says it was correct to send in troops and tanks to quell it, saying it was a violent uprising against Communist Party rule, and has rejected all calls for an investigation or even to permit discussion of the events. Most of the main student protest leaders who fled aboard after the crackdown are still forbidden from returning home.

The letter was partially prompted by tightening security following the death of Jiang Peikun, husband of Ding Zilin, one of the most prominent Tiananmen mothers, said Yin Min, a fellow Tiananmen mother and signee of the letter.

“It feels that there’s no end in sight. We are all at ages where death can happen any day, and we’d like to see the truth revealed and justice upheld while we are still alive,” said Yin, whose 19-year-old son, Ye Weihang, was killed in the crackdown.