Tang Baiqiao, a student leader during the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4 1989, plans to bring the issue to the attention of the President of the United States, hoping his clout will finally bring justice to the massacre victims and to all who have been persecuted since then for involvement in the Democracy Movement.
At this 24th anniversary of June 4th Tiananmen Democracy Movement, Tang, president of Democracy Academy of China, has created a petition on the White House website, and is asking the public to sign it. The petition asks President Obama to make a statement for June 4th Democracy Movement, requesting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to end the persecution of the Democracy Movement and to release its jailed members.
According to the requirements of the White House website, if the number of the signatures on a petition reaches 100,000, the White House will have to make an official statement in response to the petition.
Tang indicated in his petition that as a survivor of the massacre, he bears the duty to work on obtaining justice for those who died there and those who have been since persecuted by the CCP, a goal yet to be achieved. He said this is also the hope of the one billion Chinese people whose voices have been silenced.
As a student leader of the June 4th movement, Tang was arrested and later sentenced to three years in prison and has been living in exile since 1992. He has been involved in multiple movements that work toward a democratic China, and is the author of two books.
Every year, as the anniversary of the bloody crackdown approaches, protesters hold memorials around the world to commemorate victims. Among this year’s large commemoration events, Hong Kong’s annual June 4 night vigil will draw thousands and in Taiwan a group of students will hold a vigil in Taipei.
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