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Truth Will Prevail

Survivor of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre and student leader Zhou Fengsuo recalls the student-led democratic movement 17 years ago.

The 17th anniversary of the 1989 Pro-Democracy Demonstration and the June 4th Tiananmen Massacre in China is drawing near and for 17 years, I have been looking forward to the day of truth in China. Today, those of us who lived through the dreams and tears as protesters striving for a free China, and those who survived the massacre, prison, and exile are still fighting to have China acknowledge what really happened during that tragic time.

It was a life-defining moment for myself and for the people of my generation. It was my first realization that Chinese all over the world, whether they are from Beijing or Shanghai, Hong Kong, or Taipei, all share the dream for a free and democratic China and it was the first time for the world to learn of this dream. It was this dream that scared the communist regime to such a depth that it would use extreme violence to maintain power with utter contempt toward human life. The Chinese communist regime attacked its own capital with brute force, senselessly killing an uncounted number of peaceful demonstrators. Tens of thousands were subsequently put into prison for expressing their own opinion in the following persecution and for 17 years, anyone who dared to talk about the June 4th Massacre in public or on the Internet, faces years in prison. Why is such a powerful regime so afraid of what happened 17 years ago? Only because such a regime lives in the shadow of bloody murder and lies.

I was fortunate to be a part of this Demonstration. Throughout the whole event, I was inspired by the peacefulness and discipline of the protesters, in spite of the strong oppression from the communist government. On the morning of April 22, tens of thousands of students waited on Tiananmen Square for the memorial service of Hu Yaobang, the former leader who had a reputation for political openness. In front of the Big Hall, the students proposed seven requests calling for more political and economic freedom. We asked for a direct dialogue on issues such as corruption and press freedom. That was the time when I first realized that all of us on Tiananmen Square want a better China with freedom and democracy, and believed that our collective voice would be heard. Within the Big Hall, all the ranking leaders of the communist regime were present. Yet, besides a failed attempt from the police to charge the crowds, there was no answer to the protesters who had been on Tiananmen Square since the previous evening. The protesters decided to go back to school and continue protesting. So overwhelming was our common belief that tens of thousands of students, without a formal organization, acting as if we were one person, could overcome the threat of oppression. It was such a powerful surprise to the ruling old men—including the mastermind of the Tiananmen Massacre, Deng Xiaoping, who was seen visibly shaken on TV inside the Big Hall while attending Hu’s memorial service. This contrast remained throughout the whole protest until the bloody massacre: new against old, peace against violence, hope against desperation, love for freedom against fear of losing power.
On May 17, the day of the "Million People Demonstration" in Beijing, the majority of Beijing residents became involved in the student-led protest. I was a member of the Beijing Alliance of Independent Student Unions, the leading body of the protest. We built an efficient broadcasting station covering the whole Tiananmen Square. People from all walks of society came to show their support. Journalists from the official media carried the slogan, "No more lies, we want to tell the truth." Government officials came to our station to urge the ruling old men to talk to the students. Judges chanted, "Rule by law, end corruption." Even monks came to plea for the regime to show their humanity. Later, famous rock star Cui Jian wanted to sing with the students. Protesters poured from all corners of Beijing into Tiananmen Square. At the same time, over 1,000 students were on a hunger strike, and we set up traffic control maintained by volunteers. Almost every minute there was an ambulance going through this huge crowd, carrying the students (including myself at one time) to emergency care. It was a miraculous feat that all of the hunger strikers were taken care of by volunteers during these activities. The state media reported that even the crime rate in Beijing dropped to a record low. This fact was a testimony to the peacefulness and devotion of the protesters. A postal worker delivered hundreds of telegraphs of sympathy from all over the country to us many times during the day. One day he asked me, "You have been here on Tiananmen Square for days. Do you have a word for your family?" So I wrote, "I am on Tiananmen Square, together with a million common Chinese like me, I have no fear of the tyranny."

My family was worried, so were all the families with college kids in Beijing. As early as April 25, without any due process, Deng Xiaoping declared that he would crush the protesters with armed troops. By May 20, 1989, the day Li Peng declared martial law in Beijing, 14 army groups encircled Beijing. The total number of troops deployed to attack the civilians of Beijing was more than that of all the U.S. army in Operation Desert Storm. In the morning of the 4th of June, I was among the last group of students who were driven out of Tiananmen Square by tanks and guns. I saw guns firing and heard gunshots all night long. Beijing was on fire and smothered in smoke. Fuxing Hospital near Muxidi, was filled with civilians who were killed or wounded. I saw another 40 or so bodies left in the garage area. One of them was Zhong Qing, a student at Tsinghua, the same university that I was from. The exact number of deaths could never be confirmed. I was put on the "most wanted" list and arrested on June 13, 1989.

Today the victims of the Tiananmen Massacre still face persecution by the communist regime. During all these years, Professor Ding Zilin and the Tiananmen Mothers have been calling for an investigation of the Massacre. At the same time, the regime still uses all its force to purge people’s memory of 1989 and instead, the Chinese have been forced to accept only the official statement. Fang Zheng, who lost both legs to the tanks near Tiananmen Square, was not allowed to participate in the Special Olympics.{mospagebreak}

Outside of China, we will carry on this fight for truth and justice. Each year, people around the world gather in memorial. Feng Congde, one of my fellow student leaders, set up the website, to collect photos, tapes, and articles about the Demonstration. In the year 2000, I was one of the plaintiffs who sued Li Peng in the United States for his actions against humanity during 1989. The other plaintiffs are Zhang Liming, whose sister was killed in the Tiananmen Massacre, Liu Gang, Wang Dan, and Xiong Yan, former student leaders on Tiananmen Square. I hope that one day we can do the same in China. It is a long journey, but truth and justice will always overcome lies and violence.

Zhou Fengsuo, the fifth most wanted student after the June 4th Tiananmen Massacre, was imprisoned but never tried or sentenced. At the time, Zhou was physics major at Tsinghua University and a member of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Students Autonomous Union. He was finally released after a year in prison. Today, Zhou resides in California.