Pelosi on 15th Anniversary of Tiananmen Square Massacre: 'We Will Never Forget'

Pelosi on 15th Anniversary of Tiananmen Square Massacre: 'We Will Never Forget'

Washington, D.C.-House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi spoke this evening on the House floor in support of a bipartisan resolution she co-sponsored with Congressman Christopher Cox (R-CA) to commemorate the 15th Anniversary of Tiananmen Square Massacre in China. The resolution passed by a margin of 400-1. Below are Pelosi's remarks:

"Mr. Speaker, the forward march of freedom has often been advanced by brave souls who defied the powers of their day to demand the liberties and human rights to which all people everywhere are entitled.

"This week, the world pays tribute to the brave souls of Tiananmen Square, who on June 4, 1989, stood up for freedom, only to be met with a hail of bullets and a new era of repression.

"Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join with my colleagues, Congressmen Christopher Cox, Christopher Smith, and Tom Lantos, in sponsoring this resolution that remembers and reaffirms. We remember the courage of the heroes of Tiananmen; and we reaffirm our nation's commitment to the principles of freedom and democracy of which they
dreamed.

"In so doing, this resolution keeps alive the Spirit of Tiananmen.

"The Spirit of Tiananmen lives on in the hearts of all freedom-loving people. We remember how millions of ordinary students, workers and citizens marched in peace . . . how they raised the Goddess of Democracy in the image of our own Statue of Liberty . . . how they quoted our own Founding Fathers.

"We remember with sadness and outrage how the so-called People's Liberation Army was unleashed on its own defenseless people, slaughtering thousands, and searing into our conscience forever one of the most enduring images of the 20th Century-the picture of a lone man before the tank, bringing a line of tanks to a grinding halt.

"Fifteen years later, the Spirit of Tiananmen lives on in prison cells across China. Today, we once again call on Beijing to release the thousands of Tiananmen activists held to this day and all the prisoners of conscience whose only crime was to demand their basic human rights.

"The Spirit of Tiananmen lives on in the exiles who fled their beloved homeland and who today carry on the struggle. In San Francisco, we are proud that many of these talented young people have enriched our community. But even as we celebrate their contributions to our nation, we work for the day when they may return, if they so choose, to their own nation - a free and democratic China.

"For too long, the United States has pursued a policy of trickle down liberty - first economic freedom and then they said political freedom will follow. The 15 years since Tiananmen have exposed this policy as the illusion that it is.

"For a billion Chinese, freedom remains a dream deferred. After all these years, journalists, activists, academics, workers and religious believers are still persecuted and tortured. As this 15th anniversary nears, Beijing is still harassing and arresting dissidents and families of the Tiananmen victims.

"Meanwhile, Chinese elites are enriched by global trade. And despite more than a decade of concessions from Washington, our trade deficit with China has grown from $2 billion a year to over $2 billion a week, to a dangerous $124 billion a year.

"The highest tribute we could pay on this anniversary would be to use our political and economic influence to advance the reforms advocated 15 years ago.

"Finally, the Spirit of Tiananmen lives on in the hearts of the Chinese people, especially those in Hong Kong who have tasted freedom. In taking to the streets to demand democracy, the brave people of Hong Kong have been a stirring example to the world. On this anniversary, U.S. resolve in facing Beijing would send a clear message to democratic reformers throughout Asia - democracy in Asia is as crucial there as it is in the rest of the world.

"So it is that the Spirit of Tiananmen endures and inspires. Tanks and troops may crush a protest, but they can never extinguish the flame of freedom that burns in every human heart."

"Mr. Speaker, on this day, with this resolution, we say to the people of China, including Hong Kong, and freedom-loving people everywhere: Your cause is our cause. We will never forget. We will never forget.

"And in so doing, we reaffirm our commitment to a common dream - the day when the world's most populous nation can at last be called the world's largest democracy."