Chris Smith: “when the People's Liberation Army massacred, maimed, and incarcerated thousands of peaceful pro-democracy activists in…”

“when the People's Liberation Army massacred, maimed, and incarcerated thousands of peaceful pro-democracy activists in June 1989, the well intentioned but wishful thinking that, somehow, the People's Republic of China was turning the page on repression was shattered. The brutal crackdown on the reformers was not the end, however, it was the beginning of a new, systematic campaign of terror and cruelty that continues still today. Each year since Tiananmen Square the savagery has gotten worse and the roster of victims grows by the millions. It is my deeply held conviction that in 1989 and by the early 1990's, the hardliners in Beijing had seen enough of where indigenous popular appeals for democracy, freedom, and human rights can lead. The Communist dictatorships in control in Eastern and Central Europe--and even the Soviet Union--had let matters get out of hand. And Beijing took careful note as, one by one, tyrants like Nicolae Ceausescu of Romania, Erich Honecker of East Germany, and Wojeiech Jeruzelski of Poland were ousted. Everything Beijing has done since Tiananmen Square points to a new bottom line that we ignore and trivialize at own peril and that is democracy, freedom, and respect for human rights won't happen in the PRC any time soon. The dictatorship's not going to cede power to the masses especially when we fail to employ the leverage at our disposal. We are empowering the hardliners.…”