Tiananmen Mothers

The group – comprising the parents, friends and relatives of victims of the massacre – formed in September 1989 when Ding, along with her husband Jiang Peikun, met another mother, Zhang Xianling, whose 19-year-old son was also killed on June 4, 1989.

Beijing medical doctors from the very beginning recall critically injured patients being carried into hospitals of nearly all specialties, throughout the night continuing into noon.

I made the firm decision to continue in my mission of locating and helping June Fourth families, until the government itself actively takes up this project and there is no longer any need for our efforts.

[7] One exception was Wu Zuguang, who advocated a reversal of the governments position at a meeting of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in 1997, and he did not suffer any repercussions for his comments because of his age.

In a May 1991 interview with ABC, Ding and Zhang Xianling condemned the actions of the Chinese government and in particular Premier Li Peng who claimed that the crackdown was necessary in order to maintain social stability.

The group has also opened up contacts with UN Human Rights Council and foreign media, issuing a video demanding the government reassess Tiananmen.

[13] On the tenth anniversary, despite memories of the event fading due to strong government censorship, Jiang Qisheng, who had since been released, drafted a letter along with fifteen others appealing for quiet commemoration by lighting candles in cities across China.

[8] He played a major role in organising the event, posting flyers on lampposts calling on the population to "light a myriad of candles to collectively commemorate the brave spirits of June Fourth" and as a result, several petitions to hold protest were submitted, but were rejected by government authorities.

[14] Jiang was arrested on shortly before the anniversary; in court on November 1, 1999, he defended himself, maintaining he was exercising freedom of speech and recalling a previous reversal of the government's term "counterrevolutionary" after the Gang of Four and Cultural Revolution.

[14] He urged the government not to imprison people for expressing their views, "Simply by writing and talking, do I commit such a crime against heaven that I must be put to death?"

[15] An increasing number of dissidents and former intellectuals from the party, including Hu Yaobang's former secretary and Huang Qi have joined the group, and have been expelled from the establishment as a result.

[17] Analysts say pressure by groups like the Tiananmen Mothers may eventually lead to some acknowledgment of the deaths during the crackdown, such as a plaque placed on the square, but most agree that will not come soon.