Sydney Uniting Church holds "June 4th" prayer meeting for 35 years to support Chinese democracy movement

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For 35 consecutive years, Pastor Bill Crews has held prayer meetings at his Ashfield Uniting Church in Sydney to commemorate the victims of the Tiananmen Massacre in 1989. Pastor Crews firmly believes that the human spirit of advocating freedom will one day overthrow the totalitarian system.

"We pray and mourn for those who died in the Tiananmen Massacre."

Pastor Cruz held a prayer meeting on May 26 to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the "1989 Democracy Movement". He told our station that the spirit of the "1989 Democracy Movement" in China for freedom is still of great significance to human society today.

"There will always be some people, somewhere, who want to take away other people's freedom. We have to stand up to it."

Pastor Cruz emphasized that he insisted on continuing the spirit of the "1989 Democracy Movement" and refused to forget.

"We mourn the memory of those who fought for freedom and whose spirits were suppressed; we must ensure that they live on."

Dawa Sangmo, the liaison officer of the Central Tibetan Administration in Australia, also participated in the prayer meeting. She told our station that the Dalai Lama had already voiced support for the Tiananmen students in 1989, and Tibetans have always supported the demands for democracy in China. She mentioned that she participated in the Christian prayer meeting hosted by Pastor Cruz because the Tibetans value peace and freedom enough to transcend religious boundaries.

“Tibetans are victims of religious oppression; in fact, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has devoted his life to promoting harmonious relations among different religions; as his followers and as Buddhists, we undoubtedly feel the powerful force of harmony across religions.”

After the prayer meeting, mourners lined up to lay flowers at the "Goddess of Democracy" statue erected in the front yard of the church; then, they participated in a seminar organized by the "Australia and New Zealand Alliance of Victims of the Chinese Communist Regime". At the meeting, Chinese democracy activists, Falun Gong members, Hong Kong protest groups, Tibetan representatives, and "post-00" international students from China spoke. The host of this seminar, Feng Chongyi, a famous Chinese studies scholar at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), told this station that fighting for freedom and human rights is a universal value shared by different ethnic groups. He said: "Because we have common ideals, common concepts, and common enemies - the CCP is the common enemy of mankind; we must continue to work hard and join hands to end the CCP's tyranny as soon as possible."

Chen Yonglin, former political consul of the Chinese Consulate General in Sydney, told this station that the disintegration of the totalitarian government is a necessary process for gaining freedom. He said: "First, the CCP must be disintegrated."

A Chinese student named "Sydney Winnie" (pseudonym) told our station that he has publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the CCP's totalitarian politics in Australia many times. His family in China has been threatened by the authorities recently:

"To be honest, I am still worried. But what is strange is that after Wang Yi's last visit (in March), my family has not received any threats. It was only during that period, including before he (Wang Yi) came, that my parents asked me strangely, as if reading a script, not to attend any activities from Monday to Friday."

Despite the intimidation his family suffered, "Sydney Winnie" refused to forget the 1989 student movement.

"June 4th was a great attempt for China's democratization process. Even if it did not succeed in the end, it showed the world that the Chinese people have the determination and courage to pursue freedom."

Pastor Cruz firmly believes that the human spirit of advocating freedom cannot be eliminated, and it will always gather into a huge energy. He said: "Political and military forces can support a system, but human freedom is a spirit that will eventually blow down the powerful, and freedom will eventually come."

On the evening of June 4 this year, there will be a rally and march in front of the Chinese Consulate General in Sydney to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the 1989 student movement and the 5th anniversary of the Hong Kong anti-extradition movement.

The above audio of Pastor Cruz and Dawasam is read by artificial intelligence software.