San Francisco and other cities across the U.S. have become the last line of defense against efforts by China to erase the memory of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
Each June 4, vigils have taken place around the world to memorialize the tragedy that took place 33 years ago when the Communist Party sent troops to crack down on peaceful protestors who rallied in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to demand democratic reform. Estimates of the death toll from that day vary from several hundred to several thousand, with thousands more wounded.
Vigils in the U.S. and other democratic nations are all that is left. In San Francisco, it will take place on the evening of Friday, June 3, starting at about 7 p.m. to match up to the time zone of where the original event took place. In 2014, a months-long protest for genuine universal suffrage – the Umbrella Movement – swept across the city. Five years later, a controversial extradition bill approved by China, which would allow Hong Kong citizens to be sent across the border for trial, brought on an entire year of mass protests. More than 10,000 have been arrested for their involvement. The youngest convicted person was 12 years old.
“We share the same struggle, including the Tibetan and Uyghur community, many of whom are seeking sanctuary here,” said Xin Zhao, exiled founder of the Democracy Party of China, who spent decades under Chinese government surveillance and now continues his advocacy from the Bay Area. “The vigil is not just a place to remember and honor the fallen, but also a space for us to see and hear each other, so we can stay united.
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