Memorial to the victims of 60 years of
Peoples Republic of China
On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong announced the founding of the Peoples
Republic of China.
Today, on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the
Peoples Republic of China, we mourn the deaths of 70 million Chinese
who died in the greatest genocide of human history.
70 million
We mourn those killed during the violent days
of land redistribution
when people were agitated into murderous frenzies against their fellow
human beings labeled as being landowners, rich peasants and
bourgeoisie.
We remember those intellectuals who answered the call of the Hundred
Flowers Movement to speak freely about their government only to find
that they were trapped during the anti-rightist campaign.
We mourn the 38 million men, women and children who died in the
greatest man made famine in human history as a result of the wanton
disregard of human lives under Mao during the Great Leap Forward.
We mourn the millions who died during the Cultural Revolution.
We mourn the millions who were tortured and died in the laogai labor
camps.
We mourn the deaths of the Buddhists, Taoists, Tibetans, Catholics,
Protestants, Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghur Muslims, and many others
who were persecuted and died when they struggled for their right to
freedom of religion.
We mourn those who were slaughtered during the Tiananmen Massacre and the
subsequent executions which followed.
We grieve with their families.
70 million human beings perished.
Such intentional behavior by the government of the Peoples Republic of
China in the treatment of its citizens must not continue in the 21st
century.
We demand for the people of the Peoples Republic of China their rights
to Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Press, Freedom of Religion and all
other Freedoms as stated in the United Nations Declaration of Human
Rights.
We demand the release of all Prisoners of Conscience.
We demand the release of all Political Prisoners.
We demand that China's history record an official apology from its
government for past transgressions against 70 million human beings and
their families..
We look forward to a peaceful and prosperous China whose citizens will
live in a nation that respects basic human rights and respects the
inherent dignity of human life that all people deserve and be proud of.