China Aid Association
(USA — June 11, 2009) On June 2, in Washington, DC, ChinaAid president, Bob Fu, spoke before members of the U.S. Congress at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing, “Twenty Years After the Crackdown: Tiananmen Square and Human Rights in China.” Bob Fu joined other former student leaders in the movement: Fang Zheng, Wang Youcai and Zhou Fengsuo, to share their experiences, insights regarding the students’ movement and their vision for the future of China.
The following is the text of Bob Fu’s speech at the hearing:
Chairman Wolf, Chairman McGovern, and Honorable Congressmen, thank you for the invitation to join you today. I was asked to speak about my experience at Tiananmen Square, the movement itself, and a discussion of this question, “Where do we go from here?”
I know you are men of action, and I will start with the question, “Where do we go from here?” Once it was my dream to be a democratically-elected premier of China. Now it is my dream that there would be 1 million people on Tiananmen Square worshipping God without repression from the government; this would be such wonderful indicia that my homeland would be strong and flourishing on so many levels. Can you imagine that scene? Now, even a few people cannot gather together on the Square without the officials getting tense and controlling. I don’t think this is a sign of growing freedom in China. This is one of many discouraging signs. When we ask the question, “Where do we go from here?” I hope we are all agreed that we are not starting from a good place. My answer to this question is broad – and widely applicable: stand with truth.
Perhaps you know that many young people in China today do not even know about the Tiananmen Square massacre. My friends, consider how America has benefited by publically facing the shame of our days of division and war over the issue of slavery. Consider how richly diverse our country is now, because we have stood with the truth that we were falling far below the requirement for a nation founded on the truth that all men were created equal, and that we had a lesson to learn. The buoyancy of growth, and the hope of better things, stand firmly, only if standing with truth.
Stand with truth by asking the Chinese government for it – the truth of what happened at Tiananmen; the truth of who the perpetrators were; the truth of where the missing protestors are; the truth of whether or not their sentences are just. The shame of the past can become a valuable lesson, if it is recalled in the face of truth – the new generation in China deserves nothing less.
So where do we go from here? – to cling tightly to truth. To promote clear legal definitions of religious freedom, rule of law, and registration of house churches, and to call for accountability that demonstrates that provisions of the law are being followed.
Respectful honesty is the foundation for any other relationship in life, and I think that in this very important relationship between China and the United States, truth is the necessary bridge for the harmony which both sides must ardently seek.
I was a student leader at Tiananmen Square. I had convinced my girlfriend, among others, to join me in this rally, and when she became sick I left with her, to help her, and so I had left three days before the tanks descended. After the crackdown, I was thinking to make a bomb to commit suicide with my betrayers who were my fellow comrades during the movement. Then I came to realize that unless there is a “heart revolution” first, I cannot expect myself to be treated equal by others, if my heart is full of hatred toward them. This was at the point oftransition from self-centered humanistic zealot to my new Christian faith.
I will return to the question, “Where do we go from here?” I have given some policy recommendations, and I will conclude with these thoughts: many students in this Incident asked themselves this very question, as they tried to pick up the pieces of their lives after the massacre. And many found the answer in Christ. Their quest at Tiananmen was good, and it was needed, but it was not mature. Twenty years have passed since then, and the vision for freedom in their eyes has not died, but it now has a different dimension: the Manifesto which these leaders wrote, and which over 270 people have signed, expresses personal and corporate repentance, reconciliation, and re-formation. They acknowledge the responsibility that must be taken for not standing up, speaking out, and standing with those who are repressed; they acknowledge the vision for freedom and the personal costs that accompany. They promote personal and corporate action, for the sake of freedom. I am encouraged by this movement, and I urge both citizens and government alike to stand with truth. If we do not, we risk facing a Tiananmen on our own doorstep! Tiananmen need not have happened, nor be repeated, if we will stand with truth – there is a better way!
Read Fang Zheng’s speech at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing.
Watch the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Hearing on CSPAN.
China Aid Contacts
Rachel Ritchie, English Media Director
Cell: (432) 553-1080 | Office: 1+ (888) 889-7757 | Other: (432) 689-6985
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.chinaaid.org
