Today we honor the brave Chinese people whose peaceful calls for democracy, human rights, and a corruption-free society came to a violent end when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sent the People's Liberation Army into Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, armed with tanks and guns. While the Tiananmen protests inspired the oppressed in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe to demand and achieve democratic change, the Chinese communist government survived with oppressive control of information and sheer brutality.
Thirty-one years later, the total number of missing or dead Tiananmen protesters is still unknown. The United States continues to applaud their aspirations, and the American people stand with the families still grieving their lost loved ones, including the courageous Tiananmen Mothers who have never stopped seeking accountability for their children's deaths, despite great personal hardship and risk. We reiterate our call for a full, public accounting of those killed or missing.
We mourn the victims of June 4, 1989, and we stand with the people of China who continue to aspire to a government that protects human rights, fundamental freedoms, and basic human dignity.
