Tiananmen at 30: Examining the Evolution of Repression in China

Please join the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for a congressional hearing hosted by the House Foreign Affairs Committee titled “Tiananmen at 30: Examining the Evolution of Repression in China.”

In 1989, citizens in China from all walks of life participated in demonstrations that swept throughout the country including Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The peaceful demonstrators called upon the Chinese government to eliminate corruption, accelerate economic and political reform, and protect human rights, particularly the freedoms of expression and assembly. The government's violent suppression of the demonstrations, its ongoing censorship of any public discussion of Tiananmen and the failure to allow a public accounting of what happened in June 1989, have had far-reaching consequences for Chinese society and U.S.-China relations. On the 30th anniversary of the pro-democracy protests, the hearing will review the events in China in 1989, the aspirations of the “Tiananmen generation,” and the censorship and lack of accountability by the Chinese government. Witnesses will also examine the ways the legacy of Tiananmen has contributed to the evolution of repression in China under the leadership of President Xi Jinping and offer recommendations on how U.S. policy can effectively support the people of China. 

The hearing video is archived on the CECC’s YouTube Channel.

Hearing Transcript