Talk in June 4th 37 anniversary： May Love, Compassion, and Wisdom Forever Remain Under Heaven and Earth

Speaker: Giovanni Vassallo, President of the Bay Area Friends of Tibet & Co-founder of the Bay Area Chinese and Tibetan Friendship Group

Good evening, dear Chinese brothers and sisters!

My name is Giovanni Vassallo. I am honored to stand before you today as one of the founding members of the Bay Area Friends of Tibet, and as a co-founder of the Bay Area Chinese and Tibetan Friendship Group, which first began meeting back in 2009. Thank you so much for having me here today.

I stand here today deeply inspired by the enduring spirit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, as well as the spirit of the late Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Liu Xiaobo.

First and foremost, I offer my most sincere prayers for those who tragically lost their lives around the June 4th, 1989 event—those heroes who died for the cause of freedom, democracy, and human rights in Tiananmen Square and all across China. In Tibetan Buddhist circles, we hold a sacred prayer: Om Mani Padme Hum. It means, with my heart—with my entire body, speech, and mind—may love, compassion, and wisdom forever and ever remain with all under heaven and earth.

According to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, these very ideals of freedom, democracy, and human rights are the core principles that serve as the true source of peace and stability in our world. Immediately after the June 4th massacre, His Holiness publicly expressed his profound sadness and disappointment. He openly offered his condolences, sympathy, and unwavering support to the victims and their loved ones who are still suffering from grief to this day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZlvFymECl8

Those comments deeply angered the Beijing government, which cut off all contact with him for years. Yet, His Holiness willingly sacrificed his own political momentum for a free Tibet for the sake of what was right—standing up for his Chinese brothers and sisters who were being repressed by their own government.

I was personally horrified back in 1989 when I watched the television screen myself and saw what was unfolding in Beijing on NBC. I was shocked that the Chinese government could act so brutally against its own people. Tragically, it was a brutality that I had already known for years from what was happening in occupied Tibet. Just a few months prior, in March 1989, at least 70 Tibetans were shot dead and at least 1,000 were detained. What happened in Tibet that month served as a grim rehearsal for what would take place on June 4th. On that fateful day, Tibetans joined hands with their Chinese brothers and sisters, and some Tibetans were shot alongside them. Today, Tibet remains a living hell on earth.

But make no mistake. Even according to the General Secretary of the Communist Party at the time, Zhao Ziyang, the students involved in the Tiananmen Square movement were neither anti-communist nor anti-socialist. They spoke up in defense of Chinese constitutional rights, and they stood firmly against corruption. We will always remember this catastrophic event, and we will forever honor the extraordinary bravery of all those who took part in the 1989 freedom protests. We salute all of you here today, and everyone around the world who continues to stand up for the principles for which those heroes gave their lives on June 4th.

Today, we also stand here in absolute solidarity with the recent statement from the Tiananmen Mothers. Commemorating this 37th anniversary, we fully back and support their three core demands:

Disclose the full truth of the June 4th massacre.

Provide just compensation for the victims and their families.

Hold those responsible legally accountable in accordance with the law.

We echo their call that the present leaders of the People’s Republic of China must uphold the selfless spirit of Hu Yaobang and find the moral courage to correct these tragic historical errors.

As a dedicated friend to both the Chinese and Tibetan peoples, I call upon the Chinese government to:

Respect basic human rights: Respect the freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. Cease the harassment and arbitrary detention of individuals who dare to challenge the official state narrative of June 4th, 1989.

Allow independent monitoring: Immediately allow unfettered, independent access to China, Tibet, and Uyghur areas for international human rights experts. End the systemic criminalization of the vital work of human rights defenders.

Release prisoners of conscience: Immediately release all individuals subjected to the unlawful and unjustified deprivation of liberty. We demand the immediate release of Jimmy Lai, Tara Zhang Yadi, the Panchen Lama, and all Tibetan and Chinese political prisoners.

Repeal oppressive laws: Withdraw all fraudulent “ethnic unity” laws and national security laws that directly denigrate the very ideals the people in the Tiananmen Square movement stood up and fought for.

I also want to take a moment to honor and remember Dr. Liu Xiaobo once again. The 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner, he was imprisoned until his final days for his courage in supporting the Tiananmen Square protests and for drafting Charter 08—a historic manifesto calling for peaceful political reform in China. At the same time, we mourn the devastating loss of freedom in Hong Kong, where the right to hold the annual June 4th candlelit vigil in Victoria Park has been banned for so long.

So much more needs to be done. The international community’s response must rise to match the immense courage and conviction of all those who resist China’s human rights abuses from within the country. The Chinese government must listen to the voices of those it rules over. It must resolve the Tibet-China conflict. It must listen to its own people, to the Tiananmen Mothers, and to all of us here today who are truly standing up for the future of China and Tibet.

As His Holiness the Dalai Lama wisely noted, a policy of openness and realism is what will bring greater trust and harmony within China, and it is what will truly enhance its international standing as a genuinely great nation.

Therefore, today I stand here not only to pray for the dead, but to champion all the living victims and survivors of Tiananmen Square.

I demand freedom in China! I demand democracy in China! I demand human rights in China!

And together, we say: Free China! Free China! Free China now! Free China now!

Let us change it together. Thank you.

Editor：Ginger Duan with help of Gemini

校对：麦子