‘Tiananmen crackdown 2.0 is happening in Hong Kong’: 1989 protests survivor tells Pompeo
A Hong Kong survivor of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown urged the United States to defend the truth of history and fight for Hong Kong’s freedom in a historic meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo days before the 31st anniversary of the bloody events.
Liane Lee, who witnessed the bloodshed in 1989, told Apple Daily that she spoke about the situation in Hong Kong in the meeting. Also at the meeting were the then student leaders Wang Dan and Henry Li as well as author Su Xiaokang.
Lee said she told Pompeo that “Tiananmen crackdown 2.0 is happening in Hong Kong.”
“It has only taken on a different form,” Lee said during an interview with Apple Daily, adding that people were living in white terror.
She explained that since last June, the people of Hong Kong and young protesters have been brutally attacked, sexually violated and even secretly murdered. She said there have been 589 cases of highly suspicious suicide cases but they were deemed non-suspicious by the police.
Lee, a student supporter of the protests 31 years ago, said although the tanks did not roll into the city like they did in Beijing, young people in Hong Kong did not suffer any less. She said Hong Kong youth were “bright and good kids” and Hong Kongers were “great citizens” who “deserve real democracy.”
During the meeting, Su urged Pompeo to not only speak to the Chinese government but also communicate with ordinary people in the country, so they could learn what had actually happened. Su also told the Secretary of State that his life was rescued by the people of Hong Kong.
Wang told Apple Daily that the people of Hong Kong would face greater adversities in the years to come as Beijing tightens its grip of the city’s freedom and democracy. He urged the people of Hong Kong not to despair and not to give up on fighting for their rights. These dark times will eventually pass, he said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues honored the Tiananmen Mothers — the mothers and relatives of the victims of the June 4 crackdown who have been demanding the truth and justice for their loved ones over the past 31 years.
“The Tiananmen Mothers have carried that torch for 31 years, ensuring the world has never forgotten the sacrifice of so many in the face of tyranny. We honor you,” the office wrote on its Facebook page.
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