On June 1, 2024, the people of Seattle gathered at Westlake Park in downtown Seattle to hold a commemorative event marking the 35th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement. Among the speakers at the event were Ms. Jin Xiuhong of the Chinese Democratic Human Rights Alliance, Pete Serrano, candidate for Washington State Attorney General, current Washington State Representative Jim Walsh, state legislative candidate Lynn Trinh, and Chinese students studying at the University of Washington.
Rep. Jim Walsh of Washington State expressed at the gathering that he attended to stand for universal values, emphasizing the importance regardless of the number of participants. As a government official, Walsh stated that despite the business dealings between Washington State and China, they cannot remain silent on the human rights abuses committed by the Chinese Communist Party.
State legislative candidate Lynn Trinh shared her personal experience of growing up near Tiananmen Square and enduring the oppressive education system under the CCP. She emphasized that her decision to run for state representative was driven by the alarming resemblance between the education system in the U.S. and that of China, where parental rights are diminishing, posing a significant danger to American society.
A Chinese student at the University of Washington spoke about being frequently asked why he, at a young age, stands against the Communist Party. He responded that it is simply a matter of common sense. He pointed out that communism, as a whole, is harmful and was responsible for the destruction of China’s thousands of years of tradition and culture during the Cultural Revolution. He likened communism to a red devil wreaking havoc worldwide and expressed hope for China to break free from the Communist Party’s grip.
Multiple speakers at the event warned of the erosion of communism in the United States, citing critical race theory (CRT) taught on campuses as an example of communist class struggle theories influencing education. They urged for the closure of Confucius Institutes established by the Chinese Communist Party overseas, calling for increased vigilance against the spread of communism.