Long Live China' Speech at Tianamen 1989
S
Democracy Movement: Square on 21st April
Since 18th April,
capital of China, has
massive
is
REN WENDING
Beijing, the seen eruption movement for taking is comparable
protest The number who SO large that it
democracy.
of
part
are
to the April Fifth Incident in 1976.
Actually,
the death Secretary of
down the limited area within which civil rights are allowed. It tolerates no transgussions of these limits. rights of the government prevail those of
private individuals. Th is clearly restrictive, limiting repressive as far as civil rights are concerned.
The
Per
aw
and
The superficial calm and stability
in
our
society has
been
general exacting
repression
of
based the
on
masses,
a
the blood,
the life, and the
ex-
loss of million
of the
The Chinese
fine people
don people
in the
1
t
of an
General
the Chinese Communist Party should not have been. commemorated in such an excessive way. the "April Fifth" revolt
ago when people
It
like was thirteen years
took
the opportunity of the commemoration
death of the
of Zhou Enlai to wage anti-authoritarian, anti-feudal socialist
mass
to
movement.
the
Democracy
It
country.
freedom and health of several
need this false calm, harmony, stability and solidarity. These are not the goals of the people but the private ends of the One Party.
an
is
similar 1979
also was
of Wall Movement during which Hu Yaobong had personally advised that "people should not be readily arrested", but in the end the main leaders of the Democracy Wall .Movement were arrested and prosecuted. the unleashing At the present movement, of
thoughts and emotions, people's ideas, has been channeled towards the the whole structure shortcomings of the sociopolitical system of China: I love my teacher but I love truth even
the
more.
the
of
The Communist Party co-opted the people's "Openess" and "Reform" from slogans
Democracy Wall Movement the
ten
years of
China have people certain degree of freedom But the forty years of monolithic rule of the Communist Party have given rise to all kinds of problems sharply felt by the people.
ago
and experienced
a
and
improvement.
Inevitably
colossal banners
1
and appeared
11
and
shockingly, proclaiming "Down with of Martyrs chants of
"Overthrow Autocracy
Dictatorship" at the Monument
in
Tiananmen
Square. The
"Long Live Democracy", "Long Live Human
"Long Live Freedom" became Rights" and louder
louder and
constituted
and have
the main theme and chorus of this protest
"Internationale"
movement.
The
sung over and
the time, meaning and a
over again, "Internationale" had
only
was this
a
new
new effect.
Any
fair and
objective
witness
or observer would never have attributed what is happening to a handful of people to the ulterior motive of agitation, destruction and creating disturbances.
In
the
this
movement
students and the workers, if the Party continues to wrongly assess and mis-handle
of the to limit then its will not workers'
people, if the Party attempts
activities, commemorative
the
disappearance
from history
The
be long in coming. consciousness will be aroused and the students and workers will link hands.
China's Constitution merely lays
No matter how the Constitution amended and redrafted, the fight for the realisation of all the civil rights written into the existing Constitution is one of the basic demands of the people's movements in the past and in the future.
Our
To reform country
the social was the highest
years
and ago
of system ideal and
programme of the Democracy Wall movement
ten
remains SO with the people's movement now and in the future.
Although the demands for human rights and democracy made by the Democracy Wall
movement
are
made during the period of Fourth movement and other periods,
similar
to those
the
May the
and meaning different because
the
1949
are consequences
quite
were the demands
made Communist takeover of
after the government.
the
The people involved in Democracy Wall movement were exercising their civil rights to defend the people's
democracy.
They
promote the
freedom of speech.
were the first to
of liberation
thought and They attempted to and culture
art
bring political history, into a new era but they were suppressed and
to who have been
cruelly
up
some imprisoned,
Those
the present time. released are repressed and discriminated against.
The
current reforms
in
of
Deng
gains of
Xiaoping are
serious contradiction, because they infringe on the supremacy of the Party and the Party and government officials.
private
This is the state of affairs: there is greed and corruption everywhere, the law is abused, politics is bankrupt, party regulations and discipline are not upheld, righteousness given short shrift, inflation
theft and rampant, robbery on the rise, the suffering people are incensed, and the country is breaking down. The reforms are in danger of being aborted.
The modern democracy movement in China has manifested itself in various forms: attempts by the democratic parties