中文版在后

Last week, Alysa Liu’s Olympic performance sparked an outpouring of positive commentary, both for her skill on the ice and for the history her story represents. On social media platforms, many young Chinese netizens expressed that it was the experiences of Liu, and her father, Arthur Liu Jun, that made them seriously contemplate the Tiananmen Square Massacre, also known as June Fourth, for the first time.

One netizen wrote that because of Liu’s father’s story, they read about the entire development of the 1989 pro-democracy movement, and were “simply shocked. It was heartbreaking and shocking. I was shocked that a demonstration of millions could exist, and also shocked by the brutality of the People’s Liberation Army directly shooting and crushing people with tanks.” For this person and others, they discovered that history was not just a blank page in textbooks, but a real national memory that had been deliberately obscured.

Online discussion highlighted that the greatest social significance of Liu’s victory may not only be her athletic achievement, but rather that she acts as an unblockable information coordinate, prompting more Chinese people to actively search for and understand the truth about “8964” (June 4, 1989). Her existence proves that no matter how hard the censorship system tries to hide history, what happened will ultimately be remembered. Some netizens even exclaimed, “So, there really are people who want to learn about this history because of her.”

Because Arthur Liu, Alysa Liu’s father, was rescued by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China’s “Operation Yellow Bird,” many netizens gained a deeper understanding of the history of this cross-border rescue operation. Arthur Liu once said, “My original name was Liu Junguo, but after fleeing to the United States, I lost my country, so I changed my name to Liu Jun.” (In Mandarin, guo means “country”). This calm statement reveals the heavy reality of exiles losing their homeland and identity.

Because of shared experiences dating back to the 1989 pro-democracy movement, HRIC’s Executive Director Fengsuo Zhou has been a close family friend of the Lius for decades. He reflected, “It is deeply moving to see the next generation flourish under the protection and freedoms of the United States. I am profoundly proud of Alysa.”

Yet even in the United States, many exiles face the pervasive risk of transnational repression from the CCP. When Alysa Liu traveled to Beijing to participate in a competition, she required security protection from US federal agencies. This serves as a reminder that history has not faded away—pressure from the CCP continues to impact people’s lives even today.

In Hong Kong, national security crackdowns have targeted those who once kept the memory of the Tiananmen Massacre alive. Jimmy Lai, who supported student protests in Hong Kong, was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role as a pro-democracy advocate. Chow Hang-tung, the vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, is currently imprisoned for upholding justice and long supporting the commemoration of the Tiananmen Massacre.

 

Some commentators discussed the absurdity of the CCP’s forced erasure of the past. In Stan Lai’s play A Dream Like a Dream, for example, the character “Jiang Hong” was originally portrayed as a student who lost her boyfriend during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, but this historical context was completely removed during performances in mainland China. History was systematically rewritten, and the character’s profound trauma from that era “lost its source,” becoming a rootless pain. This severing of memory is yet another form of harm.

On the Chinese internet, many online commenters use shorthand or slang terms to discuss so-called “sensitive” topics: phrases like “that goddess” (referring to the Goddess of Democracy on Tiananmen Square in 1989), “little flame,” and “great Chinese university students,” represent the spiritual flame of the 1989 pro-democracy movement. This national memory has never been truly and successfully erased. It may be suppressed or obscured, but it still continues to circulate, quietly igniting across generations.

The right to memory is one of the most fundamental human rights. If a society cannot openly discuss its own past, then the rule of law and justice lose their foundation. The continued censorship and systematic deletion of the June Fourth Massacre not only inflicts secondary harm on the victims and their families, but also deprives society as a whole of its capacity for understanding.

For over thirty years, Human Rights in China has been committed to helping the Tiananmen Mothers and other victims of the June Fourth Massacre, preserving the historical facts of 1989, and supporting the continuation of grassroots memory and the preservation of archives. We consistently advocate for the core principles of “truth, reparation, and accountability,” promoting open investigation, reasonable compensation for victims, and repercussions for those responsible.

Despite intense censorship and repression, the new generation continues to actively seek the truth. This is itself a manifestation of the resilience of civil society. Historical memory should not be dictated by those in power, nor should it be permanently sealed away. Human Rights in China calls for an end to the suppression of historical memory, for the protection of freedom of speech and information, and for citizens’ right to inquire about history and express their opinions freely to be respected. Only when the truth can be openly discussed can society achieve genuine reconciliation and progress.

 

 

【冬奥花滑冠军 #刘美贤 唤醒尘封 #六四 记忆】

在海内外社交网络平台，许多年轻网友表示：是刘美贤以及她的父亲刘俊的经历，让他们第一次认真去了解六四的来龙去脉。

有网友写道，因为刘美贤父亲的故事，自己第一次完整地看了一遍八九民运的发展全过程，“只有震撼两个字可以说出来。非常心痛，也非常震惊。原来可以有百万人的游行存在，也震惊于人民解放军直接射杀、坦克碾压人民的残忍。”历史不再只是课本里空白的一页，而是一段真实发生、却被刻意遮蔽的民族记忆。

也有网友提到，刘美贤的出现与夺冠，其最大的社会意义或许并非体育成绩本身，而是犹如一个无法被屏蔽的信息坐标，促使更多中国人主动去搜索并了解“8964”的真相。她的存在让人真切意识到——无论审查制度如何用力隐藏历史，发生过的一切，终究有人记得。

评论区中，还有人提及那些为六四承担代价的人。因为刘俊是被香港支联会组织的“黄雀行动”营救出来的，许多网友也因此进一步了解这场跨境营救行动的历史。刘俊曾说：“我本名刘俊国，但流亡美国后，就没有了国家，于是改名刘俊。”这句平静的话语，道出了流亡者失去故土与身份的沉重现实。

与此同时，曾经在香港支持抗议学生的黎智英，因2019年的事件被重判20年，96岁才能刑满；长期支持悼念活动的支联会，其新生代副主席邹幸彤也因坚持公义身陷囹圄。墙外人尽皆知的历史，在墙内却成了集体失语的空白。无论什么立场，知道，总比被迫无知要好。

更有网友感叹：“原来真的会有人因为她，去了解这段历史。”这本身，或许已经是一种深远而持久的意义。

同时，也有评论谈到历史被强制抹除所衍生的荒诞。以话剧《如梦之梦》为例，剧中角色“江红”原本设定为痛失男友的六四流亡学生，但在中国大陆演出时，这一时代背景被彻底删除。历史被系统性阉割，角色身上的巨大时代创伤“没有了来处”，沦为无根的痛楚。这种对记忆的切割，本身就是另一种伤害。

在墙内，许多网友依然勇敢地用隐喻守护记忆——“那座女神”（指八九年天安门广场上的民主女神）、“小火苗”、“伟大的中国大学生”等词语，指代八九民运的精神薪火。这份民族记忆，从来没有被真正成功抹去。它或许被压低、被遮蔽，但它仍在流传，在不同世代之间悄然点燃。

历史不会因为删除而消失。记忆不会因为沉默而终结。

中国人权社论

中国人权认为，记忆权是公民最基本的人权之一。一个社会若无法公开讨论自身历史，无法面对曾经发生的重大公共事件，那么法治与公义也将失去坚实的基础。对六四历史的持续封锁与系统性删除，不仅是对遇难者与家属的二次伤害，更是对整个社会认知能力的剥夺。

三十多年来，中国人权长期致力于帮助天安门母亲等六四屠杀受害者群体，保存八九六四的历史事实，支持民间记忆的延续与档案的保存。我们始终倡导以“真相、补偿、问责”为核心原则，推动对历史事件的公开调查、对受害者的合理补偿以及对相关责任的追究。唯有如此，社会创伤才可能真正得到疗愈，公共正义才可能重建。

我们注意到，在高度审查与压制之下，新的世代依然通过各种方式主动寻找真相。这种自发的历史追问，本身就是公民社会韧性的体现。历史记忆不应由权力决定其存续，更不应被技术手段永久封存。

中国人权呼吁：停止对历史记忆的压制，保障言论与信息自由，尊重公民追问历史与表达立场的权利。只有在真相能够被公开讨论的前提下，社会才可能实现真正的和解与进步。