China Aid Association
(USA — May 31, 2009) On June 2nd, four former student leaders will speak at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing titled “Twenty Years After the Crackdown: Tiananmen Square and Human Rights in China.” The hearing will be held at 3 p.m. in room 2127 at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC and the international community is welcome to attend. The four speakers at the hearing will be Fang Zheng, Wang Youcai, Zhou Fengsuo and Bob Fu who will share their experiences as student leaders, insights regarding the students’ movement and their visions for the future of China.
One of the scheduled speakers, Mr. Fang Zheng, who recently arrived in the U.S., will be speaking publicly at other events during the week of June 4. During the last 20 years in China, Mr. Fang Zheng has continually refused to cooperate with the government in its effort to cover up the truth of his lost legs and of the massacre. Fang Zheng was leaving Tiananmen Square in the early morning of June 4th, 1989, with other student protesters when a military tank approached them from behind. Sensing the danger, he rescued a female student out of the tank’s path; and in so doing, both his legs were crushed.
Since the Tiananmen Square Massacre, he has been harassed and closely monitored by the police. He has excelled at sports, eventually winning two gold medals and breaking two national records in the 1992 All-China Disabled Athletic Games. However, in 1994 the government retaliated by forbidding him to participate in the Far East and South Pacific region Games, and, again, this past year in the 2008 Special Olympics in Beijing.
The three former student leaders, Mr. Wang Youcai, Mr. Zhou Fensuo and Mr. Bob Fu will also speak at the hearing regarding their roles as student leaders in the protests at Tiananmen Square in 1989. Mr. Wang Youcai and Mr. Zhou Fensuo were imprisoned, while Mr. Bob Fu was subjected to mandatory interrogation and harassment while still a student at his university. All have since relocated to the U.S. and are actively working to advance human rights in China.
Bob Fu, president and founder of ChinaAid, stated, “Despite the unprecedented economic growth in China during the past 20 years, the progress of fundamental human rights record in China is close to zero. In some areas, the situation has even deteriorated. We pray and hope that in the very near future the Chinese government will fully honor her international pledge and her own constitution by respecting her citizens’ basic human rights and dignity of life, so that the bloodbath of so many, shed 20 years ago, will not be repeated.”
Separate interviews with Bob Fu and Fang Zheng can be coordinated through Jenny McCloy, (202) 213-0506 or [email protected].
Please join ChinaAid at the following upcoming events:
“Repentance, Reconciliation and Re-formation: Re-commissioned After Twenty Years”
Chinese Christian leaders gather in a solemn assembly on June 4, from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. at the National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. Many of the leaders suffered severe repercussions at the hands of authorities for their participation in the peaceful protest. In the aftermath of the massacre, the failure of the movement and in their search for truth, these leaders found hope and reality in Jesus Christ. In an act of forgiveness, repentance, reconciliation and re-formation, Chinese and American Christians stand together in prayer to usher in a new day of true hope and justice for China. Download more information in English and Chinese here.
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
