Speech at the Candlelight Vigil Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of Tiananmen Massacre
By: Dr. Yang Jianli
Victims of Communism Memorial Park, Washington, DC, USA
June 3, 2019
Tonight, we gather once again to remember our fallen brothers and sisters in Tiananmen Square and celebrate their courage that showed the world that the Chinese people desire freedom and justice above all earthly goods. We are here to reaffirm that, no matter how many days or decades have gone by, there will never come a time when we forget their sacrifices.
We can never repay the debts we owe to these heroes and their families, the Tiananmen mothers.
The candles we light tonight remind us that we must all be the keepers of the flame once borne by our fallen heroes. The word vigil means, literally, “a period of purposeful sleeplessness.” That is, in a sense, what we are here tonight to do: to refuse to sleep to refuse to forget the heroes we’ve lost or their mission that remains undone.
It is up to all of us to bear true witness to the bravery and sacrifice made by these heroes we honor today by remembering that we all have a personal role to play in keeping the flame burning.
We must continue to do everything we can – with all that we have – to forge a world alliance to struggle to realize our shared dream—a free China.
Let us bring this light back to our cities, our neighborhoods, our streets, and our homes.Tonight, we hold a vigil, but, every day, we must be vigilant.
中文翻译
每一天，我们都必须守望—纪念“天安门事件”30周年烛光守夜活动上的讲话
杨建利
美国 华盛顿 共产主义受难者纪念公园，
2019年6月3日
今晚，我们再次相聚，缅怀那些在天安门广场逝去的兄弟姐妹们，赞美他们的勇气，他们向世界表明，中国人民对自由和正义的渴望超越了一切世俗的利益。我们在此重申，无论过去了多少天或几十年，我们永远不会忘记他们的牺牲。我们永远无法偿还我们欠这些英雄和他们的家庭以及天安门母亲的。
今晚我们将蜡烛点燃，也是在提醒我们，必须成为被我们倒下的英雄所承载的火焰的守护者。“守夜”一词的字面意思是：“为某个目的而刻意在一段时间不睡觉”。从某种意义上说，这就是我们今晚在这里要做的:拒绝睡去，拒绝忘记我们痛失的英雄们，拒绝忘记他们尚未完成的使命。这些我们今天敬仰的英雄们，要靠我们所有人担当起让这团火继续燃烧的使命，真正为他们的勇气和牺牲作证。
我们必须继续尽我们所能，尽我们所有，建立一个世界联盟，为实现我们共同的梦想:一个自由的中国，而奋斗！
让我们把这团火带回我们的城市、我们的社区、我们的街道和我们的家园。
今晚，我们举行守夜，但我们必须每天守望。