On the recordJune 4, 2020
Mr. President, today marks the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, when students led demonstrations for greater accountability, constitutional due process, democracy, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech. One million people participated in these historic protests. Tragically, the Chinese Communist Party responded with ruthless force, killing demonstrators and bystanders. Troops with assault rifles and tanks fired at demonstrators and those trying to block the military's advance into Tiananmen Square. Several hundred to several thousand people were killed that day. China has been ruled by a brutal, authoritarian regime, a communist regime, since 1949. This regime has not changed its nature, and we see that today in the South China Sea, Hong Kong, against Taiwan, and in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. ____________________
