Editor’s Note: The Beijing Massacre, when Chinese soldiers killed thousands of innocent civilians, many of them student protesters, happened 20 years ago (on June 4). Now, as always, silence about such gross misdeeds amounts to complicity.

Guest Comments by Jianyue Su

Silence Is Complicity
When the Communists slaughtered the Tiananmen students,
I remained silent;
I was not in Beijing.
Then they locked up the Falun Gong practitioners,
I remained silent;
I was not a Falun Gong.
Then they shot down the Tibetans,
I remained silent;
I was not a Tibetan.
When the Judgment Day comes,
I am an accomplice.

Twenty years of silence is too long. Thousands of deaths are no forgettable affair. Who can afford to stay silent and be labeled as accomplices?

Again, the bloody executioners flaunt their tanks and machine guns, but they can’t silence our voices. The notorious murderers still occupy Tiananmen Square at the heart of Beijing, but we have the Internet. Let’s speak out in truth. Let’s call for justice.

Don’t miss the many events planned (outside the Chinese mainland) to lament the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Massacre. We’re glad to have a 20th-anniversary logo designed by Yuan Bin. During the week of April 5th (a traditional day to mourn the dead in China), we’ll have an Internet-wide commemoration.

Let’s raise the torch of freedom and keep the flame of democracy flickering in the cold, dark night that engulfs China. Our journey continues.

How Dare We Forget? (Song for the 20th Anniversary of the Beijing Massacre)

Mother’s tears dried up long ago.
Son’s hair turns grey like snow.
In China’s vast land, where to mourn the dead?
Twenty years’ memory, how dare we forget?

The wound of history, when will it heal?
The blood in the square, who will wash it?
The dead in the massacre, where rest the souls?
Twenty years’ memory, how dare we forget?

The dawn of freedom, when will it begin?
The black curtain, when will it be torn?
The page in history, who will write it?
Twenty years’ memory, how dare we forget?

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