Whereas the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre is an especially poignant milestone, particularly as the autonomy of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China ( Hong Kong ) and freedoms guaranteed to the people of Hong Kong are currently under threat by possible national security legislation from the Government of the People’s Republic of China ( China ); Whereas, during the spring of 1989, an estimated 1,000,000 people engaged in Tiananmen Square protests and citizens in over 400 Chinese cities staged similar protests, including among many others, students, workers, academics, journalists and government employees; Whereas the peaceful demonstrations of 1989 called upon the Government of China to eliminate corruption, accelerate economic and political reform, and protect human rights, particularly the freedoms of expression and assembly, issues that remain relevant in United States-China relations 31 years later; Whereas, on June 4, 1989, troops of the People’s Liberation Army, at the behest of Chinese Communist Party leadership, attacked Tiananmen Square to repress demonstrators, crushing defenseless protestors with tanks and firing on them indiscriminately, killing hundreds or possibly thousands of individuals; Whereas, since June 4, 1989, the Government of China censors information about the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 and imprisons and harasses its own citizens who attempt to discuss or commemorate Tiananmen Square protests and their violent suppression; Whereas, the Tiananmen Mothers—a group in China composed of parents and family members of individuals killed on or around June 4, 1989, have annually called upon the Government of China to reveal the truth of the events; Whereas people of mainland China and Macau are again barred this year from commemorating the lives lost and the legacy of the 1989 massacre