Tiananmen Mothers: The Grey-Haired Guardians of 1989 (3)

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In 1994, Ding Zilin authored a book titled The List of June 4th Victims, published by the 90s Press in Hong Kong. The book contains stories of nearly one hundred families of the victims. During this time, some overseas civil organizations also began to pay attention to this group. Around 1995, due to the constant searches by national security and restrictions on their personal freedoms, these families wrote a letter to the National People’s Congress (NPC). In their letter, they wrote: “We are human beings, not animals kept in a zoo.”

In 1995, 27 mothers jointly signed a letter to the NPC. They put forward three demands: 1. To establish an independent investigative committee for a thorough investigation of the June 4th incident. 2. To immediately publish the exact number of those who died. 3. To ensure fair and legal treatment for all the families of the victims. As expected, the NPC did not respond in any way.

In 1999, on the tenth anniversary of June 4th, many domestic and overseas organizations offered various suggestions to this group. Since they did not have an official name, they publicly adopted the name “Tiananmen Mothers.” In 1999, they also took another action: they filed a lawsuit against Li Peng. In 1989, Li Peng personally signed the order to suppress the unrest, which led to the massacre in Tiananmen Square. Of course, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate did not provide any response either.

Lipeng is announcing the order to suppress the unrest

Every year on June 4th, the Wan’an Cemetery in Beijing becomes a sensitive site. The Wan’an Cemetery is the resting place for over a thousand social elites, including prominent figures from the cultural, scientific, and academic fields. It is also the burial site of many well-known figures from the business, sports, and military-political arenas, as well as revolutionary martyrs like Li Dazhao, Lu Youyu, and Deng Wenhui. Among them are also eight victims of the June 4th Tiananmen incident.

Tiananmen Mothers gather at Wan’an Cemetery every year on June fourth

“One source of strength that helps me survive is the mutual comfort and encouragement from those who share the same fate. I can only find the strength to keep going from my fellow mothers and widows who share my fate,” said Ding Zilin.