In the midst of the largest wave of protests against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) overseas this year, the demonstration outside the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles has been ongoing as the anniversary of June 4th approaches. People are gathering to mourn the victims of the June 4th massacre and denounce the atrocities of the Tiananmen Square massacre 36 years ago.
The protests reached a climax on June 4th. From 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., there was a continuous flow of people in front of the consulate; passionate speeches, songs mourning the deceased, chants echoing one after another, audio recordings of Tiananmen Mothers, banners waving high, and candlelight vigils almost turned this place into the busiest spot in Los Angeles.
The organizers of the protests included the Chinese Democratic Party Central Committee, the International Alliance of Chinese Democratic Party, the Chinese Social Democratic Party, and the Los Angeles Hong Kong Forum. Concerned about safety, the organizers jointly applied to close the streets in front of the consulate, and the city dispatched multiple police officers to maintain order.
During the gathering, a “little pink” holding a CCP flag rushed into the venue, shouting slogans like “oppose separatism,” disrupting speeches. After being condemned by the participants, the individual was escorted by the police. Subsequently, the same person disrupted the event again and was once more escorted away by the authorities. Attendees filmed the incidents, preparing to report to the immigration authorities.
On that day, hundreds of people signed the “June 4th” signature wall, and hundreds signed up to join the Chinese Democratic Party on-site.
In the days leading up to the June 4th gathering, several significant events protesting against the CCP’s tyranny had already taken place, including the unveiling of a new sculpture at the Liberty Sculpture Park and the opening of a June 4th Memorial Hall.
Several individuals who experienced the events of June 4th firsthand as students recalled the horrors of the massacre in their speeches.
Pastor Zhang Boli of the Southern California Chinese community, who was among the 21 students on the wanted list at the time, delivered three speeches at the consulate on June 4th.
He recounted, “When the Japanese entered Beijing, they didn’t kill many people, but in 1989, the CCP unleashed a large-scale massacre with tanks, machine guns, expanding bullets, and anti-aircraft machine guns.” Zhang recalled the morning of June 4th when they were evacuating the square and tanks chased them down the Liubukou street.
He described a chaotic scene with tear gas being thrown by soldiers, students unable to open their eyes, followed by roaring tanks speeding over and instantly crushing 11 students. Two of the students had their legs crushed under the tank, “the tank was only about 3 meters away from me.”
“At that moment, we, the survivors, made a decision: we must resist this dictatorial regime to the end,” Zhang said. They were subsequently rescued out of the country, but the students who didn’t manage to escape were continually imprisoned, some even sentenced to death.
A recording played at the event highlighted an incident where an ambulance carrying 11 doctors was stopped by the military at Nanchang Street, leading to three people bleeding and dying. The mothers demand that the authorities reveal the truth and hold the criminals accountable.
Chairman Liu Yinquan of the Chinese Social Democratic Party also had ties to the events of June 4th. He recalled in his speech that after 1989, the CCP’s crackdown intensified at the grassroots level, with people being executed for their involvement in the protests across various provinces and cities. In his hometown of Weifang, Shandong, two individuals were gunned down in just one county.
“Liu Yinquan said, “Chinese people have no basic human rights.” He pointed out that over 90% of Chinese people have been persecuted by the CCP, including Xi Jinping himself. “Could Chinese women freely give birth in the past? Can you keep your house when the government wants to demolish it? Can you establish a democratic party in the country?”
Chinese poet Jiang Pinchao, who was imprisoned for four years after June 4th, emphasized in his speech that without freedom of speech, freedom of the press, economic freedom, and protection of private property, a country will not sustainably prosper. He asserted that these freedoms constitute a person’s true value, asking, “Without these freedoms, where is human dignity?”
For the past 36 years, overseas Chinese people have commemorated June 4th annually. Before the implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong, tens of thousands to over a hundred thousand people would attend the candlelight vigil at Victoria Park in Hong Kong every year. However, since 2021, Hongkongers risk arrest for carrying flowers on the streets on June 4th.
On the evening of June 4th, at the gathering held by the Los Angeles Hong Kong Forum, Professor Li Yutan of the National Development Institute at National Chengchi University, President Liu Yaya of the Los Angeles Visual Artists Association, and Assistant Professor Wang Chaohua of the University of California, among others, took the stage to deliver speeches.
Spokesperson Mr. Lin (Charles Lam) of the forum said, “Even though freedom of speech and other freedoms in Hong Kong are now suppressed, I believe Hong Kong people will not forget history and will find different ways to commemorate (June 4th).”
In an interview, Liu Yaya stated, “For so many young Chinese people (international students) who have come to the United States, it is crucial to know what happened in history. These young people are the future of China and will also be the ones demanding change in China.”
After June 4th, many Chinese people lost confidence in China’s future, with some believing that the Chinese democracy movement had “failed”. Several speakers at the event provided different perspectives on this.
Chen Chuangchuang, Executive Director of the Chinese Democratic Party Central Committee, said that Chinese people still live in slavery because over the past 36 years, the free world “abandoned its responsibility” and collaborated with the CCP, nurturing this authoritarian monster into the most evil power in human history.
Nevertheless, the free world has realized that if it does not confront the CCP, it will face failure. “The U.S. Congress and the military recognize the imminent danger,” Chen Chuangchuang said. “The United States has woken up! That’s the good news I bring to everyone.”
Although some believe that the democracy movement has failed in the past 36 years, Chen pointed out: “We only need to succeed once.”
Discussing the future of China, Wang Chaohua cited the book “Parallel Polis”: under the CCP’s suppression, “you live in your parallel world, speaking the truth, telling yourself not to lie, so we will have many small citizen groups, small communities, small societies, fostering citizens’ will and quality.” She reminded people not to lose hope.
At the afternoon and evening gatherings, a choir made up of many new immigrants performed numerous songs commemorating June 4th, inspiring the participants.
New immigrant Zhao Yan said her father had donated a month’s salary to support students protesting in Beijing before June 4th. Six years ago, she watched a documentary on the events of June 4th for the first time and was moved to tears seeing the tanks advancing towards the crowd. She stated, “Remembering June 4th is for justice, and it’s for the future. Never forget, never forgive!”
Le Zai Lin, a member of the Chinese Democratic Party, said when he saw the scenes of the military slaughtering students, “Just those recorded scenes are so chilling; what tragedies occurred in the martial law areas, where no one saw and recorded?”
Liu Dadong, a computer engineer who immigrated to the U.S. six years ago, expressed that the CCP is so sensitive about June 4th, “accurately speaking, it is extremely fearful, thoroughly scared; it is at a loss and dares not even mention June 4th.”
During the event organized by the International Alliance of Chinese Democratic Party, leader Jie Lijian said: “We gather on the land of freedom to speak for those who cannot speak out, to light up the truth covered up by the CCP.” “We are telling the world through action: the truth will not be forgotten, justice will prevail. As long as we continue to commemorate, June 4th remains alive. We will not be silent; we will continue to march forward until freedom shines across the land of China.”
Before June 4th, the leader Jie organized a “car tour” in the Los Angeles Chinese community. On June 1st, seventy to eighty cars with slogans in Chinese and English departed from San Gabriel City, drove through several Chinese communities, and finally arrived at the consulate for the day’s gathering.
On the 4th of June, the participants burnt a Chinese flag in front of the consulate. “This blood-stained Five-Star flag will stink for thousands of years,” Jie Lijian said. “Let it be reduced to ashes, expressing a meaning of ‘the dawn is coming’, and hoping that the fire of freedom will burn fiercely in every corner of China.”