Moolenaar: “On This Day in 1989, the CCP Turned the Heavenly Gate Into a Hell on Earth”

Today, Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar delivered remarks at the U.S. Capitol on the the 37th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. 

As prepared for delivery.

Good morning.

Thank you all for being here. As America celebrates its 250^th anniversary we know the founding principles of our country have inspired people around the world to demand their governments recognize their God-given rights and liberties.

That was true on this day 37 years ago in Tiananmen Square, where tens of thousands of innocent Chinese people dreaming of a better life for their country gathered to seek freedom and democracy.

They carried with them a belief that all are created equal with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 

Sadly, the Chinese Communist Party does not share that belief. It denies these rights to its citizens because it is weak and scared. 

Its broken ideology believes free expression must be oppressed. It does not have confidence in its ideas, it denies the existence of faith, and it censors the truth.

Even today, its leaders look at the prosperous and free lives of Americans and western nations, and they actively decide to punish their own people with oppression, genocide, and censorship.

The CCP crushes dissent at home, and chases courageous activists abroad, using transnational repression to harass and intimidate those who speak out against Xi and his failures.

It is on the wrong side of history, and it will be remembered for its massacres, its tyranny, and its oppression.

Literally translated, Tiananmen means “Heavenly Gate,” but on this day in 1989, the CCP turned the Heavenly Gate into a hell on Earth.

Tiananmen is now synonymous with the massacre of innocent people who wanted freedom. The enduring image – the one the CCP couldn’t censor – is a man courageously standing before the tanks, firm in his belief for liberty. 

Even though the CCP censors history and tries to cover up its crimes, we know innocent lives perished that day. They were slaughtered for believing in the values all of us here know to be true.

Our special guests today, Arthur Liu and Yan Xiong lived this history in 1989.

Yan Xiong studied law in Beijing in 1989 when he led student protests at Tiananmen. He was arrested by the CCP and held in a maximum-security prison for 19 months.

Sneaking out of mainland China in 1992 with the help of Operation Yellowbird, he made it to British-controlled Hong Kong, and then on to America, where he was granted political asylum.

He later served as a chaplain in the U.S. Army, serving alongside brave men and women who share his belief that our freedoms are worth fighting for.

A few years ago, when he ran for office, the CCP targeted him once again, threatening him and his campaign.

The very idea of his campaign was a threat to the CCP and its belief that Chinese people do not deserve freedom and democracy.

Arthur Liu also led protests in China in June of 1989. 

He led protests and hunger strikes in southern China, and his activism earned him a spot on the CCP’s most-wanted list.

He had to flee the country, again with the help of Operation Yellowbird, and also made it to Hong Kong. 

From there he went to America, where he rebuilt his life and raised his children.

Decades later though, the CCP would not let him live in peace.

In a story that is all too common in our country, the CCP took advantage of our free and open society to travel around our country and target the Chinese diaspora community.

In 2022, the Department of Justice charged five people with targeting Arthur, Yan, and other pro-democracy leaders living here in America.

This transnational repression is a trademark of the CCP, and it uses it relentlessly to target courageous individuals including those who are with us here today who continue to speak out about the CCP’s abuses.

Arthur has refused to back down, and earlier this year, his story of challenging the CCP was shared with millions of people around the world when his daughter skated into the history books as an Olympic Champion for Team USA.

Arthur, Yan, and countless others have carried the spirit of the martyrs of Tiananmen forward through the years, and they never give up the dream that one day the people of China will be able to enjoy their God-given rights, living in freedom and liberty.