Hush money

The Tiananmen Mothers have been trying for years to create a dialogue with the Chiense government about the reality and truth of what happened to their relatives in Tiananmen Square over 20 years ago. But all attempts have been fruitless.

But now authorities and security forces have publicly offered to pay compensation to the relatives of those who died in the bloody attack. A representative of the authorities has approached one family three times this year, according to an open letter of the Tiananmen Mothers published just days before the anniversary of Tiananmen Square Massacre. According to the Mothers, the representative was trying to find out how much money the family wanted. But the family declined all offers. The man had not spoken of an official examination or investigation – things that the Tiananmen Mothers have been demanding years.

In an interview with a public German broadcaster, Ding Zilin, the 74-year-old spokeswoman of the Mothers, appeared shocked and appalled at the authorities’ offer, saying while the group welcomed the fact that families had been contacted, the authorities "should not approach us in this manner. Our relatives were killed on government orders, so the government should set up official offices for us. We simply can’t bargain with security police who have had us under surveillance for the past 20 years. That is insult and we won’t accept it."

Buying silence

The Mothers also oppose secret talks between the police and the families. Ding Ziling says she won’t let the group be divided or bought. Ding’s 17-year-old son was killed in the Massacre of June, 1989. She says that over the past 20 years the group has made its demands known and that group members were oppressed for that. She says, "we have gone through a lot. And now they want to silence us with cash. Its not going to happen and it is proof just how little the Communist Party thinks of us."

The Mothers assume that the police were just testing the waters by offering money. They think the officials just wanted to see if the problem could be buried under money. But they say that it also shows how nervous the authorities are getting, especially with the Arab Spring going on.

Nervous officials

For years, the Tiananmen Mothers have been demanding a public hearing for the massacre that happed 22 years ago. They demand a comprehensive investigation into each case, financial compensation for the families that were torn apart by the massacre as well as the right to mourn in public.

Over the years, the Mothers have been able to identify 203 people who died on June 4, but they assume there were many more victims. Though there are no official figures on the number of people who died in the Tiananmen Massacre, rights groups estimate that hundreds, if not thousands, of unarmed demonstrators were killed by military forces between June 3 and 4, 1989. To this day, talking about the massacre is tabu in China. Up until a few years ago, the Chinese government referred to the student movement as a "counter revolutionary conspiracy." Now, the government speaks of the "political unrest" of June, 1989.

Author: Ruth Kirchner (sb)
Editor: Ziphora Robina