r-kv-r-y quarterly china update
Defenders of the right to redress:the Tiananmen Mothers
(from the Amnesty International Web Site)
The Tiananmen Mothers, founded by Ding Zilin, a retired university professor, is a group of 130 human rights
defenders – mainly women – whose children and other close relatives were killed in and around Tiananmen
Square on the night of 3-4 June 1989. The Tiananmen Mothers have been at the forefront of the campaign for
accountability, redress and the defence of the rights of the relatives of people who were killed and people who
were injured by the military over 15 years ago.
Heavily armed troops and armoured military vehicles stormed into Tiananmen Square on the night of 3-4 June
1989 to clear peaceful, unarmed demonstrators who were calling for an end to corruption and for political
reforms in China. Hundreds of civilians were killed, and tens of thousands of demonstrators were arrested in the
aftermath.
The Tiananmen Mothers have compiled a list of names of over 182 people who were killed and over 70 who
were injured by the Chinese army. They have distributed humanitarian aid to victims’ families and helped to set
up a fund for the education of children and orphans of those killed or injured in Tiananmen Square.
The group regularly submits appeals and petitions calling on the authorities to allow victims’ families the right to
mourn in public, to allow them to accept humanitarian aid from organizations and individuals, to end the
persecution of victims and their families, to release all those still imprisoned since 1989, and to implement a full
and open public inquiry into the events surrounding 4 June 1989.
Ding Zilin, was reportedly placed under a form of house arrest in Beijing on 27 January 2005 after she had
requested to pay her respects to the former party leader and Premier Zhao Ziyang, who died on 17 January
2005. Hundreds of petitioners gathered to mourn the death of Zhao Ziyang. Hundreds more had petitioned the
authorities to attend his funeral but in an apparent effort to prevent high-profile activists from attending,
mourning restrictions were placed on several human rights defenders including Ding Zilin.
Ding Zilin’s house arrest may also have been prompted by a public letter that she and her husband wrote to the
Chinese President and Premier appealing for the release of two well-known activists, Liu Xiaobo and Yu Jie, who
were detained on 13 December 2004. The two were released the next day, but reportedly continue to remain
under tight police surveillance in their homes.
This is not the first time that Ding Zilin has been detained. In March 2004, Ding Zilin, Zhang Xianling and Huang
Jinping were arbitrarily detained in an apparent attempt to stop them from participating in the Qingming festival,
when people tend the graves of their relatives. The Chinese authorities stated their detentions were the result of
recording their testimonies to camera, and sending the footage to supporters abroad. In addition, ‘T’-shirts
bearing the words "Tiananmen Mothers" were confiscated by the authorities.
Each year around the anniversary of 4 June 1989, several of the Tiananmen Mothers are detained, harassed or
physically restricted in some way. Their treatment is indicative of the government’s continuing refusal to respect
calls for redress.
Through their mutual support, the Tiananmen Mothers have brought comfort to numerous bereaved families
empowering others, particularly women, to take part in public life, and the group’s public profile has been a
source of hope and inspiration for similar groups outside China.
Take action on behalf of the Tiananmen Mothers:
- Calling on the authorities to stop the arbitrary detention, intimidation and harassment of Ding Zilin and the
other "Tiananmen Mothers";
- Urging the authorities to ensure that the Tiananmen Mothers can carry out their legitimate human rights
activities without fear of reprisals;
- Remind the authorities of their obligations to fulfil the principles contained in the Declaration on the Right and
Responsibility Of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote And Protect Universally Recognized
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 9 December
1998, commonly known as the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders;
- Calling on the authorities to develop a national plan of action to implement the UN Declaration on Human Rights
Defenders as an important first step to ensure that human rights defenders are able to safely carry out their
legitimate work. The Plan of Action should include specific measures to address the particular obstacles faced by
women HRDs.
Send your appeals to:
Minister of Justice of the People's Republic of China
ZHANG Fusen Buzhang
Sifabu
10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie,
Chaoyangqu, Beijingshi 100020
People’s Republic of China
Fax: +86 10 6472 9863
Email: minister@legalinfo.gov.cn
Email: pfmaster@legalinfo.gov.cn
Salutation: Your Excellency
Mayor of Beijing Municipal People's Government
WANG Qishan Shizhang
Beijingshi Renmin Zhengfu
2 Zhengyilu
Dongchengqu, Beijing 100744
People's Republic of China
Salutation: Dear Mayor
Copies to:
Secretary of Beijing Municipal Party Committee
LIU Qi Shuji
Zhonggong Beijingshi Weiyuanhui
3 Taijichang Dajie
Dongchengqu,
Beijing 100743, People's Republic of China
Salutation: Dear Secretary
AI Index: ACT 77/011/2005 1 March 2005
(from the Amnesty International Web Site)
The Tiananmen Mothers, founded by Ding Zilin, a retired university professor, is a group of 130 human rights
defenders – mainly women – whose children and other close relatives were killed in and around Tiananmen
Square on the night of 3-4 June 1989. The Tiananmen Mothers have been at the forefront of the campaign for
accountability, redress and the defence of the rights of the relatives of people who were killed and people who
were injured by the military over 15 years ago.
Heavily armed troops and armoured military vehicles stormed into Tiananmen Square on the night of 3-4 June
1989 to clear peaceful, unarmed demonstrators who were calling for an end to corruption and for political
reforms in China. Hundreds of civilians were killed, and tens of thousands of demonstrators were arrested in the
aftermath.
The Tiananmen Mothers have compiled a list of names of over 182 people who were killed and over 70 who
were injured by the Chinese army. They have distributed humanitarian aid to victims’ families and helped to set
up a fund for the education of children and orphans of those killed or injured in Tiananmen Square.
The group regularly submits appeals and petitions calling on the authorities to allow victims’ families the right to
mourn in public, to allow them to accept humanitarian aid from organizations and individuals, to end the
persecution of victims and their families, to release all those still imprisoned since 1989, and to implement a full
and open public inquiry into the events surrounding 4 June 1989.
Ding Zilin, was reportedly placed under a form of house arrest in Beijing on 27 January 2005 after she had
requested to pay her respects to the former party leader and Premier Zhao Ziyang, who died on 17 January
2005. Hundreds of petitioners gathered to mourn the death of Zhao Ziyang. Hundreds more had petitioned the
authorities to attend his funeral but in an apparent effort to prevent high-profile activists from attending,
mourning restrictions were placed on several human rights defenders including Ding Zilin.
Ding Zilin’s house arrest may also have been prompted by a public letter that she and her husband wrote to the
Chinese President and Premier appealing for the release of two well-known activists, Liu Xiaobo and Yu Jie, who
were detained on 13 December 2004. The two were released the next day, but reportedly continue to remain
under tight police surveillance in their homes.
This is not the first time that Ding Zilin has been detained. In March 2004, Ding Zilin, Zhang Xianling and Huang
Jinping were arbitrarily detained in an apparent attempt to stop them from participating in the Qingming festival,
when people tend the graves of their relatives. The Chinese authorities stated their detentions were the result of
recording their testimonies to camera, and sending the footage to supporters abroad. In addition, ‘T’-shirts
bearing the words "Tiananmen Mothers" were confiscated by the authorities.
Each year around the anniversary of 4 June 1989, several of the Tiananmen Mothers are detained, harassed or
physically restricted in some way. Their treatment is indicative of the government’s continuing refusal to respect
calls for redress.
Through their mutual support, the Tiananmen Mothers have brought comfort to numerous bereaved families
empowering others, particularly women, to take part in public life, and the group’s public profile has been a
source of hope and inspiration for similar groups outside China.
Take action on behalf of the Tiananmen Mothers:
- Calling on the authorities to stop the arbitrary detention, intimidation and harassment of Ding Zilin and the
other "Tiananmen Mothers";
- Urging the authorities to ensure that the Tiananmen Mothers can carry out their legitimate human rights
activities without fear of reprisals;
- Remind the authorities of their obligations to fulfil the principles contained in the Declaration on the Right and
Responsibility Of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote And Protect Universally Recognized
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 9 December
1998, commonly known as the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders;
- Calling on the authorities to develop a national plan of action to implement the UN Declaration on Human Rights
Defenders as an important first step to ensure that human rights defenders are able to safely carry out their
legitimate work. The Plan of Action should include specific measures to address the particular obstacles faced by
women HRDs.
Send your appeals to:
Minister of Justice of the People's Republic of China
ZHANG Fusen Buzhang
Sifabu
10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie,
Chaoyangqu, Beijingshi 100020
People’s Republic of China
Fax: +86 10 6472 9863
Email: minister@legalinfo.gov.cn
Email: pfmaster@legalinfo.gov.cn
Salutation: Your Excellency
Mayor of Beijing Municipal People's Government
WANG Qishan Shizhang
Beijingshi Renmin Zhengfu
2 Zhengyilu
Dongchengqu, Beijing 100744
People's Republic of China
Salutation: Dear Mayor
Copies to:
Secretary of Beijing Municipal Party Committee
LIU Qi Shuji
Zhonggong Beijingshi Weiyuanhui
3 Taijichang Dajie
Dongchengqu,
Beijing 100743, People's Republic of China
Salutation: Dear Secretary
AI Index: ACT 77/011/2005 1 March 2005
More than one thousand protesters participate in
a 'March for Democracy in China' in Hong Kong,
May 29, 2005. The march commemorates the
16th anniversary of China's military crackdown on
the pro-democracy movement in Beijing's
Tiananmen Square in 1989.
REUTERS/Bobby Yip
a 'March for Democracy in China' in Hong Kong,
May 29, 2005. The march commemorates the
16th anniversary of China's military crackdown on
the pro-democracy movement in Beijing's
Tiananmen Square in 1989.
REUTERS/Bobby Yip
