Recognizing the 30th Anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 30th Anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Starting on April 18, 1989 thousands of students marched through Tiananmen Square calling for a more democratic government and protesting China's Communist government. An estimated 1 million people joined the protests in Tiananmen Square and citizens in over 400 Chinese cities staged protests. After months of protests, late in the afternoon of June 3 thousands of troops moved onto Tiananmen Square and fired into crowds throughout the night into June 4. The People's Republic of China has still not admitted to how many people were killed by the military but despite the Chinese government downplaying the number killed, it was likely in the thousands. The Chinese government has tried to erase this tragedy from history in order to uphold its Communist regime's legitimacy. The Chinese government continues to violate the human rights of its citizens including putting millions of members of its Uyghur minority into ``re-education'' camps and continuing suppression of democratic voices throughout China. We must continue to commit ourselves to supporting the values for which the victims of Tiananmen Square Massacre gave their lives.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source