Sending the army to slaughter students and civilians in peacetime is undeniably an atrocity against humanity. In the face of the vibrant lives shot to death in the June Fourth massacre, the unilateral, fact-denying characterization and rhetoric of China's ruling party and government are pale and devoid of humanity. They will not withstand the test of history.

Thirty-three years ago, a brutal tragedy of unparalleled savagery occurred in China, sending shockwaves across the nation and around the world. The ruling Communist Party of China and the Chinese government, in complete disregard of the lives of the hundreds of thousands of students and common people along the ten-mile Chang'an Avenue, used the military to indiscriminately murder innocent people in the capital city of Beijing with live ammunition. The armed forces aimed their guns at them and even drove tanks to crush the crowd, killing and injuring thousands.

The armed forces even drove tanks to crush the crowd, killing and injuring thousands.

This government-led massacre caught Beijing residents completely off guard. At around 10 p.m. on June 3, under cover of darkness, martial law troops rode tanks and armored vehicles from all directions toward Tiananmen Square. On their way, they sprayed students and residents with gunfire and chased after those trying to escape, leaving heavy casualties in their wake. Early the next morning, on June 4, when student protestors evacuated from the square in files and walked to Liubukou in Xidan, the army unleashed poisonous tear gas with paralyzing nerve agents, causing the students and residents at the scene to collapse on the ground, unable to move due to difficulty breathing and a feeling of suffocation. A row of tanks ran over the fallen crowd, killing or seriously injuring more than ten students on the spot.

The youngest victim of the massacre was only 9 years old.

Among the 203 victims we have found so far are 61 undergraduate and graduate students from various universities, 14 elementary and middle school students, and 14 missing persons. The youngest was only 9 and the oldest 66.

In April and May 1989, millions of students and common people joined marches, petitions, and protests, exercising the rights conferred to Chinese citizens under the Constitution and the law—these were lawful acts that did not violate the Constitution whatsoever. From beginning to end, the movement upheld the principles of peace, rationality, and non-violence. Up until the military crackdown, the entire social order had been stable. This stability was conscientiously maintained by the students and other members of the public in the nation's capital.

The protesters demanded freedom of speech, transparency of officials' wealth and end to corruption.

The students and the public in the demonstrations were simply demanding an end to corruption and official malfeasance, freedom of speech, disclosure of officials' assets, and the establishment of a mechanism for civil society to monitor the integrity of government officials.  None of these demands deviated from the constitutional framework. When the two sides disagreed, the protestors did nothing more than ask the government for a reasonable resolution within the scope of the Constitution and the law: through the legal process, consultation, and dialogue.

Communist Party abused its power savagely and brutally kill and crush their own citizens with bullets and tanks.

But the ruling CPC and the Chinese government completely ignored the people's reasonable demands and chose a course of action completely contrary to modern civilization. They abused their power to savagely and brutally kill and crush their own citizens with bullets and tanks, and subsequently launched a fascist-like nationwide probe, hurling the whole society into a state of terror and putting everyone in danger.

We cannot help but ask: Did the student movement, which merely offered suggestions to help the ruling party and government to serve the people with greater integrity, really warrant military suppression and arbitrary killing of innocent citizens? As the student protests spread from Beijing to the whole country, they became a way for the people to express their good wishes for the government. And what is your definition of "the people"? Do the people become the enemy once they put forth a recommendation? The Chinese ruling party and government then went on to absolve themselves from their murderous crime and responsibility under the guise of "quelling counter-revolutionary riots"—isn't it too cruel?

Did the student movement peaceful protest required military suppression and arbitrary killing of innocent citizens?

Sending the army to slaughter students and civilians in peacetime is undeniably an atrocity against humanity. In the face of the vibrant lives shot to death in the June Fourth massacre, the unilateral, fact-denying characterization and rhetoric of China's ruling party and government are pale and devoid of humanity. They will not withstand the test of history.

Sending the army to slaughter students and civilians in peacetime is a crime against humanity.

Over the past 33 years, 64 members of our group of bereaved family members of June Fourth victims have passed away. This year we have had two more deaths, Yin Min and Liu Qian. Liu, the oldest member of our group, died in late April this year, at the age of 97.

We appeal to your conscience on behalf of the families of those killed.

Seeking government accountability for the massacre in accordance with the law is our legitimate right. For 33 years, we have been pursuing the three demands of "truth, compensation, and accountability" in a peaceful and rational manner, calling for a dialogue with the government through the legal process to resolve the issues related to the June Fourth massacre.

We appeal to your conscience on behalf of the families of those killed. For fairness and justice, we will persevere.

Signatures (120):

尤维洁 You WeiJie	郭丽英 Guo Liying	张彦秋 Zhang Yanqiu
吴丽虹 Wu Lihong	祝枝弟 Zhu Zhidi	叶向荣 Ye Xiangrong
丁子霖 Ding Zilin	张先玲 Zhang Xianling	周淑庄 Zhou Shuzhuang
钱普泰 Qian Putai	吴定富 Wu Dingfu	宋秀玲 Song Xiuling
孙承康 Sun Chengkang	于　清 Yu Qing	孙　宁 Sun Ning
黄金平 Huang Jinping	孟淑英 Meng Shuying	袁淑敏 Yuan Shumin
王广明 Wang Guangming	刘梅花 Liu Meihua	谢京花 Xie Jinghua
马雪琴 Ma Xueqin	邝瑞荣 Kuang Ruirong	张树森 Zhang Shusen
杨大榕 Yang Darong	贺田凤 He Tianfeng	刘秀臣 Liu Xiuchen
沈桂芳 Shen Guifang	谢京荣 Xie Jingrong	金贞玉 Jin Zhenyu
要福荣 Yao Furong	孟淑珍 Meng Shuzhen	邵秋风 Shao Qiufeng
谭汉凤 Tan Hanfeng	王文华 Wang Wenhua	陈　梅 Chen Mei
周　燕 Zhou Yan	李桂英 Li Guiying	徐宝艳 Xu Baoyan
狄孟奇 Di Mengqi	王　连 Wang Lian	管卫东 Guan Weidong
刘淑琴 Liu Shuqin	孙珊萍 Sun Shanping	刘天媛 Liu Tianyuan
黄定英 Huang Dingying	熊　辉 Xiong Hui	张彩凤 Zhang Caifeng
何瑞田 He Ruitian	田维炎 Tian Weiyan	杨志玉 Yang Zhiyu
李显远 Li Xianyuan	王玉芹 Wang Yuqin	方　政 Fang Zheng
齐志勇 Qi Zhiyong	冯友祥 Feng Youxiang	何兴才 He Xingcai
刘仁安 Liu Ren'an	齐国香 Qi Guoxiang	韩国刚 Han Guogang
庞梅清 Pang Meiqing	黄　宁 Huang Ning	王伯冬 Wang Bodong
张志强 Zhang Zhiqiang	赵金锁 Zhao Jinsuo	孔维真 Kong Weizhen
刘保东 Liu Baodong	齐志英 Qi Zhiying	方桂珍 Fang Guizhen
雷　勇 Lei Yong	葛桂荣 Ge Guirong	郑秀村 Zheng Xiucun
王惠蓉 Wang Huirong	桂德兰 Gui Delan	王运启 Wang Yunqi
黄雪芬 Huang Xuefen	郭达显 Guo Daxian	王　琳 Wang Lin
朱镜蓉 Zhu Jingrong	穆怀兰 Mu Huailan	王争强 Wang Zhengqiang
宁书平 Ning Shuping	曹云兰 Cao Yunlan	林武云 Lin Wuyun
冯淑兰 Feng Shulan	付媛媛 Fu Yuanyuan	李春山 Li Chunshan
蒋艳琴 Jiang Yanqin	何凤亭 He Fengting	奚永顺 Xi Yongshun
肖宗友 Xiao Zongyou	乔秀兰 Qiao Xiulan	陆燕京 Lu Yanjing
李浩泉 Li Haoquan	赖运迪 Lai Yundi	周小姣 Zhou Xiaojiao
周运姣 Zhou Yunjiao	陈永邦 Chen Yongbang	刘永亮 Liu Yongliang
张景利 Zhang Jingli	孙海文 Sun Haiwen	王　海 Wang Hai
陆三宝 Lu Sanbao	姚月英 Yao Yueying	任改莲 Ren Gailian
倪世殊 Ni Shishu	杨云龙 Yang Yunlong	崔林森 Cui Linsen
吴卫东 Wu Weidong	贾福泉 Jia Fuquan	王德义 Wang Deyi
朱玉仙 Zhu Yuxian	石　晶 Shi Jing	袁　刃 Yuan Ren
包丽梅 Bao Limei	奚贵君 Xi Guijun	钟俊华 Zhong Junhua
轧爱强 Ya Aiqiang	陈卫东 Chen Weidong	郝　建 Hao Jian

 

We are including the names of deceased fellow members to honor their wishes (64):

吴学汉 Wu Xuehan	苏冰娴 Su Bingxian	姚瑞生 Yao Ruisheng
杨世钰 Yang Shiyu	袁长录 Yuan Changlu	周淑珍 Zhou Shuzhen
王国先 Wang Guoxian	包玉田 Bao Yutian	林景培 Lin Jingpei
寇玉生 Kou Yusheng	孟金秀 Meng Jinxiu	张俊生 Zhang Junsheng
吴守琴 Wu Shouqin	周治刚 Zhou Zhigang	孙秀芝 Sun Xiuzhi
罗　让 Luo Rang	严光汉 Yan Guanghan	李贞英 Li Zhenying
邝涤清 Kuang Diqing	段宏炳 Duan Hongbing	刘春林 Liu Chunlin
张耀祖 Zhang Yaozu	李淑娟 Li Shujuan	杨银山 Yang Yinshan
王培靖 Wang Peijing	袁可志 Yuan Kezhi	潘木治 Pan Muzhi
萧昌宜 Xiao Changyi	轧伟林 Ya Weilin	刘建兰 Liu Jianlan
索秀女 Suo Xiunü	杨子明 Yang Ziming	程淑珍 Cheng Shuzhen
杜东旭 Du Dongxu	张桂荣 Zhang Guirong	赵廷杰 Zhao Tingjie
陆马生 Lu Masheng	蒋培坤 Jiang Peikun	任金宝 Ren Jinbao
张淑云 Zhang Shuyun	韩淑香 Han Shuxiang	石　峰 Shi Feng
王桂荣 Wang Guirong	隋立松 Sui Lisong	田淑玲 Tian Shuling
孙淑芳 Sun Shufang	陈永朝 Chen Yongchao	孙恒尧 Sun Hengyao
徐　珏 Xu Jue	王范地 Wang Fandi	李雪文 Li Xuewen
王双兰 Wang Shuanglan	张振霞 Zhang Zhenxia	肖书兰 Xiao Shulan
谭淑琴 Tan Shuqin	高　捷 Gao Jie	金亚喜 Jin Yaxi
邢承礼 Xing Chengli	周国林 Zhou Guolin	郝义传 Hao Yichuan
陆玉宝 Lu Yubao	曹长先 Cao Changxian	尹　敏 Yin Min
刘　乾 Liu Qian