36 years have passed since the brutal Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4th, with estimates of the death toll ranging from thousands to over tens of thousands. In China, discussing this topic and commemorating the victims has long been strictly prohibited, but the thirst for truth and justice has never ceased. Overseas events solemnly commemorating June 4th now carry even more significance in today’s context as a warning for the future.
“In reality, the suppression of June 4th has not ended,” said Zheng Cunzhu, the Chairman of the Chinese Democratic Party United Headquarters, during a commemorative event.
In the evening of June 3rd, around 150 Chinese people gathered in front of the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles under the organization of the Chinese Democratic Party United Headquarters to light candles in remembrance of the victims of June 4th. Despite the sudden drop in temperature and rare rainfall in Los Angeles that evening, the participants’ enthusiasm was not dampened. They held up banners with slogans like “Never forget June 4th” and “END CCP,” continuously chanting slogans like “Never forget June 4th, resist to the end!”
Various branches of the Chinese Democratic Party, the Chinese Alliance for Democracy and Human Rights, and the Freedom Bell Democratic Foundation also participated in the event. The gathering began with participants singing the song “The Wound of History,” with their powerful voices echoing through the streets, expressing mourning for the deceased and condemning authoritarian rule. Subsequently, a collective moment of silence was held for the victims during the event, and protesters angrily burned the Chinese national flag.
During his speech at the event, Zheng Cunzhu condemned the Chinese Communist Party for the slaughter of peaceful protesting students and citizens. In an interview with the Epoch Times, he emphasized, “It is a crime against the people to use tanks to forcibly suppress and shoot fleeing students from Tiananmen Square just because the students did not withdraw.”
He pointed out that even during the Beiyang Government era, when protesting students burned residences and injured diplomatic personnel, the government only mobilized police to maintain order, “without mobilizing regular troops of a country or deploying tanks to suppress.” Despite 36 years passing since June 4th, Zheng Cunzhu emphasized that as long as the truth is hidden and people dare not openly discuss the matter, the suppression of 1989 continues; in reality, the oppression has not ended.
Regarding the recent strange disturbances in China’s domestic situation, Zheng Cunzhu stated that in democratic countries, party changes are transparent and a matter in which every citizen participates, unlike in China where there is no normal power transition, leading people to rely on various rumors to speculate political trends.
“Any democratic regime that establishes a system of separation of powers is not rife with political rumors like present-day China,” he said. “Communist regime is always facing unpredictable power changes. This kind of rule is not sustainable.”
Addressing the widespread discontent among the Chinese people towards the CCP regime, Zheng Cunzhu stated that in the past, the CCP relied on the military, tanks to suppress the people, but now they rely on arrests, sentencing, national security officers, plainclothes police, and high-tech surveillance, reflecting the party’s loss of popular support and confidence in its own regime.
He believed, “The current dissatisfaction of the people is like a rushing river, and if only high-pressure methods are used to block it, the dam will surely collapse; the CCP will end up just like the Soviet regime, disintegrating overnight.”
During this crucial historical period before the disintegration of the CCP, he urged individuals in positions of public authority – whether military, police, judicial personnel, or local officials – to hold on to their conscience and not become accomplices to authoritarian rule when facing impacts on their own interests in their interactions with the people.
“Even if you cannot refuse orders from above, I hope that when facing the people, you will at least raise your guns by an inch and not become the executioners of the people,” Zheng Cunzhu said.