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About the event:
On June 3, the National Endowment for Democracy commemorated the victims of Tiananmen Square with a discussion featuring participants from the 1989 pro-democracy movement alongside leading advocates, analysts, and activists working to defend human rights and democratic freedoms.
On June 4, 1989, the Chinese government carried out a violent suppression of peaceful demonstrations in and around Beijing, resulting in the deaths of thousands of civilians. More than three decades later, the Tiananmen massacre remains not only a defining symbol of the Chinese Communist Party’s intolerance of democratic aspirations, but also a lens through which to understand Beijing’s evolving efforts to prevent another “Beijing Spring” from emerging.
The program examined how the movement unfolded across different regions, including Tibet and the Uyghur region, the nature and consequences of the subsequent crackdown, and how the legacy of June 4th continues to shape China today. Panelists also explored Beijing’s use of censorship, surveillance, transnational repression, and economic coercion to silence critics at home and abroad, as well as the ongoing struggle to defend freedom, historical truth, and democratic values in China and around the world.
Watch the event here.
Speakers:
- Zhou Fengsuo, Executive Director, Human Rights in China
- Frances Hui, Policy and Advocacy Manager, Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation
- William Nee, Senior Program Manager, East Asia Program, National Endowment for Democracy
- Dr. Gyal Lo, Tibet Specialist, Tibet Action Institute
- Zubayra Shamseden, Co-Executive Director, Network for Uyghur Rights
- Peter Mattis, President, Jamestown Foundation
- Li Qiang, Executive Director, China Labor Watch
- Dennis Kwok, Former Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
- Joey Siu, Former Student Leader of Hong Kong’s 2019 Pro-democracy Movement
- Kacper Płażyński, Member of Parliament in Poland
- Eduardo Nakayama, Senator of Paraguay
- Dovilė Šakalienė, Member of the Lithuanian Parliament, Former Defense Minister
- Fatmir Mediu, Member of Parliament, Albania; Former Albanian Minister of Defence
- Eddy Acevedo, Vice President for Policy and Government Relations, National Endowment for Democracy
