2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the June 4th Tiananmen Square Massacre. Ceremonies are being held around the world urging the Chinese regime to reveal the truth behind the event, but Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities have taken every opportunity to avoid the issue. So far, 60 people are known to have been arrested, detained or monitored. Many others seem to have disappeared completely.
Overseas Chinese dissidents are hoping to raise awareness of the anniversary by calling for a “White Clothes Day” campaign. The movement aims to completely cover China in white (the culture’s color of mourning) by appealing to Chinese people all over the nation to wear white clothing on June 4th. But Chinese authorities have issued an order to ensure that students won’t participate in the event, and at the same time, tightened their control of known dissidents across the country.
According to news from Boxun.net, the Chinese government sent out a secret urgent notice to all levels of CCP Committees in colleges and universities in Beijing to make sure that students don’t wear white on June 4th.
Human rights defenders in Shanghai city were planning to wear white clothing and hold a ceremony in front of the City Hall on June 4th. However, when the authority heard about plans for the event, they began arresting and monitoring “key persons.”
Police departments throughout the country have tightened their grip on known dissidents by giving warnings, stalking individuals, issuing house arrests, and forcing many to leave their hometowns. Afraid of a possible domino effect on the Internet, Chinese authorities have closed 26,000 blogs and network user groups.
Bao Tong, secretary of the former CCP Leader, Zhao Ziyang, was forced out of Beijing to “travel” with policemen. Jiang Qisheng, an independent writer in the Chinese capitol, is being closely monitored by police following a second house search.
The families of the June 4th victims, Ding Ziling, Zhang Xianling, Jiang Peikun, Xu Yu, have refused to leave Beijing despite police pressure, but they are now being closely monitored. Qi Zhiyong, who was disabled in the June 4th event, was removed from Beijing by force. He was later allowed to return home due to poor health, but is still kept under close surveillance.
Wu Gaoxing, a dissident in Zhejiang Province, was arrested on May 30. Hangzhou City police searched another democracy supporter Wang Ping’s home on May 22. They took away her computer. Authorities have warned Wang to stop posting articles online. The reason was that she signed petition to support Deng Yujiao[1] on the Internet on May 21.
Human rights defenders in Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province, Zhang Jiankang, Yang Hai, Ma Xiaoming, were forced by local police to leave their hometown. Xie Fulin and Li Dongzhou in Hunan Province were warned by local police not to leave home before June 4th.
Human rights lawyers, Mo Shaoping, Jiang Tianyong, Pu Zhiqiang, Teng Biao, Liu Xiaoyuan, Li Chunfu, Cheng Hai, Tang Jitian, Yang Huiwen, Li Heping, Li Fangping, Li Xiongbing, Lan Zhixue have also reported being followed and harassed by local police.
[1] Deng Yujiao, a waitress in China’s Hubei province accidently killed a Communist official who sexually assaulted her. Chinese people, with the aid of the Internet, have voiced unanimous support for the waitress and furious criticism of corrupt officials. The Chinese authorities are blocking out the media and supporters of Deng.
Read original article in Chinese.
