On the afternoon of June 4, 2009, the founder of the Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) organization held a protest demonstration outside of the Communist Chinese embassy in Washington DC. R.E.A.L.’s Jeffrey Imm led this protest from 1 to 4 PM, in part during a driving rainstorm, as part of his way of honoring the memory of those who died in the June 4, 1989 Beijing massacre in the Communist Chinese government’s crackdown on the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.
Jeffrey Imm began the rally by offering the Communist Chinese embassy a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Chinese language version), a report on the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, and a report on the May 31 Hong Kong protests – all printed in the Chinese language. The embassy refused to accept these.
Jeffrey Imm recounted the circumstances that led up to the June 4, 1989 Beijing massacre and called upon the Communist Chinese government to release the names of all those who were killed on June 4, 1989. He then read the names of those 195 known individuals who were killed in the massacre.
Imm addressed the humanitarian aspects of allowing families to publicly grieve and mourn for their loved ones. “Those who died on June 4, 1989 were all someone special. They were someone’s son or daughter. They were all loved and they came into the world as part of the miracle of human life. They were not only part of someone’s direct family, they were also all part of our shared family of humanity. And as members of our shared family of humanity, they all deserved our inalienable, universal human rights of equality, liberty, dignity, and life. Responsible for Equality And Liberty is here to remember them today, because we believe that their lives all were precious and important, we mourn them as members of our human family, and we vow not to let their deaths, their sacrifices, go in vain.”
Imm spoke to those watching and listening at the Communist Chinese embassy for three hours, imploring them to show dignity to those families that seek to mourn the loss of their loved ones. He asked how 73-year old Ding Zilin could be a threat to the Chinese government when she was recently prevented from speaking in remembrance of her dead teenage son who was killed in the Beijing massacre 20 years ago. He asked how 75-year old Sun Wenguang could be a threat to the Chinese government when he was recently bullied and manhandled by Chinese security police, having three ribs cracked, just because he sought to remember the death of former Chinese premiere Zhao Ziyang. He challenged the Chinese government to ask themselves if they are this afraid of just those who would remember the dead, what will they do when the people of China finally seek to reclaim their natural, inalienable human rights and dignity again?
Imm recounted the initial experiences of those he saw in the Washington DC area after the June 4, 1989 massacre, when people of all kinds flocked to the old Communist China embassy in protest:
Imm said: “I remember June 4, 1989. I will remember it all of my life. Like many others, I was compelled to do something about this horrific tragedy in China. The Chinese protesters for freedom in Tiananmen Square were killed just because they dared to call for the very freedoms inherent in the universal human rights that every one of us has as human beings. I had to leave my job and go to the Communist Chinese embassy in Washington DC. Such a martyring of those struggling for freedom was unacceptable. Many others shared this human outrage. No one had to tell us what to do. We didn’t need a web site and directions. We didn’t need an email listing of who to contact. We just needed to be responsible as human beings and do something ourselves.”
“We protested, we shouted, we prayed, and we rallied in front of the Communist Chinese embassy. People came from diverse professions, various political parties, and many identity groups. Our shared organization was the family of humanity. We huddled together on the Washington DC street corner by the embassy, listening for news from those who had radios. We stood there until it was dark and we stood there – defiant – responsible for equality and liberty – not because the people killed in Tiananmen Square were Chinese – but simply because they were fellow human beings.”
Imm stated that was the same reason why he was at the Communist Chinese embassy on June 4, 2009. “We don’t need a special reason or need to be members of a special group. We protest the Communist Chinese government’s killing of those who called for democracy on June 4, 1989 for the simple reason that they are part of our family too — our shared family of humanity that is seeking its inalienable, natural, and universal human rights.”
Imm pointed out the sacrifices made by those who died on June 4, 1989, both sacrificing their lives and the burden their families have carried these 20 years with their loss. He stated that those responsible for equality and liberty realize that sacrifice is a part of being responsible. He stated that many can go to where it is convenient and comfortable and mouth platitudes about freedom, but those who truly assume their responsibility for equality and liberty recognize that such responsibility means sacrifice. Imm addressed the story of the heroic sacrifices of Mr. Fang Zheng who lost his legs in Tiananmen Square and Dr. Wang Dan who was imprisoned for many years for his participation in the Tiananmen Square democracy movement. They and many others are examples of the profiles of what it means to be responsible for universal human rights, Imm stated. Imm told the Communist Chinese government that their sacrifice was honorable and should be commemorated by the Chinese people as heroes in seeking the universal human rights that all human beings deserve.
In addition, Imm read passages from the book “Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang” to those listening in the Communist Chinese embassy. He read the May 18, 1989 letter from Zhao Ziyang to Deng Xioping calling for the government to reverse “the labeling and judgment made of them in the April 26 editorial, and acknowledgment of their actions as patriotic.” Imm called for the Communist Chinese government to recognize the patriotic nature of the Tiananmen Square protesters and remember their actions as heroes of the Chinese people. Furthermore, Imm also read from Chapter 5 of this book where Zhao Ziyang called for the creation of parliamentary democracy in China.
Imm also spoke in detail against the other abuses by the Communist Chinese government on its people. He asked if the Chinese government really believed that it could maintain its economic growth which was dependent on denying human liberty and using forced labor camps. He challenged the AEI think tank and others who have focused on the economic aspects of Communist China to ask themselves what other nation uses forced labor camps, such as the estimated 1,000 Laogai camps holding 6.8 millions prisoners, to help their “capitalist” activities? He challenged the AEI to ask them themselves if they would be as calmly addressing the economic prowess of Nazi Germany also using forced labor camps to improve its economic position in the world.
Imm addressed the issue of the attacks on human dignity in China as a violation of Chinese people’s human rights. He addressed the reports of forced abortions, the selling of human body parts, and denounced the practices of those selling corpses for the entertainment of those in New York City’s “Body… The Exhibition” and elsewhere. Moreover, Imm vowed to protest this practice of indignity against Chinese corpses in NYC in R.E.A.L.’s upcoming rallies in New York City planned for July 2009.
Imm asked the Communist Chinese government what it expected the results would be of its history of disrespect towards women, in part based on the practices of forced abortions, which has now led to gangs in China who kidnap women because they are so “scarce.” Imm asked the Communist Chinese government how such lack of dignity and respect for fellow Chinese human beings would impact the future of peace in China.
A group of five individuals led by a Canadian-Chinese man also appeared later in the afternoon at the embassy and held up hand written signs in protest at the Communist Chinese government’s actions regarding the Tiananmen Square massacre.
Imm concluded the protest by once again reading the names of the known victims of the June 4, 1989 Beijing massacre, and saying that on behalf of those who could not speak for themselves, he would continue to chant: “Long Live Democracy!” and “Free China Now!”