[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 83 (Thursday, June 4, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1319-E1320]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   COMMEMORATING 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TIANANMEN SQUARE SUPPRESSION

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. DAVID WU

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 2, 2009

  Mr. WU. Madam Speaker, one of the primary reasons that I ran for 
public office was to promote democracy, human rights, and the rule of 
law at home and abroad--particularly in China. There is perhaps no 
greater singular event that compels me to do so than the Tiananmen 
Square massacre of June 3 and 4, 1989.
  On this, the twentieth anniversary of the violent suppression of 
protesters in and around Tiananmen Square in Beijing, I express my 
deepest condolences to the families of those killed and imprisoned in 
connection with the demonstrations. I urge the Chinese government to 
immediately review the cases of those still imprisoned for 
participating in the 1989 protests and to release those individuals who 
were imprisoned solely for exercising their internationally recognized 
rights to free expression and peaceful assembly.
  In many ways the China of 1989 and the China of 2009 are worlds 
apart. Twenty years ago, no one would have imagined that China would 
become the world's largest Internet user a mere twenty years later. And 
yet, even with the power of the Internet to fuel greater transparency, 
the people of China still face the

[[Page E1320]]

same censorship and restrictions of expression.
  The U.S. and China must continue to work together to appeal to the 
better angels of our collective nature and strive not just for 
prosperity but for freedom.

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