Tiananmen Mothers
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The Tiananmen Mothers is a group of Chinese democracy activists promoting a change in the government's position over the suppression of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
It is led by Nobel Peace Prize nominee Ding Zilin, a retired university professor whose teenage son was shot and killed by government troops during the protests.[1]
In 2000, the campaign was officially launched, demanding:
- The right to mourn peacefully in public;
- The right to accept humanitarian aid from organizations and individuals inside and outside China;
- No more persecution of victims, including those injured in the shootings and the families of the dead;
- The release of all people still in prison for their role in the 1989 protests; and
- A full, public accounting for the shootings
Ding Zilin, Zhang Xianling, who lost her 19-year-old son, and Huang Jinping, who lost her 30-year-old husband were detained in March 2004. Authorities first denied the arrests, but later said they had been detained for engaging in what were described as illegal activities sponsored by overseas forces. They were released later in the week but remained under close surveillance in the run-up to the 15th anniversary of the protests.
The women have been under what advocates describe as house arrest. All their calls are monitored and they are told not to talk to other activists, with foreign media, and with human rights organizations.
Analysts say pressure by groups like the Tiananmen Mothers may eventually lead to some acknowledgment of the deaths during the crackdown, such as a plaque placed on the square, but most agree that will not come soon.
In 2006, the Tiananmen Mothers called for "a process of truth and reconciliation" over what the government did in Tiananmen Square.[2]
