China

Below is a speech that trade union activist and feminst Winnie Ng is giving to the Toronto and York District Labour Council on June 4

During the spring of 1989, thousands of students and workers occupied the Tiananmen Square calling for an end to corruption, freedom of speech and political reform. At the height of the protest, 1 million plus people were demonstrating across the country with such fervent hope for human rights and democracy in China.  At first the Chinese government let the protest be then on June 4, 1989, they launched a bloody military crackdown where as many as 2,000 students and workers were killed.

Today is the 20th Anniversary of the massacre at Tianamen Square.  Imagine how the world might have been different if those students and workers who so bravely faced down soldiers and tanks would have triumphed in their demands for a more democratic society.