[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 82 (Wednesday, June 3, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1288-E1289]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   COMMEMORATING 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TIANANMEN SQUARE SUPPRESSION

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                               speech of

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 2, 2009

  Mr. HOLT. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 489, 
recognizing the twentieth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square 
crackdown. In June of 1989, the Chinese government unnecessarily 
applied the heavy hand of the People's Liberation Army to violently

[[Page E1289]]

suppress peaceful demonstrators who were calling for an elimination of 
corruption, the expansion of freedoms, and progress toward political 
and economic reforms. Twenty years later, there still has been no 
accurate accounting of those who were killed or injured, and we do not 
know how many hundreds or thousands of activists remain imprisoned. But 
we do know that thousands living in exile and millions living in China 
are unable to freely express themselves in their home country, where 
censorship and repression still drown out peaceful calls for reform.
  The People's Republic of China is a proud nation that increasingly is 
taking its place on the world stage. But if China wants to be fully 
integrated into the community of nations, it must recognize that the 
persecution of peaceful movements is unacceptable, and it must act to 
reverse the objectionable and counterproductive policies exemplified by 
the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Violations of human rights and 
international standards of law are not behavior consistent with a 
modern nation that wants to contribute to the world of international 
exchange, global trade, and academic cooperation.
  The freedoms of expression and assembly are universal rights, and the 
flames of these liberties burn in all mankind. Today, we speak for the 
brave voices who were wrongfully silenced 20 years ago, for the 
families who have been unable to publicly mourn the loss of their loved 
ones, and for all those who continue to stand up for free expression in 
China and around the world. I fervently hope that this effort will 
hasten the day that the unfettered voices of the Chinese people may be 
heard in Tiananmen Square and throughout China. For though freedom's 
flames may be smothered, its smoldering embers will always prod ice, as 
Martin Luther King put it, a certain kind of fire that no water can put 
out.

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