Tiananmen Mothers
Encyclopedia
The Tiananmen Mothers is a group of Chinese democracy activists
promoting a change in the government's position over the suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
. It is led by Nobel Peace Prize
nominee Ding Zilin
, a retired university professor whose teenage son was shot and killed by government troops during the protests.
The group - comprising the parents, friends and relatives of victims of the massacre, formed in September 1989 when Ding, along with her husband Jiang Peikun, met another mother, Zhang Xianling, whose 19 year old son was also killed on June 4, 1989. As well as campaigning, the group also disseminates information about the events to the public, including through the internet. Currently, the group consists of relatives of 125 individuals killed during the protests. For her efforts, Ding has been hailed as an "advocate for the dead".
. On June 3, 1989, her 17 year old son Jiang Jielian was killed on his way to Tiananmen Square
. Ding launched a one-woman campaign to establish what had happened to her son and those who were killed that night. The government had put her under surveillance and Ding experienced harassment as she met with other victims families. Describing the organisation, Ding announced that the group were "a common group of citizens brought together by a shared fate and suffering".
Despite the expansion of the group, many Chinese intellectuals had kept away from the movement, as they did with the Democracy Wall movement in the late 1970s. One exception was Wu Zuguang who ordered a reversal of the governments position at a meeting of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
in 1997, and he did not suffer and repercussions for his comments because of his age. Other members of the group included prominent student Jiang Qisheng, a graduate of the Beijing Institute of Aeronautics who became head of the Beijing Student Autonomous Federation which acted in conjunction with other universities and formed part of a delegation that met with Premier Li Peng
to try and resolve the Tiananmen protests peacefully. He was jailed for 18 months and upon his release in February 1991, was denied regular employment.
Further promoting their campaign, members of the Tiananmen Mothers sought to gain the attention of the international media. In a May 1991 interview with ABC
, Ding and Zhang Xianling condemned the actions of the Chinese government and in particular Premier Li Peng who claimed that the crackdown was necessary in order to maintain social stability. She also called on people of conscience not to forget those who had lost their lives. Three years later in 1994, and on the fifth anniversary of the crackdown, Ding published The Factual Account of a Search for the June 4 Victims listing 96 individuals who had been killed. By the tenth anniversary on June 4, 1999, she had reported 155 deaths and 65 who were injured but noted that these were "only the tip of the iceberg... but at least it is visible."
Ding's regular public campaigning, including public petitions and lawsuits against the government, saw her expelled from the party in May 1992, and both Ding and her husband, also a professor at the university, were forced into retirement in 1993. The Tiananmen Mothers movement has also inspired other families of political prisoner
s to campaign for their release. Since then, a few dozen families meet together regularly on every anniversary of the crackdown, despite government intimidation. Ding and other members have occasionally been detained by authorities as a result of their actions.
currently views the protests as a "counterrevolutionary uprising". The Tiananmen Mothers group, which was conducted without official approval, put forward a five point demand to the Chinese government in relation to the protest:
The group also wants the Chinese government to name the dead, compensate families and punish those responsible. The government made a payout of 70,000 yuan
for the first time in 2006 to one of the victims families. The move was welcomed by Zilin, though she said it was unlikely to indicate a change in the government's position.
, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
, the judiciary and the population. The group has also opened up contacts with UN Human Rights Council and foreign media, issuing a video demanding the government reassess Tiananmen. On the tenth anniversary, despite memories of the event fading due to strong government censorship
, Jiang Qisheng, who had since been released, drafted a letter along with fifteen others appealing for quiet commemoration by lighting candles in cities across China. He played a major role in organising the event, posting flyers on lampposts calling on the population to "light a myriad of candles to collectively commemorate the brave spirits of June Fourth" and as a result, several petitions to hold protest were submitted, but were rejected by government authorities. Jiang was arrested on shortly before the anniversary; in court on November 1, 1999, he defended himself, maintaining he was exercising freedom of speech
and recalling a previous reversal of the government's term "counterrevolutionary" after the Gang of Four
and Cultural Revolution
. He urged the government not to imprison people for expressing their views, "Simply by writing and talking, do I commit such a crime against heaven that I must be put to death?" and his lawyer, Mao Shaoping argued that the groups activities did not amount to "subversion of state power". Jiang was charged and released from prison on May 19, 2003.
Despite Jiang's arrest, Ding remained undeterred. On June 4, 1999, the group presented a petition signed by 108 relatives to the Supreme People's Procuratorate
, asking for a legal ruling on the deaths of the protestors. The petition contained evidence they had collected including testimonies and names of the dead and injured. They asserted that they were exercising their political rights, and not engaging in any illegal activities. The movement still continues, receiving warnings not to commemorate and undergoing increased surveillance around June 3–4 every year. An increasing number of dissidents and former intellectuals from the party, including Hu Yaobang
s former secretary and Huang Qi
have joined the group, and have been expelled from the establishment as a result.
The organisation has released a version of the same every year since the protests. In 2006, the Tiananmen Mothers called for "a process of truth and reconciliation" over what the government did in Tiananmen Square. In 2009, they urged the government to "break the taboo
" surrounding the incident. The Tiananmen Mothers website is blocked by internet censors in China.
Analysts say pressure by groups like the Tiananmen Mothers may eventually lead to some acknowledgment of the deaths during the crackdown, such as a plaque placed on the square, but most agree that will not come soon.
The women have been under what advocates describe as house arrest
. All their calls are monitored and they are told not to talk to other activists, with foreign media
, and with human rights
organizations.
Chinese democracy movement
The Chinese democracy movement refers to a series of loosely organized political movements in the People's Republic of China against the continued one-party rule by the Communist Party. One such movement began during the Beijing Spring in 1978 and was taken up again in the Tiananmen Square...
promoting a change in the government's position over the suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
. It is led by Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
nominee Ding Zilin
Ding Zilin
Professor Ding Zilin is currently the leader of the political pressure group Tiananmen Mothers.-Biography:...
, a retired university professor whose teenage son was shot and killed by government troops during the protests.
The group - comprising the parents, friends and relatives of victims of the massacre, formed in September 1989 when Ding, along with her husband Jiang Peikun, met another mother, Zhang Xianling, whose 19 year old son was also killed on June 4, 1989. As well as campaigning, the group also disseminates information about the events to the public, including through the internet. Currently, the group consists of relatives of 125 individuals killed during the protests. For her efforts, Ding has been hailed as an "advocate for the dead".
Formation
Prior to June 1989, Ding Zilin was a Philosophy professor at the People's University and a member of the Communist Party of ChinaCommunist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
. On June 3, 1989, her 17 year old son Jiang Jielian was killed on his way to Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen Gate located to its North, separating it from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the third largest city square in the world...
. Ding launched a one-woman campaign to establish what had happened to her son and those who were killed that night. The government had put her under surveillance and Ding experienced harassment as she met with other victims families. Describing the organisation, Ding announced that the group were "a common group of citizens brought together by a shared fate and suffering".
"I cannot turn a blind eye to the pain of those who suffer my same fate. As a group, they have been forgotten and forsaken by society. I made the firm decision to continue in my mission of locating and helping June Fourth families, until the government itself actively takes up this project and there is no longer any need for our efforts." |
| —Ding Zilin |
Despite the expansion of the group, many Chinese intellectuals had kept away from the movement, as they did with the Democracy Wall movement in the late 1970s. One exception was Wu Zuguang who ordered a reversal of the governments position at a meeting of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference [], shortened as 人民政协, Rénmín Zhèngxié, i.e. "People's PCC"; or just 政协, Zhèngxié, i.e. "The PCC"), abbreviated CPPCC, is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China...
in 1997, and he did not suffer and repercussions for his comments because of his age. Other members of the group included prominent student Jiang Qisheng, a graduate of the Beijing Institute of Aeronautics who became head of the Beijing Student Autonomous Federation which acted in conjunction with other universities and formed part of a delegation that met with Premier Li Peng
Li Peng
Li Peng served as the fourth Premier of the People's Republic of China, between 1987 and 1998, and the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, from 1998 to 2003. For much of the 1990s Li was ranked second in the Communist Party of China ...
to try and resolve the Tiananmen protests peacefully. He was jailed for 18 months and upon his release in February 1991, was denied regular employment.
Further promoting their campaign, members of the Tiananmen Mothers sought to gain the attention of the international media. In a May 1991 interview with ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, Ding and Zhang Xianling condemned the actions of the Chinese government and in particular Premier Li Peng who claimed that the crackdown was necessary in order to maintain social stability. She also called on people of conscience not to forget those who had lost their lives. Three years later in 1994, and on the fifth anniversary of the crackdown, Ding published The Factual Account of a Search for the June 4 Victims listing 96 individuals who had been killed. By the tenth anniversary on June 4, 1999, she had reported 155 deaths and 65 who were injured but noted that these were "only the tip of the iceberg... but at least it is visible."
Ding's regular public campaigning, including public petitions and lawsuits against the government, saw her expelled from the party in May 1992, and both Ding and her husband, also a professor at the university, were forced into retirement in 1993. The Tiananmen Mothers movement has also inspired other families of political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s to campaign for their release. Since then, a few dozen families meet together regularly on every anniversary of the crackdown, despite government intimidation. Ding and other members have occasionally been detained by authorities as a result of their actions.
Demands
The Chinese governmentGovernment of the People's Republic of China
All power within the government of the People's Republic of China is divided among three bodies: the People's Republic of China, State Council, and the People's Liberation Army . This article is concerned with the formal structure of the state, its departments and their responsibilities...
currently views the protests as a "counterrevolutionary uprising". The Tiananmen Mothers group, which was conducted without official approval, put forward a five point demand to the Chinese government in relation to the protest:
- The right to mourn peacefully in public;
- The right to accept humanitarian aid from organizations and individuals inside and outside China;
- No more persecution of victims, including those injured in the shootings and the families of the dead;
- The release of all people still in prison for their role in the 1989 protests; and
- A full, public investigation into the crackdown
The group also wants the Chinese government to name the dead, compensate families and punish those responsible. The government made a payout of 70,000 yuan
Chinese yuan
The yuan is the base unit of a number of modern Chinese currencies. The yuan is the primary unit of account of the Renminbi.A yuán is also known colloquially as a kuài . One yuán is divided into 10 jiǎo or colloquially máo...
for the first time in 2006 to one of the victims families. The move was welcomed by Zilin, though she said it was unlikely to indicate a change in the government's position.
Public appeals
The Tiananmen Mothers have made many public appeals, challenging the government. They protested to the National People's CongressNational People's Congress
The National People's Congress , abbreviated NPC , is the highest state body and the only legislative house in the People's Republic of China. The National People's Congress is held in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, capital of the People's Republic of China; with 2,987 members, it is the...
, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference [], shortened as 人民政协, Rénmín Zhèngxié, i.e. "People's PCC"; or just 政协, Zhèngxié, i.e. "The PCC"), abbreviated CPPCC, is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China...
, the judiciary and the population. The group has also opened up contacts with UN Human Rights Council and foreign media, issuing a video demanding the government reassess Tiananmen. On the tenth anniversary, despite memories of the event fading due to strong government censorship
Censorship in the People's Republic of China
Censorship in the People's Republic of China is implemented or mandated by the PRC's ruling party, the Communist Party of China . The special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau have their own legal systems and are largely self-governing, so these censorship policies do not apply...
, Jiang Qisheng, who had since been released, drafted a letter along with fifteen others appealing for quiet commemoration by lighting candles in cities across China. He played a major role in organising the event, posting flyers on lampposts calling on the population to "light a myriad of candles to collectively commemorate the brave spirits of June Fourth" and as a result, several petitions to hold protest were submitted, but were rejected by government authorities. Jiang was arrested on shortly before the anniversary; in court on November 1, 1999, he defended himself, maintaining he was exercising freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
and recalling a previous reversal of the government's term "counterrevolutionary" after the Gang of Four
Gang of Four
The Gang of Four was the name given to a political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution and were subsequently charged with a series of treasonous crimes...
and Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
. He urged the government not to imprison people for expressing their views, "Simply by writing and talking, do I commit such a crime against heaven that I must be put to death?" and his lawyer, Mao Shaoping argued that the groups activities did not amount to "subversion of state power". Jiang was charged and released from prison on May 19, 2003.
Despite Jiang's arrest, Ding remained undeterred. On June 4, 1999, the group presented a petition signed by 108 relatives to the Supreme People's Procuratorate
Supreme People's Procuratorate
The Supreme People's Procuratorate is the highest agency at the national level responsible for both prosecution and investigation in the People's Republic of China...
, asking for a legal ruling on the deaths of the protestors. The petition contained evidence they had collected including testimonies and names of the dead and injured. They asserted that they were exercising their political rights, and not engaging in any illegal activities. The movement still continues, receiving warnings not to commemorate and undergoing increased surveillance around June 3–4 every year. An increasing number of dissidents and former intellectuals from the party, including Hu Yaobang
Hu Yaobang
Hu Yaobang was a leader of the People's Republic of China who served as both Chairman and Party General Secretary. Hu joined the Chinese Communist Party in the 1930s, and rose to prominence as a comrade of Deng Xiaoping...
s former secretary and Huang Qi
Huang Qi
Huang Qi is a Chinese webmaster and human rights activist. He is the co-founder of Tianwang Center for Missing Persons , along with his wife Zeng Li...
have joined the group, and have been expelled from the establishment as a result.
The organisation has released a version of the same every year since the protests. In 2006, the Tiananmen Mothers called for "a process of truth and reconciliation" over what the government did in Tiananmen Square. In 2009, they urged the government to "break the taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
" surrounding the incident. The Tiananmen Mothers website is blocked by internet censors in China.
Analysts say pressure by groups like the Tiananmen Mothers may eventually lead to some acknowledgment of the deaths during the crackdown, such as a plaque placed on the square, but most agree that will not come soon.
Arrests
Ding Zilin, Zhang Xianling, who lost her 19-year-old son, and Huang Jinping, who lost her 30-year-old husband were detained in March 2004. Authorities first denied the arrests, but later said they had been detained for engaging in what were described as illegal activities sponsored by overseas forces. They were released later in the week but remained under close surveillance in the run-up to the 15th anniversary of the protests.The women have been under what advocates describe as house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
. All their calls are monitored and they are told not to talk to other activists, with foreign media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
, and with human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
organizations.
Newspaper advert controversy
On June 4, 2007, the Chengdu Evening News ran a one page line commemorating the Tiananmen Mothers, stating, "Saluting the strong mothers of June 4th victims." Officials at the newspaper refused to answer questions regarding the advert. It was later suggested that the person who ran the advert was unaware of the significance of 6/4, instead being told it was related to a mining disaster that took place. Three editors were later fired from the paper.Internet video
See also
- Black SashBlack SashThe Black Sash was a non-violent white women's resistance organization founded in 1955 in South Africa by Jean Sinclair. The Black Sash initially campaigned against the removal of Coloured or mixed race voters from the voters' roll in the Cape Province by the National Party government...
- Human rights in the People's Republic of ChinaHuman rights in the People's Republic of ChinaHuman rights in the People's Republic of China are a matter of dispute between the Chinese government, other countries, international NGOs, and dissidents inside the country. Organizations such as the U.S. State Department, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch have accused the Chinese...
- Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo
- Women in BlackWomen in BlackWomen in Black is a women's anti-war movement with an estimated 10,000 activists around the world. The first group was formed by Israeli women in Jerusalem in 1988, following the outbreak of the First intifada.-History:...
External links
- Tianananmen Mothers -- official homepage of the group
- Tiananmen Mothers Campaign -- homepage of the Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
-based support group - 'Tiananmen Mothers' Continue Quest for Justice
- HRIC Statement: Chinese authorities should respond to calls for dialogue by the Tiananmen Mothers
- Testimonies from the Tiananmen Mothers and other relatives of the killed and wounded