Whereas, on April 15, 1989, peaceful demonstrators gathered in Tiananmen Square in central Beijing to mourn the death of former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Hu Yaobang, who was compelled to resign in 1987 for supporting political reforms within the CCP; Whereas, throughout April and May 1989, peaceful demonstrations continued in Tiananmen Square and in an estimated 400 cities across China; Whereas, by May 17, 1989, an estimated 1,000,000 Chinese citizens from all walks of life, including students, government employees, journalists, workers, police officers, and members of the armed forces, gathered peacefully in Tiananmen Square to call for democratic reforms; Whereas the peaceful demonstrators of 1989 called upon the Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to eliminate corruption, accelerate economic and political reform, and protect human rights, particularly the freedoms of expression and assembly; Whereas, on May 20, 1989, the Government of the PRC declared martial law; Whereas, during the late afternoon and early evening hours of June 3, 1989, the CCP leadership sent armed People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops and tanks into Beijing and surrounding areas; Whereas, on the night of June 3 and continuing into the morning of June 4, 1989, PLA soldiers, at the direction of CCP leadership, fired indiscriminately into crowds of peaceful protesters, killing and injuring thousands of demonstrators and other unarmed civilians; Whereas the Government of the PRC continues to censor any mention of the crackdown centered on Tiananmen Square, prevents the victims from being publicly mourned and remembered, and harasses, detains, and arrests those who call for a full, public, and independent accounting of the wounded, dead, and those imprisoned for participating in the spring 1989 demonstrations