Washington DC — Citizen Power for China (CPFC, aka Initiatives for China) announced today Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s “enthusiastic support” for the Global Prayer Day for China, an initiative launched by CPFC to honor the memory of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, which took place 25 years ago this summer in China.
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Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Dr. Yang meeting after Yang’s release from Chinese prison in 2007.
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On June 4, 1989, a protest movement of millions seeking democracy, peace, and freedom in China ended violently with the horrific slaughter of hundreds or thousands on the streets of Beijing by China’s national military. On the 25th anniversary of the massacre, CPFC urges diverse religious groups around the world to join in prayer for the victims, the Chinese people and their leaders, as well as for repentance and reconciliation.
In his message to Dr. YANG Jianli, founder and president of CPFC and himself a Tiananmen Massacre survivor and former political prisoner, Archbishop Tutu sent his warm greetings and expressed his solidarity with the Chinese people, believing that the Global Prayer Day for China is an important event that can “ensure that the spirit of those who died in Tiananmen Square 25 years ago lives on.”
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| Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Dr. Yang meeting after Yang’s release from Chinese prison in 2007. |
“Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has been a life-long world leader for human rights and an unwavering supporter of the Chinese people’s struggle for freedom, democracy and basic rights,” said CPFP President, Dr. YANG Jianli. “With his leadership and guidance, I am sure that the Global Prayer Day for China will be a great success.”
“China’s rapid ascent to power and wealth since June 4, 1989, has been left untempered by ethical, moral, and spiritual foundations. It’s rise has brought with it new depths of secularism, materialism, and cynicism. This moral and spiritual vacuum has created a crisis of humanity in China, one in which human dignity is regularly considered subordinate to relentless material gain,” added Dr. YANG. “As more and more and more religious leaders join our effort, the strength of faith from all the spiritual people around the world will surely fill the vacuum, and bring hope to the Chinese people and give wisdom and repentance to their leaders, so that together they can achieve the dream of a democratic, peaceful, and free and prosperous China.”