Tienanmen mothers commemorate the 37th Anniversary of the 1989 June Fourth Massacre

For thirty-seven years, we, the Tiananmen Mothers, have never forgotten the pain of losing our loved ones. Because we have persisted in speaking the truth, we have long suffered unjust treatment, and our family lives have been deeply affected. Yet we continue, peacefully and rationally, in our pursuit of justice.

A Statement from the Tiananmen Mothers on May 27, 2026

Editor’s Note from Human Rights in China: On the 37th anniversary of the June Fourth Massacre, the Tiananmen Mothers have authorized HRIC to publish this statement. For more information on June Fourth and the Tiananmen Mothers, please visit HRIC’s dedicated June Fourth page. Scroll down for the original Chinese text / 后附中文版]

The year 2026 marks the 37th anniversary of the June Fourth Massacre of 1989, which unfolded in Beijing, China’s capital, on the night of June 3-4, 1989. Acting on the orders of a small group of leaders then in power, the military carried out a bloody crackdown on peacefully protesting students and residents.

As victims of the June Fourth Massacre, we call on the government to address, through lawful means and in a spirit of peace and reason, all the wounds and unresolved injustices left by those events, and to restore justice and dignity to every family that lost a loved one.

This was a tragedy caused entirely by the government at that time, one that gravely violated China’s Constitution, violated the most basic principles of humanity, and trampled upon the civil rights of its citizens. Precisely because it was an act of state power, this human calamity remains, 37 years on, no closer to resolution. To this day, the government continues to evade responsibility, refuse redress, and suppress all public discussion of what took place.

Despite extraordinary advances in information technology, truthful accounts of the June Fourth Massacre remain inaccessible within China. People cannot discuss it openly or mourn it publicly. Even commemorations held by the victims’ families have long been subject to intense surveillance. This reality has left many young people unaware that in June 1989, in Beijing, soldiers opened fire on unarmed students and civilians. It is as if nothing ever happened.

The Chinese authorities’ official narrative of the June Fourth bloodshed has shifted repeatedly, from the original “suppressing turmoil and quelling a counterrevolutionary rebellion,” to a “political disturbance,” back to “turmoil” and “counterrevolutionary rebellion,” and most recently, in the November 2021 Resolution on the Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party over the Past Century, to “a serious political disturbance” and “opposing turmoil,” with the phrase “quelling a counterrevolutionary rebellion” dropped entirely.

Whatever the wording, all of these formulations serve to conceal the essential truth: that the government deployed the military against its own people, taking innocent lives. We lived through this tragedy. The people of Beijing witnessed it. Citizens across China, and people around the entire world, saw it unfold.

The military’s violence left countless students and citizens dead in the streets. The youngest victim in our records was only nine years old. Was a nine-year-old child a “rioter”? Who has the right to make such a designation? Can those in power simply invent charges with no basis in the law, and by force of that power compel an entire society into silence?

The tragedy of 1989 occurred in a time of peace, when China faced neither war nor foreign invasion. In those days, the broader public stood squarely behind the students. On April 15, 1989, the death of national leader Hu Yaobang sparked a wave of mourning that gradually grew into a nationwide student movement. Students called for an end to corruption and official profiteering, demanded disclosure of officials’ assets, and advanced other reform-minded appeals which resonated widely across society. People from all walks of life in Beijing took to the streets in support, while cities across China, as well as Hong Kong, voiced solidarity in turn. Through peaceful action, the public sought to make its aspirations heard: that the government respect the will of the people, advance the rule of law, and build a country that guarantees freedom of expression and embodies the values of a modern civilization.

What few anticipated was that the government would ultimately turn the army’s guns on its own people. Today, there is still no clear accounting of how many were killed, how many were wounded, or how many disappeared in the crackdown. The government has a duty to confront these unresolved historical issues honestly, to acknowledge its errors and make them right, to disclose the truth, and to provide an account to the families of the victims and to the Chinese people as a whole.

We will not forget Xu Qinxian, commander of the 38th Army, who refused to carry out the order to open fire. He said: “Such an action must be able to withstand the judgment of history. . . Carrying out such a mission might earn one merit, or it might make one a criminal in the eyes of history. I cannot bring myself to execute such an order with weapons in hand.” For that refusal, he was sentenced to five years in prison. Yet in doing so, he preserved the conscience of a soldier and embodied the finest qualities of our common humanity. He was a general of iron principle. His courage and conscience will endure through history, live on in the hearts of the people, and history will, in time, render him the judgment he deserves.

We must also ask: did the soldiers who that day turned their weapons on the people realize they were facing their own fellow citizens? Every person in power who gave the order to fire on the people should bear responsibility before both history and the law.

It is with deep sorrow that we inform the world of another loss: Xiong Hui, father of one of the victims, passed away from illness in May 2025 at the age of 87.

His son, Xiong Zhiming, was 20 years old when he was killed. He was an undergraduate student in the Class of 1988, Department of Economics, Beijing Normal University.

On the night of June 3, 1989, Xiong Zhiming and a female classmate took shelter in the entrance of a hutong alley. When she was struck by a bullet, he rushed forward to help her and was shot dead on the spot. Other students nearby identified him by his clothing as a student from Beijing Normal University, and his body was taken back by the university.

Xiong Zhiming’s parents were farmers from Jinxi County in Jiangxi Province. For a family of modest means, his admission to university in Beijing was a source of immense pride. Because the family was so poor, not a single photograph of him survives—only a school bag remains as his sole memento. His parents once said in grief: “Our child went to Beijing to study. He never finished his studies, he lost his life.” Those words speak for the countless families who have suffered the same loss.

We reaffirm our three longstanding demands:

Disclose the full truth of the June Fourth Massacre;
Provide just compensation for the victims and their families;
Hold those responsible legally accountable in accordance with the law.

On November 20, 2025, Chinese leader Xi Jinping delivered a speech titled Remarks at the Symposium Marking the 110th Anniversary of Comrade Hu Yaobang’s Birth, in which he praised Hu Yaobang in glowing terms. Xi said Hu was “selfless and fearless,” that he insisted on correcting mistakes whenever they were found, and that he acted decisively to overturn wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice. He credited Hu with restoring persecuted veteran officials to leadership posts and vindicating large numbers of cadres, intellectuals, and ordinary citizens who had suffered political persecution.

Xi continued: “Over a revolutionary career spanning 60 years, Hu embodied the noble character of steadfast faith and devotion to ideals; concern and dedication to the people; a commitment of seeking truth from facts; the fine qualities of being pragmatic and courageous in shouldering responsibility; and the lofty conduct of being principled, fair, and disciplined in all things. He is eternally worthy of our study.”

The June Fourth Massacre remains a historical wrong that China cannot evade. We, the families of the victims, hope that the country’s present leaders will uphold the spirit shown by Hu Yaobang: his selflessness, moral courage, and the willingness to correct errors when they are made. We urge them to accept their responsibility to history and resolve this injustice through legislative and judicial means.

Signatories:

You Weijie, Guo Liying, Zhang Yanqiu, Wu Lihong, Zhu Zhidi, Ye Xiangrong, Ding Zilin, Zhang Xianling, Qian Putai, Wu Dingfu, Song Xiuling, Sun Chengkang, Yu Qing, Sun Ning, Huang Jinping, Meng Shuying, Yuan Shumin, Liu Meihua, Xie Jinghua, Ma Xueqin, Kuang Ruirong, Yang Darong, He Tianfeng, Liu Xiuchen, Shen Guifang, Xie Jingrong, Yao Furong, Meng Shuzhen, Shao Qiufeng, Tan Hanfeng, Wang Wenhua, Chen Mei, Zhou Yan, Li Guiying, Xu Baoyan, Di Mengqi, Wang Lian, Guan Weidong, Liu Shuqin, Sun Shanping, Liu Tianyuan, Zhang Caifeng, He Ruitian, Tian Weiyan, Yang Zhiyu, Li Xianyuan, Wang Yuqin, Fang Zheng, He Xingcai, Liu Ren’an, Qi Guoxiang, Han Guogang, Pang Meiqing, Huang Ning, Wang Bodong, Zhang Zhiqiang, Kong Weizhen, Liu Baodong, Qi Zhiying, Fang Guizhen, Lei Yong, Ge Guirong, Zheng Xiucun, Gui Delan, Wang Yunqi, Huang Xuefen, Guo Daxian, Wang Lin, Zhu Jingrong, Wang Zhengqiang, Ning Shuping, Cao Yunlan, Feng Shulan, Fu Yuanyuan, Li Chunshan, Jiang Yanqin, He Fengting, Xiao Zongyou, Qiao Xiulan, Lu Yanjing, Li Haoquan, Lai Yundi, Zhou Xiaojiao, Zhou Yunjiao, Chen Yongbang, Liu Yongliang, Zhang Jingli, Sun Haiwen, Wang Hai, Lu Sanbao, Yao Yueying, Ren Gailian, Ni Shishu, Yang Yunlong, Cui Linsen, Wu Weidong, Shi Jing, Yuan Ren, Bao Limei, Xi Guijun, Zhong Junhua, Ya Aiqiang, Chen Weidong, Hao Jian, Zhang Suying, Lin Li, Duan Changqi

(107 signatories in total)

At the proposal of fellow bereaved families, we also append the names of signatories from previous years who have since passed away, in honor of their final wishes and in respect for their memory.

Wu Xuehan, Su Bingxian, Yao Ruisheng, Yang Shiyu, Yuan Changlu, Zhou Shuzhen, Wang Guoxian, Bao Yutian, Lin Jingpei, Kou Yusheng, Meng Jinxiu, Zhang Junsheng, Wu Shouqin, Zhou Zhigang, Sun Xiuzhi, Luo Rang, Yan Guanghan, Li Zhenying, Kuang Diqing, Duan Hongbing, Liu Chunlin, Zhang Yaozhu, Li Shujuan, Yang Yinshan, Wang Peijing, Yuan Kezhi, Pan Muzhi, Xiao Changyi, Ya Weilin, Liu Jianlan, Suo Xiunü, Yang Ziming, Cheng Shuzhen, Du Dongxu, Zhang Guirong, Zhao Tingjie, Lu Masheng, Jiang Peikun, Ren Jinbao, Zhang Shuyun, Han Shuxiang, Shi Feng, Wang Guirong, Sui Lisong, Tian Shuling, Sun Shufang, Chen Yongchao, Sun Hengyao, Xu Jue, Wang Fandi, Li Xuewen, Wang Shuanglan, Zhang Zhenxia, Xiao Shulan, Tan Shuqin, Gao Jie, Jin Yaxi, Xing Chengli, Zhou Guolin, Hao Yichuan, Lu Yubao, Cao Changxian, Yin Min, Liu Qian, Lin Wuyun, Jin Zhenyu, Feng Youxiang, Wang Huirong, Zhu Yuxian, Zhang Shushen, Wang Guangming, Zhou Shuzhuang, Qi Zhiyong, Jia Fuquan, Huang Dingying, Xi Yongshun, Mu Huailan, Wang Deyi, Zhao Jinsuo, Xiong Hui

(80 signatories in total)

https://hrichina.substack.com/p/commemoration-of-the-37th-anniversary

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