Tiananmen Mothers: Endless grief

The Tiananmen Mothers (Chinese: 天安门母亲) is a group of Chinese democracy activists promoting a change in the government’s position over the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. It is led by Ding Zilin, a retired university professor whose teenage son was shot and killed by government troops during the protests. The group – comprising the parents, friends and relatives of victims of the massacre – formed in September 1989 when Ding, along with her husband Jiang Peikun, met another mother, Zhang Xianling, whose 19-year-old son was also killed on June 4, 1989.^[1] As well as campaigning, the group also disseminates information about the events to the public, including through the internet.^[1] Currently, the group consists of relatives of 125 individuals killed during the protests.^[2] For her efforts, Ding has been hailed as an “advocate for the dead”.^[3]

Prior to June 1989, Ding Zilin was a Philosophy professor at the People’s University and a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). On June 3, 1989, her 17-year-old son Jiang Jielian was killed on his way to Tiananmen Square. Ding launched a one-woman campaign to establish what had happened to her son and those who were killed that night.^[5] The government had put her under surveillance and Ding experienced harassment as she met with other victims families.^[5] Describing the organisation, Ding announced that the group were “a common group of citizens brought together by a shared fate and suffering”.^[5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Mothers