Testimony of Zhang Shusen, mother of Chen Laishun △ Chen Laishun, male, born March 2, 1966, killed at age 23; before his death, he was an undergraduate student in the journalism department at the China People’s University, class of 1989; before dawn on June 4, 1989, at about 2:00 a.m., he was struck by a bullet and killed on the rooftop of a low building on the western side of the Great Hall of the People; now his ashes are buried at Jinshan Cemetery in the western suburbs (South 2 District, Row 3, No. 4). (64memo反貪倡廉´89)
Testimony of Zhang Shusen, mother of Chen Laishun:
At about 6:00 p.m. on June 3, 1989, Chen Laishun and his elder sister, Chen Xiuying, left the house together and separated at the Chongwen subway. At that time, the situation was already very tense in Beijing, and his sister, fearing an accident, urged Laishun not to go out. Laishun said he had to return to school to hand in his thesis and take graduation pictures, and he didn’t go home with his sister. At that time, Laishun was carrying a dark camel-colored backpack, and inside the backpack were things like the draft of his thesis, a camera, etc. Because the traffic was blocked, there were no buses, so Chen Laishun went on foot. He made a detour in the vicinity of the National Art Museum and ran into a junior high school classmate, and the two of them agreed to go to the classmate’s house and chat for a while. (64檔案´89)
According to what the classmate later said, at about 11:00 p.m., they heard the classmate’s neighbor say that the People’s Liberation Army had opened fire and shot people outside. Chen Laishun and his classmate didn’t believe this was true. As a photojournalism major, Chen Laishun shouldered his backpack and, together with his classmate, left the house and went to the western side of the Great Hall of the People at Tiananmen Square just as the martial law troops were firing. The students and townsfolk gathered in the vicinity of the Great Hall rushed to hide themselves. Chen Laishun and his classmate were wedged so tightly in the crowd that they couldn’t move, so they climbed onto the roofs of two nearby low buildings (now there is a large plate factory there; at that time, these buildings were behind the place where the plate factory is now) to have a look. The martial law troops saw there were people on top of the buildings and opened fire. Chen Laishun couldn’t hide from the martial law troops’ bullets, which exploded into the left side of his head. People took him to the Beijing City Emergency Center, but he couldn’t be helped and he died. (六四檔案 - 89)
I have four children, but only Laishun was a college student. We scrimped and pinched to enable him to study, and never thought that a catastrophe would befall us. After Laishun was shot, no one (organizations, leaders) came to express concern or console us. On the contrary, on days like "June Fourth," Qing Ming (Grave Sweeping Day), July 15 in the lunar calendar, October 1 in the lunar calendar, we are watched even more closely, and our personal freedom is restricted. (六四檔案´89)
These past ten years, we have been bereft of the son of our hearts, have suffered the anguish of missing a loved one, and have been gravely wronged. It follows that illnesses like coronary heart disease, diabetes, cataracts, stomach problems and other ailments have plagued me incessantly. I am Laishun’s mother. Whenever it comes time to offer sacrifices to our ancestors, I am especially disinclined to eat or drink, and my tears keep me company on those endless days and nights when I long for my son. (Memoir Tiananmen - 89)
Zhang Shusen
1999-01-31
Testimony of Zhang Xianling, mother of Wang Nan △ Wang Nan, male, born on April 3, 1970, 19 years’ old at his death. Before his death, he was a junior student in Class 2 at Yuetan High School in Beijing. At 3:30 a.m. on June 4, he was killed at the south end of Nanchang Street, south of Tiananmen Square. A bullet went in from his left forehead and came out from behind his left ear. His ashes are currently kept at Wanan Cemetery at the western suburbs of Beijing. (64memo反貪倡廉/89)
Testimony of Zhang Xianling, mother of Wang Nan:
Around 11:20 p.m. on June 3, 1989, Wang Nan took his camera, put on a motorcycle helmet, and went to Tiananmen Square on his bike. At about 11:00 p.m., he called a classmate, and said that he was going to take some historic pictures. Shortly after 1:00 a.m. on June 4 at Nanchang Street intersection, across from the north entrance of the Great Hall of the People, he was shot in the left forehead by the troops enforcing martial law. The bullet went into his left forehead, and came out behind his left ear. His helmet was dented by the bullet. After being treated in vain by some medical students who arrived after he was shot, he died at 3:30 a.m. (64memo.com - 89)
After Wang Nan was wounded, some civilians present wanted to take him to a hospital for treatment. But the troops had already arrived at the Nanchang Street intersection. They threatened the civilians with guns and would not allow them to carry him away. The soldiers also dragged the severely wounded Wang Nan to the side of the street. According to two witnesses - a driver and a student - at that time, an old lady knelt on the ground and begged the troops to let the civilians carry Wang Nan to a hospital. He was still a young student. One soldier pointed at the old lady with his rifle and threatened: "He is a rioter. If you continue to talk, I’ll kill you." Later, from the north on Nanchang Street, two ambulances came by trying to get to Chang’an Boulevard to treat the wounded. But they were both stopped by the troops stationed at the intersection. From one of the ambulances, a male doctor came down at the request of the civilians, and tried to negotiate with the troops. He requested to take Wang Nan and several other wounded who were lying on the ground away from the scene for treatment. But the troops refused without hesitation. The doctor had to give up. The ambulances had no choice but return to the north from the way they came. Among the two ambulances, one was from the Beijing University Hospital, the other may have belonged to Xiehe Hospital. (六四檔案´89)
At about midnight on June 4, some medical students and staff at medical instrument companies organized themselves into medical teams. They ignored warnings from the troops, and helped the wounded and the dead on their way from Xidan to Nanchang Street intersection. After they found Wang Nan and two other wounded, they immediately treated and bandaged their wounds. At that time, Wang Nan’s heart was still beating weakly. After they saw Wang Nan’s student ID, they immediately told the troops: he was still a high-school student, he had lost much blood and must be sent to a hospital for treatment. One soldier brought a colonel to the scene. The officer looked at the student ID, and had a more sympathetic attitude (according to the doctors, this group of soldiers was No.51010). He appeared to be caught in an awkward position, and said that they could treat the wounded at the scene, but could not take the wounded away. Besides bandaging and C.P.R, the students in the medical team had no other type of treatment to offer. Wang Nan finally died at 3:30am. When the doctors realized he was dead, they again requested to be allowed to carry the body to a hospital where his family could claim the body. The soldiers found another officer who was a captain. His attitude was extremely harsh. He said fiercely, "It can’t be carried away. You all go away quickly. Otherwise, you will be arrested." But the doctors still waited till dawn. One doctor found a telephone and called the school. The other doctors who had remained were driven away by the troops. The security line was moved another twenty meters into Nanchang Street (These three doctors all came to find me later on). (64檔案´89)
After daybreak, the troops buried the dead on Chang’an Boulevard where they had died. Wang Nan and several others killed near him were buried west of the lawn in front of the No.28 High School to the west of Tiananmen (Since the lawn was destroyed, now bushes are grown there).
Around June 7, because the bodies were buried not far from the surface, their clothes became visible above the surface after a torrential rain. They also began to smell. So the school reported the matter to the Xicheng District Public Security Bureau. The health bureau and the public security bureau jointly exhumed the bodies. Since all identification documents (or death certificates) had been taken away by the soldiers who buried the bodies, these became unidentified corpses. Wang Nan had just returned from military training, so he had on an old uniform, and had a new military belt given to him that year. He was mistaken for a soldier. So his body was kept in a mortuary at the Chinese Medicine Hospital at Huguo Temple. After the martial law troops checked several times, he was determined not a soldier. Only then was his school notified and his parents were asked to identify his body. (64檔案 / 2004)
After Wang Nan’s death, his parents’ health seriously deteriorated. His father suffers from heart disease, and his mother has severe neurasthenia.
Zhang Xianling
1999-01-31
Testimony of Zhang XX, wounded △ Zhang XX, male, born on April 3, 1961. An instructor at an unnamed Beijing college.
Testimony of Zhang XX, wounded:
At 6:00 p.m. on June 3, 1989, I set out for Tiananmen Square with two friends to see the Goddess of Democracy. When we arrived at 8:00 p.m., there were many people in the Square. The Goddess of Democracy rose like a tower on the northern side of Tiananmen. After seeing the statue, we listened to speeches and then walked once around the square. We heard that people had blocked off a military supply truck at Xidan earlier that day in the afternoon, and we decided to stop by Xidan to have a look before going back to school. At around 11:00 p.m, we suddenly heard a loud mechanical noise from Qianmen Road. All I could see was a speeding armed personnel carrier coming north from Qianmen Road. People scattered in two directions as the vehicle sped around in the crowd. It was horrifying. The vehicle ultimately sped off to the west. (六四檔案-89)
We were still set on going to Xidan. Once we got to Liubukou, we left our bikes behind and proceeded on foot because there were too many people. We arrived at Xidan at around 12:00 midnight. At the main intersection, we saw several buses being used as barricades. At that time, gunshots were heard from the east and west. The scene was chaotic. People who had run from the east shouted, "The PLA has opened fire!" At this point my friends and I had already lost each other. I saw some people carrying a wounded person, and I ran westward with them. The gunshots were getting closer and closer. Suddenly, I heard a shot by my leg, and I fell instantly to the ground. My right leg lost all feeling, and I knew that wasn’t good. Certain that I was shot, I cried out. There were some students wearing badges from Beijing Normal University who picked me up and brought me further westward. We stopped at a courtyard. The students said that we had to wait until the troops had passed to make our next move. They asked me where I was hurt. I began to experience pain in my leg. From the front, my leg looked extremely swollen, but no wound was visible. I said that I was hit while running, so the wound should be at the back of my leg. I felt the back of my leg and my hand was covered in blood. (Sure enough, the troops had randomly fired into the crowd of scattering people.) (64memo.com - 2004)
After a while, when the sound of gunfire had passed, someone found a wooden door. They put me on the door and carried me to a hospital. Because there were too many wounded there, my wound was simply bandaged, and I was sent to Xuanwu Hospital. While in the main hall of Xuanwu Hospital, a reporter from the Workers’ Daily offered his help. I asked him to contact my family. (Memoir Tiananmen-89)
After that, I was sent to the operating room for my first round of surgery-to clean and stitch up the wound. The wound was right in the middle of my right thigh, and was the size of a fist. I lost about two centimeters of bone, and the flesh was turned out. The X-ray showed that many slivers of metal remained in my flesh. Evidently, I had been hit by an exploding bullet. Two weeks later, I underwent a second operation, to set the bone and to have a skin graft. I was hospitalized for a month. (六四檔案 - 2004)
Because I had no feeling in my right leg and consequently could not move my foot, I returned to Xuanwu Hospital for an examination. They discovered that my lower pelvic nerve had been severed. Therefore, in December 1989, I returned to the hospital for a third operation, a nerve transplant. A month after the surgery, I developed an acute bone marrow inflammation. For this reason, I went to Xiangshan Chinese Medicine Hospital. According to the doctor’s request, I had to remove the steel plate [that was used to set my leg] before undergoing treatment. This was my fourth operation. (64檔案/89)
I left the hospital in May 1990. Because of my weakened constitution, my recovery was very slow. The adhesion of the flesh on my right thigh was very serious. My left leg was extremely stiff and I could not bend it. In February 1991, I underwent surgery to resolve the adhesion, removing a portion of the muscles surrounding the hip bone and femur. After this procedure, I could bend my leg to a 90 degree angle. I left the hospital after a month. But because muscle was removed, the joint on my right leg has no strength. In 1991, I fractured my leg, and I returned to Jishuitan Hospital to undergo my fifth operation, to have the bone set again. After the surgery, I was recuperating until 1994. I have been working since that time. Altogether, I’ve been hospitalized for over a year to treat my injury. (64檔案 / 89)
I was married on April 2, 1989, just two months before I was shot. My injury has caused a great amount of pain for my family, my wife’s family, and most especially for my wife herself. It was my wife who cared for me during the course of my many operations. We were not able to experience the joy of newlyweds. To this day, there is a steel plate in my thigh, and my right foot has no feeling. My right leg has no strength. I can’t squat, run or jump. If I’m not careful when I’m walking, I easily fall over. My injury has caused much trouble for my professional and personal life. (64memo祖國萬歲-2004)
Zhang XX
1999-01-31
Testimony of Zhang Yanqiu, widow of Wang Zhiying △ Wang Zhiying, male, born on July 27, 1954, killed at age 35; he worked at the transmission manufacturing plant at the heavy automobile casting factory of the Beijing Number Three Universal Machine Works; he was killed at midnight on June 3, on an intersection of Zhushikou, by a bullet that ruptured the aorta in his throat; his ashes have been buried at the Changping Foshan Cemetery. (64memo.com-1989)
Testimony of Zhang Yanqiu, widow of Wang Zhiying:
My home is at No.3 Xihuying, Zhushikou, in Beijing. My parents’ family lives at No.18 Upper Third Lane, Chunshu, in the Xuanwu district. On June 3, 1989, sometime after 10:00 p.m., we went back from my natal family to our own home. When we emerged from the alley through the park in front of my natal family’s home, we couldn’t get through. Even on the thoroughfare, there were people everywhere, so that we had no choice but to walk home, pushing the bicycles. We had almost reached Zhushikou when we heard gunfire. At first we thought that they were setting off firecrackers, so we just kept walking and looking around. But then the gunfire came closer and closer, and we heard people shout, "They’re shooting!" We hurried along the road, which was thronged with people. People everywhere were running. But the army had already reached us. They came from the south and were heading north. These soldiers wore full battle array, with big helmets, and they were running and shooting simultaneously. (64memo.com - 89)
As soon as we saw that things looked bad, we sought cover behind a minivan on the corner of a street. But unexpectedly a bullet hit Wang Zhiying. He fell to the ground. I immediately squatted down to support him. Blood was pouring out of his back. I tried to stop it with my hands, but blood was also gushing from his throat (only later did I learn that the bullet had hit the main artery in his throat). I started crying out for help with all my might, but with the intense gunfire all around no voice would have been loud enough, and nobody heard me. The people paid attention only to the shooting troops. I shouted myself hoarse. After a few minutes or so, the troops had passed, and finally some people heeded my desperate screams and gathered around. A large pool of blood had already formed on the ground, and my body was also covered with blood. Somebody said, "Send him to the hospital as quickly as possible!" There was somebody who had a flatbed bicycle, so everybody helped lay Zhiying on the flatbed. But Wang Zhiying no longer showed any reaction. Perhaps he had already stopped breathing at that point. (64memo.com´89)
The people sent him to the nearby Qianmen Hospital, but there they said that there was nothing they could do, and that he should be sent to Tongren Hospital immediately. The people stopped another minivan cab to send him over, but they wouldn’t let me get into the car. When the car left, I screamed desperately that I wanted to go along. At that point, two young people on bicycles brought me quickly to Tongren Hospital. But at the overpass at Chongwen Gate, we ran into another army unit that was entering the city, and we didn’t dare to go further. We had to wait for them to pass before we could hurry on to Tongren Hospital. The hospital was in complete chaos. When I explained the situation (with the assistance of the others), a doctor surnamed Zhao told me that they had already tried everything they could. Kneeling on the ground I clutched his leg and said, "I beg you! I beg you! He has a seven-year-old daughter!" My hands and body were covered with blood, and now the doctor had blood stains all over as well. He said in tears, "He won’t make it. We have tried every possible way to save him, but when he arrived it was already too late. He is dead, he is already in the mortuary." He was the first person dead at Tongren Hospital. (64memo.com - 89)
After a while, Doctor Zhao took me to the mortuary for identification. When he showed me the key that he had found on Zhiying’s body, my heart broke. I started screaming. The people at the hospital gave me an injection (probably a tranquilizer), and a group of kind people gathered around to comfort me. There was also a young newspaper reporter who took a picture of me. Tongren Hospital took in a lot of people with gunshot wounds. None of them survived. There was also a female college student who was in a severe state of shock. A whole crowd of us sat and cried till the next morning. A young man whose name I still don’t know helped me break the news to my family and to my daughter’s baby-sitter. When he brought me home on that fourth of June, it was already noon. That is what happened: on the way home on June 3, 1989, I lost forever my dearest Wang Zhiying. A week later he was cremated at Babaoshan. His ashes are buried at Changping Foshan Cemetery. (64memo祖國萬歲 - 2004)
After my husband died, his parents, my parents and our brothers and sisters were all heartbroken. I didn’t eat for a week, I just cried all day. I was in a trance. Every evening I expected him to come home. I kept thinking that he had gone to work, and I thought that he would come back. Surely he would come back! Some nights I was delirious and screamed his name. In one month I lost 22 pounds. My daughter was only seven years old at the time. For a few days we didn’t tell her that her father was dead. I told her on the day of the cremation. This sudden shock frightened the life out of her. She couldn’t stop crying. Her teachers at school said that in class she would just sit and stare all day, and at home she didn’t eat. We would sit together and cry. My mother had already experienced two sudden deaths. My mother-in-law was even more heartbroken. She couldn’t eat and she couldn’t sleep. After two weeks, my father-in- law suddenly lost his eyesight and had to go to the hospital for an operation. Two years later he passed away due to his excessive grief over the loss of his son. My mother-in-law’s high blood pressure and her coronary heart disease also worsened with time to the point where she could not leave the hospital anymore. I cannot describe how much grief my husband’s death caused to the entire family. (64memo.com´89)
After Zhiying’s death, life became very difficult for me and my daughter. Our income was cut by half. I earn only 66 yuan per month, with a seven-year-old daughter to raise. If I were not so fortunate as to receive regular support from my siblings and in-laws, I wouldn’t be able to get by. My daughter is now 17. How much the two of us have suffered in the past ten years, and how miserable our life has been! The disaster that June Fourth has brought on the people will never end! (64memo.com/2004)
Zhang Yanqiu
1999-01-31
Testimony of Zhang Zhenxia, mother of Zha Aiguo △ Zha Aiguo, male, was born on January 10, 1967, and died aged 22. He was unemployed. A bullet went through his skull at 10:00pm on June 3, 1989. His ashes were buried in his home town, Tianjin.
Testimony of Zhang Zhenxia, mother of Zha Aiguo:
On June 3, 1989, my son brought home some pork and asked me to make dumplings for dinner. Then he went out with his girlfriend to shop for a pair of shoes in preparation for an outing the next day. Who would have thought that he would never come back?
On the night of June 3, the army started its killing spree and bullets were flying in all directions. I was in the district of Gongzhufen and thought of going to look for my son, but with so many people on the streets, where would I begin my search? There was nothing I could do but go home. By the next day, June 4, my son had still not come home. What could I do? I was alone at home, so I asked his schoolmates and friends to search for him at every hospital. I myself went to the Navy Hospital and was told that they would help search for those who had survived, but could do nothing about those who had been killed. Did this mean that there was no way of finding the dead? It was outrageous! Could it be that they intended to cremate the corpses collectively? I went to the Water Conservancy Hospital, the Hospital No.304 and the People’s Hospital. It was such a mess at the People’s Hospital. Corpses lay everywhere. Where there was no more space, they were left in sacks in the garage. The bodies were of all ages-adults, children, young men and women. It was difficult to identify them by looking at their faces. I spent the whole day searching in vain. (64memo.com-2004)
On June 5, I finally found my son’s body at the Hospital No.301. It was in the morgue and was relatively intact. A doctor told me that a bullet had gone through his skull and that he could not have been saved. I passed out upon hearing the news. My innocent and lively son had been killed, along with so many other compatriots. The leaders had committed such a heinous crime that the infamy of their names will be recorded in history forever. (64memo.com / 89)
My son’s ashes were placed in Babaoshan Cemetery. We visit him twice a year. In 1991, when my husband, my son’s girlfriend and I went to the cemetery, we had only been there a few minutes when we were taken by the police to their station. They were afraid that we would cause a disturbance. They offered us cigarettes and showed us some color video tapes. They tried to interrogate us. Apparently they had a guilty conscience. With a twig I scratched the following words on the ground: "Pen and paper will speak in a thousand years. The children and grandchildren will eventually settle the score." They asked me to whom I was referring. I said to settle the score with whoever had killed my son. They did not pursue the subject any further and let us go. (六四檔案/89)
We used to be a very happy family. Each of my two sons had a steady girlfriend. After June Fourth, happiness abandoned our family. I suffered from extreme stress and could not go to work for six months. My husband has had a heart problem for about ten years. They were very sad and difficult times. Now I have thought it through. If I died today, who would demand justice for my son? I will keep myself healthy and continue to argue with them about my son’s case. There must be some place in this world where justice can be upheld. I will keep on trying until the day justice is done. (64memo.com - 89)
My son’s ashes were in Babaoshan Cemetery for three years. I have since taken them back to my home town. I have a doctor’s report from Hospital No.301, a death certificate and a medical certificate specifying the cause of his death. This is my son’s photo. I burned his bloody clothes, his watch and his ID card. I simply could not bear the pain of looking at those. (64memo.com/89)
Zhang Zhenxia
1999-01-31
Testimony of Zhou Shuzhuang, mother of Duan Changlong △ Duan Changlong, male, born on October 19, 1965, in Beijing. When he became a victim of the massacre of June 4, 1989, he was not yet 24 years old. His ashes have been placed in Wanan Public Cemetery in the western suburbs of Beijing. Prior to his death he was a senior student at the department of chemistry at Qinghua University. (Memoir Tiananmen - 89)
Testimony of Zhou Shuzhuang, mother of Duan Changlong:
At noon on June 3, after having an interview in the Bureau of Nuclear Technology, Changlong came back home for lunch. Since he looked so tired that I asked him to stay home overnight. He said he couldn’t stay because he had left a machine on in the laboratory and a schoolmate was taking care it for him. In addition to this, he needed to prepare for his graduation examination as well as writing his thesis. He told me he also wanted to join the student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square. He was very busy. At that moment, one of his schoolmates, referred to here as "A", came to look for him. According to A, the broadcasting station at Qinghua University was appealing to students to support the protests in Tiananmen and many students were already on their way there. (64memo.com/89)
Just then, my daughter, Duan Qi, phoned from the Emergency Center, saying she would be home late, because they were busy treating those who had been wounded by the police. After hearing this Changlong took dinner to his sister. As soon as he arrived at the Emergency Center Changlong joined in the work there. The two of them worked there for a long time. That evening they got home at 11:00 p.m. After staying at home for a little while, Changlong took his bicycle and went out again. Before leaving he took out the few coins he had and left them at home. He was carrying only his bicycle key and student card with him. That same afternoon, my younger daughter, Duan Jun, went out with A on her bicycle, simply to have a look around. (64memo中華富強 / 89)
Our home is located near to the Drum Tower, in the northwest of the city. On June 4, from 1:00 a.m. to about 3:00 a.m. early in the morning, we heard constant intensive gunfire, approaching gradually towards our place from the southwest. Many residents in this area who had gone to support the students were coming home one after another. In tears, they described the horrible scenes of how the troops had killed the people. None of my three children came home. I became anxious about their safety. I was at a loss what to do. My daughter, Duan Qi, the oldest one of my three children, had gone out on her bicycle several times to look for her sister and brother, but without success. She said later that troops and police were massed around the areas of Xidan and Nanchizi. The gunfire in the area was ceaseless, so she couldn’t get through to look for her sister and brother. I started to feel something must be wrong. I became very weak. I ran back home from the alley, and sat on the sofa and in a stupefied state. The intensive gunfire from outside made me feel as if each bullet had hit my heart. I huddled myself up and covered my ears with my hands. I stayed in this way until daybreak. I couldn’t keep myself under control. My heart was pounding all the time, and I found it hard to breathe. Even the clothes I wore became a burden to me. I ran out of my home like a mad person. I kept telling everyone I met that none of my three children had come home. (64memo.com-2004)
On the morning of June 4th, past nine o’clock, finally Duan Jun and A found their way back from Tiananmen Square. Changlong had not been with them, they said. They had stayed in the southeast of Tiananmen Square under the flag of Qinghua University. If Changlong had gone to Tiananmen Square, certainly he should have been with them there. They guessed that Changlong had ridden his bicycle directly to west Chang’an Boulevard. In the afternoon, we telephoned the university, asking anxiously about Changlong. Good Heavens! This was when we found out that my son was no longer in this world! (64memo反貪倡廉 - 89)
Changlong was killed on the morning of June 4. A student from Beijing Medical College carried him to the Posts Hospital. This student didn’t give his name; we haven’t been able to contact him. The hospital administration deduced that Changlong had been killed in Xidan, in the neighborhood of the Minorities Palace. When Changlong was carried in, a Qinghua student happened to be there. This student copied down Changlong’s name as well as class number on one of his trouser legs. Then, in the early morning he ran back to the university to report Changlong’s death, and the news immediately spread all over the campus. The university administration had sent someone to the hospital to collect Changlong’s body. The hospital said they had received an order from the higher authorities, that the government would deal with all the dead bodies, and no interference would be admitted! (64memo中華富強´89)
After being told this, our relatives and friends went to the hospital on the morning of June 5. There they had Changlong’s body treated with a preservative and they cut a lock of his hair as a memento. According to the hospital, Changlong had been shot at short range by a small caliber weapon. He had been hit in the left aorta of his heart. (64memo.com-89)
When our relatives and friends determined that the situation was less tense, they came and brought us to the hospital. In an attempt to save me from further shock, they took off Changlong’s blood-soaked clothes, and hid them somewhere. After putting new clothes on Changlong, we were let in to say farewell to my son. When we walked in to the mortuary, there were 26 corpses lying in the room. I saw Changlong lying still on a wooden board. He seemed as though he was in a deep sleep. Only his face was very pale and there was no breath from his nose and mouth. His barely-opened eyes gave him the appearance of trying to say something to those who were dear to him. I carefully put my hands on his eyes to close them. I said to him, "Goodbye my dear son! Every year on the anniversary of your death Mama will visit you in the cemetery!" I had lost the ability to cry. I only felt that my dear Changlong was back again in my arms. I kissed his ice-cold face, his ice-cold hands and his ice-cold feet. My heart became piercingly cold. All the blood vessels in my body were as if forming into a layer of ice. My whole body was numb with sadness. When the others supported me away, suddenly I realized that I would be parted forever from my son. All my grief and anger burst out. Our whole family cried out loudly together. Even strangers who happened to be there cried with us. Several young people waved their fists, and said to me, "Soon or later, this debt of blood must be paid in blood!" (六四檔案´89)
The ambulance from Qinghua University had been waiting for a while outside the mortuary. The school drew up an agreement with the Municipal Education Administration and the Health Bureau after a discussion. They agreed to let Changlong’s body to be brought back to Qinghua University. On June 6, a memorial meeting was held there in the morning, and a farewell ceremony was held in the afternoon, then followed with cremation at Babaoshan. At Babaoshan, some people made a wreath from pine boughs for Changlong. On June 9, we took his ashes and put them at the Wanan Public Cemetery in the western suburbs. (六四檔案-89)
When Changlong was born his father had already reached 44. From 1965 to 1989, as Changlong grew from a baby into a youth, we as his parents tried our best to raise him well. Just when he was going to finish his studies at the university and would start to become the main supporter of our family, an evil bullet took away his life. His death was a destructive assault on his family. After his death, my husband and I were left old and ailing like candles guttering in the wind. Now, we depend on each other for survival. Seeing others with their sons and daughters and their grandchildren, we feel as if a knife is cutting into our hearts. Especially on rainy nights, when we look at our only son’s photo our yearning for him deepens. Days wear on like years to us. And recalling the past becomes unbearable. (64memo中華富強-89)
All through his short life, Changlong moved towards his goals in a steady, sure way. He always wanted to serve his country after finishing his university studies. He cared about his society. He was warm and sincere to his friends. He was very concerned about the future of his beloved country. Since he was a primary school student, he had always been very capable in dealing with work, as well as being responsible. Everyone who knew him in his days at high school and university can recall some things about him which touched them deeply, particularly after he entered university and became more mature. I remember in something he wrote, he said, "I have only stepped on to the platform of patriotism, but the proof should be in what I do there... I am not just someone who preaches to others... Just watch what I do in the future!" In 1989, during the student campaign for democracy and freedom, and against corruption, he was always bravely standing at the forefront. In the small hours of June 4, with a deep sense of the righteousness of this cause, he again stepped forward to oppose the brutal repression, trying to stop the killers’ bullets with the flesh and blood of his own body. Changlong did not die from disease or in a car accident, but for love of his country. He died in the belief that "everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of his own nation." However, the people in power not only tried to shield their faults but also made slanderous accusations against innocent students and people, calling their peaceful demonstrations "turmoil." The authorities brought in hundreds of thousands of troops, using machine guns, tanks and armored vehicles to massacre students and the people who were entirely defenseless. In a time of peace, the authorities massacred people, with dead bodies spread over Chang’an Boulevard, splashing blood all over Beijing. The authorities caused an unprecedented tragedy! (64memo.com´89)
Following the deaths of these innocent children, the authorities did not relax surveillance over their families. Every year during such times as April 5 (Qing Ming), June Fourth and the other the so-called "sensitive times," the authorities come and ask to "chat" with us. They send security officers and plain-clothes police watch us in our homes. These police officers even follow us to the cemetery. Their doing so puts us under even more pressure and made us feel more mournful and angry. In the early years their surveillance almost caused us to break down. Now, ten years has passed, and we still live on. On the one hand, we feel very grateful to those who have cared about us, helped us and supported us. On the other hand, with the time passing by we have become calmer, more objective and more thoughtful. We finally awake to the fact that we should not tolerate such injustice; we should defend our dignity; we should exercise our human rights; we should get justice for the dead who are dear to us. (Memoir Tiananmen / 89)
Zhou Shuzhuang
1999-01-31
More...
|
|