Ann Noonan’s Speech at the 34th Anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre in NY

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Ann Noonan                      6-4-2023

 

Event commemorating the 34th anniversary of June 4 in Flushing, New York

Venue: In front of Queens Public Library at Flushing on Main Street and Kissena Blvd

 

(Ann Noonan giving a speech with pastor translating next to her.)

Thank you for inviting me to attend this event today to lend my voice, on behalf of the Committee for US International Broadcasting, in memory of the thousands of students and freedom fighters who tragically lost their lives in the pursuit of democracy in China 34 years ago.

 

In the words of the late Claudia Rosett, who reported from Tiananmen Square in June, 1989: “With this slaughter, China’s communist government has uncloaked itself before the world.”

 

It sure did.

 

The world watched these events unfold on our televisions. We prayed for the students who only wanted the same freedoms and democracy and human rights that we here in the United States enjoy and often take for granted.

 

I invite everyone gathered today and those who have outreach to the US Congress Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party to strengthen and reinforce the mission of the US Agency for Global Media by better funding and utilizing all of the resources available at Voice of America Cantonese, Mandarin and Tibetan Services, as well as Radio Free Asia.

 

This soft diplomatic power can help people in Mainland China, in Hong Kong, in Tibet and in the Xinjiang Province, formerly known as East Timor. We can give people in these various regions of the world hope by supporting democracy and basic human rights, including freedom of speech.

 

This US international soft power, which our taxpayer dollars support, can be extremely effective in preserving the history of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, and keeping hope alive for the Tiananmen Mothers, and for those who survived June 4th.

 

The Committee for US International Broadcasting supports ongoing efforts to prevent China’s government from pressuring and regulating news reports from Voice of America and Radio Free Asia.

 

We are proud of recent efforts to open the world’s only Tiannamen Square Museum here in New York and congratulate its founders.

 

I pray that the memory of June 4 will remain in the hearts and minds of Americans, and that our efforts as a nation will help to address the injustice that we all witnessed.

 

Thank you.