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Tiananmen Square Massacre
Twenty-third Anniversary
Hon. Consiglio Di Nino: Honourable senators, yesterday, the twenty-third anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, I was honoured to be present at the rededication of the Goddess of Democracy statue at York University in Toronto. This statute is a replica of the Goddess of Democracy erected in Tiananmen Square as a symbol of the struggle of tens of thousands of students who were peacefully demonstrating for democratic rights and freedoms in China.
On June 4, 1989, the Chinese government sent in the army to brutally put down this demonstration. During that night of infamy, not only did the People's Liberation Army — a misnomer for sure — tear down and trample the Goddess, they also massacred thousands of students.
This is what Minister Jason Kenney said, in part, in his message, which I read yesterday at the ceremony:
But just as the men responsible for the violence of that day grow older and weaker by the year, there are also signs that the Communist regime they supported is beginning to crack and show its age. Hope for a peaceful, democratic China is stronger than ever, and the dream of the students of Tiananmen Square may be closer than ever to becoming reality. I hope that the Goddess of Democracy will continue to inspire the "young heroes" of today, who refuse to accept that the proud Chinese people should continue to serve a bankrupt ideology, and who refuse to accept that the Chinese people do not deserve the fundamental rights that we take for granted here, in Canada.
In 1989, then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney hailed the students as "young heroes," saying to them:
Do not despair, victory must eventually be yours because liberty cannot be denied. . . . indiscriminate shooting has snuffed out precious human lives, but they can never snuff out the fundamental urge of human beings for freedom and democracy.
Honourable senators, the spirit of Tiananmen Square is alive and well in China, and I am convinced more than ever that the hopes and dreams of those "young heroes" will, indeed, be achieved.
Hon. Jim Munson: I thank Senator Di Nino for that statement. As he mentioned, yesterday was the twenty-third anniversary of the massacre in Tiananmen Square. As many of you know, I was there as a correspondent for CTV News. I witnessed the deaths of many young people. I will never forget that hot and muggy night, nor the heady days that led up to the horrible events on June 3 and 4 in 1989. History does not show that Beijing felt like a liberated city in those days. There were millions in the streets and they were not just students; there were doctors, teachers and everyday people from Beijing.
Today in China it is forbidden to speak about what really happened in and around the square, but I can speak and I will never stop speaking about an ugly footprint or tank marks on Chinese history. The images of dying students being placed on makeshift trishaws is etched in my memory. Sometimes in my dreams it does not seem real, but it was real. It was very real.
No one knows the number who were killed, but personally, honourable senators, I saw many die, dozens of bodies in city morgues. At that time the Red Cross believed a few thousand were killed. Recently, the former mayor of Beijing said in his memoirs that it is time for China to open the Tiananmen classified closed file.
We all know, and China knows, its leaders know, that time is long overdue. What is China afraid of? Is it afraid of the truth? I owe it to the families of those dead demonstrators. I owe it to those who are still living but who cannot speak. I owe it to those who survived. I owe it to those dissidents who in recent months have chosen to speak and are now in prison.
I have looked inside a Chinese prison. In fact, I spent a few days in a Chinese jail. It is not a very nice place. I owe it to a couple who, in fear, walked up to me on Beijing's main thoroughfare, Chang'an Avenue. As I raced into the square that evening, on June 3, as we did every evening, I was with my crew, and they said at that time — I will never forget their faces — "We want our voices heard. Please tell the world what is happening here."
It is not easy watching someone get crushed to death by a tank, and moments after, as the crowd moved back, the crowd looking at you. They all rose up as one and began to shout, "Long live democracy."
I will never forget, and, honourable senators, never should you.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/Sen/Chamber/411/Debates/085db_2012-06-05-e.htm#6
And so this is the third reason why we should not be shipping our precious oil to China.
I have not forgotten the pictures I saw on TV those days in June.
GLG
