Tian'anmen mothers

Ding Zilin in front of a portrait of her son

The Tian'anmen Mothers are a group of Chinese democracy activists who are calling for the Chinese government to change its position on the 1989 Tiananmen massacre in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. The group is led by Ding Zilin , a retired university professor whose teenage son was shot dead by government forces during the protests.

The group, which consists of parents, friends and relatives of the victims of the massacre, was formed in September 1989 when Ding and her husband Jiang Peikun met another mother, Zhang Xianling, whose nineteen-year-old son was also killed on June 4, 1989. In addition to the protest, the group also disseminated information about the events to the public, including on the Internet. The group currently consists of relatives of 125 people killed during the protests. For her work, Ding has also been called the "advocate for the dead".

Victims' interests represented by "Tian'anmen mothers"

The group is demanding that the Chinese government change its official position on the events and seek to provide the Chinese public with independent information on the "June 4th Massacre". The initial demands included an end to the persecution and the right of relatives to publicly mourn their victims. Since 1995, the group no longer only called for a public investigation, but also for compensation for the bereaved and for those responsible to be punished. Since 1999, the focus of the demands has been on a dialogue with the government, which, however, has so far been rejected by the government.

Communist Party reaction

The "Mothers of Tiananmen" fight against the censorship , which is tightened by the authorities every year in the run-up to the anniversary. Ding Zilin and other parents and relatives of victims of the massacre are not allowed to leave their homes and their phones are tapped. Ding's apartment is guarded around the clock, until June 4th is over, if she is denied contact with the outside world. With the assumption of office of state and party leader Xi Jinping, surveillance has increased; since the beginning of 2015, wiretapping systems have been secretly installed in the homes of some relatives of the victims of the massacre.

See also

• Human rights in the People's Republic of China
• Tian'anmen massacre

Web links

• Official Homepage (Chinese)
• Tiananmen Mothers Campaign Homepage of the support group in place (English and Chinese)
• We must break the silence about Tiananmen newspaper article time online
• HRIC-Statement: Chinese authorities should respond to calls for dialogue by the Tiananmen Mothers ( Memento from October 15, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Article on the homepage of the group human rights in China (English)
• numerous interviews with the Tiananmen mothers on youtube HRIC interviews in Chinese with English subtitles

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Astrid Lipinsky: China's Mothers, China's Culture of Protest and the Need for Remembrance , China Center, April 23, 2009, accessed May 27, 2017.
2. ↑ AGAINST THE SILENCE OF THE DEAD AND INJURED OF JUNE 4, 1989 , AMNESTY ON THE MOVE , June 3, 2009, accessed May 26, 2017.
3. ↑ Tai (2004), p. 106.
4. ↑ Ren Chen: The Struggle of the "Tiananmen Mothers" , Deutsche Welle, June 4, 2014, accessed May 27, 2017.
5. ↑ Tai (2004), p. 106.
6. ^ Carrabine, Cox, Lee, South & Plummer (2009), p. 173.
7. ↑ Stichele & Penner (2005), p. 200.
8. ↑ Tian'anmen Mothers: An Offering to the Spirits of the Victims on the 21st Anniversary of the June Fourth Massacre, June 1, 2010, in: Human Rights in China, accessed September 26, 2011
9. ↑ Jonny Erling, Beijing: China is tracking the victims of the massacre to this day , WELT, June 4, 2015, accessed May 26, 2017.
10. ↑ Till Fähnders: “What should I still be afraid of?” , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, June 3, 2009, accessed May 26, 2017.
11. ↑ Didi Kirsten Tatlow: Ding Zilin, Founder of Tiananmen Mothers, is Silenced by Chinese Police , NEW YORK TIMES, June 1, 2016, accessed May 26, 2017.