Carry Their Legacy Forward
Speech at the Candlelight Vigil Hosted by Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
By: Jianli Yang – June 3, 2022
Tonight, once again, we gather to remember and honor our brothers and sisters who lost their lives in the Tiananmen Square Massacre 33 years ago.
On this historic, heart-wrenching day, we mourn their sacrifices. But it is much more than sorrow that we feel. What this solemn day is about is to be thankful and to carry on the legacy of these fallen brothers and sisters.
Back in 1944, looking out across a field filled with rows of crosses marking the graves of men who, just days before, had been part of his Army, General Patton said, “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.”
Yes, we are thankful such men and women ever lived. Their short but glorious lives leave us forever in debt. They bravely rose up and fought for something greater than themselves, so that their compatriots could someday live with freedom and dignity, the life they themselves would never enjoy.
They paid the ultimate cost for the ideal that they deemed was worth dying for. It is the ideal of which the Chinese communist dictators are most afraid. They try to destroy this ideal by killing the people who uphold it. However, as President Reagan so eloquently said of the CCP in the wake of the Tiananmen Square Massacre: “You cannot massacre an idea.” Yes, without a doubt, our fallen brothers and sisters will live eternally in our hearts, as will the ideal for which they fought and died.
They sacrificed everything for the noblest of causes, and it is up to each of us to carry their legacy forward in an effort to repay a debt that can never truly be repaid. As we enjoy living in this free land, it may be easy to be indifferent, but it is indifference that allows the lessons of history to be forgotten; the prolonged denial of the people’s voice, and the massive, inhumane slaughter of human lives. That is exactly what is happening in China and Russia today.
Now, for all time, let us keep the sacrifices that our brothers and sisters made in Tiananmen Square over three decades ago in our hearts, as we strive to honor them by being good and true, hopeful and strong, and by committing to building a brighter future for China and throughout the world.
继承他们的遗志
杨建利
中译稿: Hongyi Li
(在共产主义受难者纪念基金会烛光守夜活动上的演讲2022 年 6 月 3 日)
今晚，我们再次聚集在一起，缅怀和荣耀在 33 年前天安门广场大屠杀中牺牲的兄弟姐妹们。
在这个历史性的、令人心痛的日子里，我们哀悼他们的牺牲。而我们感受到的不仅仅是悲伤。在这个庄严的日子里，更要感恩并继承这些兄弟姐妹的遗志。
1944 年，巴顿将军眺望着一片满是十字架的田野，这些十字架标志着几天前还是他军队中一部分人的坟墓，他说：“只是悼念死者是愚蠢和错误的。相反，我们应当为世界有这样的人来过而感谢上帝。”
是的，我们感谢中国有过这样的男人和女人。他们短暂而光荣的一生让我们永远如债相随。他们勇敢地站起来，为超越自身的更伟大的事物而奋斗，从而让同胞未来可以过上他们自己将永无机会享受的自由的、有尊严的生活。
他们心怀伟大的理想，认为值得为之牺牲生命并付出了最终的代价。这正是中共独裁者最害怕的理想。他们试图通过杀死坚守它的人来摧毁这个理想。然而，正如里根总统在天安门广场大屠杀之后曾意味深长地谈到中共：“你不可能屠杀一个理想。”是的，毫无疑问，我们陨落的兄弟姐妹将永远活在我们心中，他们为之奋斗和牺牲的理想也将永远活在我们心中。
他们为最崇高的事业牺牲了一切，而我们每个人都有责任继承他们的遗志，努力偿还那永远无法真正偿还的债务。当我们享受着这片自由土地上的生活之时，可能很容易变得冷漠，但正是这种冷漠让历史的教训被遗忘；人民的声音被长期剥夺，人类的生命被大规模、残酷地屠杀。这正是今天在中国和俄罗斯发生的事情。
现在，让我们永远铭记三十多年前在天安门广场牺牲的兄弟姐妹，让我们心存善良与真实、充满希望与坚强，并致力于为中国和全世界建设一个更光明的未来而向他们致敬。