June 4th Memorial Exhibit opens in Los Angeles; Wang Dan: History will not be silent

 Translation, editing : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

June 4th Memorial Exhibit opens in Los Angeles    Wang Dan: History will not be silent

Reporter : Marshall / Editor : Jialian / https://www.epochtimes.com/b5/25/6/4/n14523900.htm / Image : On 2 June 2025, the June 4th Memorial Exhibit, which moved from New York to Los Angeles, held an opening ceremony. (Marshall/The Epoch Times)

Amid the anticipation of many Chinese, the June 4th Memorial Exhibit, which moved from New York to Los Angeles, finally opened on Monday (2 June 2025).

Hundreds of guests attended the opening ceremony. Local democracy activists said that this new museum and the Southern California Freedom Sculpture Park complement each other, making Los Angeles a bridgehead for resisting the CCP in the United States in the future.

The new June 4th Memorial Exhibit is located in El Monte, Los Angeles County. The exhibition hall is spacious and divided into multiple exhibition areas. On the walls of the entrance passage, photos and reports from the 1989 student movement to the June 4th Massacre are posted in different categories, with bilingual explanations in Chinese and English. Frames of historical images and faces of deceased young students make guests seem to return to the eve of that shocking tragedy and regain that bloody memory.

A side room of the exhibition hall shows the protests of Hong Kong people before and after the introduction of the "Hong Kong National Security Law" in 2020, and the scenes of the "June 4th Candlelight Vigil in Victoria Park" from 1990 to 2020. Under the ban of the "Hong Kong National Security Law", this memorial event that gathers tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong people every year has ceased to exist since 2021.

Director Wang Dan: Continue the mission and continue the struggle

In his speech at the opening ceremony, Wang Dan thanked the volunteers for their silent efforts in the past few months to prepare for the construction of the memorial hall and the exhibition, "making this place that was once just a dream become our common reality now." He said that the establishment of the June 4th Memorial Hall is not only to mourn the dead and accuse tyranny, but also a "responsibility and continuation of the mission."

Image : On 2 June 2025, the June 4th Memorial Museum, which moved from New York to Los Angeles, held an opening ceremony. Director Wang Dan spoke. (Ma Shangen/The Epoch Times)

Speaking of future plans, Wang Dan said that this will not only be a silent exhibition hall, but also an active humanistic space; the memorial hall will regularly hold various activities, including concerts, calligraphy and painting exhibitions, humanities lectures, new book releases and documentary screenings, "The core of these activities is the transmission of culture, the exchange of ideas and the connection of emotions."

In addition to the core exhibition area commemorating June 4th, the museum will also set up a research center, an activity center and a data center, as well as a small library and a humanities bookstore. "I hope this will become an important part of the cultural life of the Chinese community in Los Angeles." Wang Dan said, "This will be a place where ideas meet, a place where emotions resonate, and a starting point for action."

Wang Dan summarized the theme of the memorial hall as follows: "June 4th will not be forgotten, history will not be silent, the struggle will not stop, and the future will not be disappointed."

Wang Chongyu, head of the Political Group of the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles, attended the ceremony on behalf of the Economic and Cultural Office. In his speech, he expressed respect and gratitude to Director Wang Dan, Executive Director Jin Yan and other democratic figures for their persistence and dedication. He believes that the humanities salon and many other activities of the memorial hall will provide a public platform for people who care about freedom and human rights, promote exchanges and dialogue, and also help deepen and promote democratic concepts.

Image : On 2 June 2025, the June 4th Memorial Exhibit, which moved from New York to Los Angeles, held an opening ceremony. Wang Chongyu, head of the Political Group of the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles, attended on behalf of the Economic and Cultural Office. (Marshall/The Epoch Times)

Ken Wu, secretary general of the Taiwan Association, attended the opening ceremony as a "Taiwanese friend in Los Angeles." He said that he was very encouraged to see the completion of the memorial hall and hoped that people would remember the June 4th Incident through the memorial hall.

Ken Wu also said that if the CCP does not fall, bloody suppression like the June 4th Incident will definitely happen again, "so we must unite to resist the CCP's suppression of us and harassment of the free world; only when everyone unites can we bring it down."

Guest: People should remember the truth

Eugene Perry Link, Jr., one of the guests attending the ceremony and a well-known American sinologist, said in his speech that it is a good thing to have such a memorial hall in the United States, which allows people to directly see the newspapers when the June 4th Incident occurred, the names and photos of the victims, and get a more direct feeling. "This allows overseas Chinese to remember the truth of this historical event and continue to move towards their ideal direction."

Image : On 2 June 2025, the June 4th Memorial Exhibit, which moved from New York to Los Angeles, held an opening ceremony. American sinologist Perry Link and Ann Lau, president of the Los Angeles human rights organization "Visual Artists Association", attended the event. (Marshall/The Epoch Times)

Former Hong Kong media person Ching Cheung said that the Tiananmen Square Massacre 36 years ago was a bloody massacre, and the massacre of Hong Kong by the "Hong Kong National Security Law" six years ago "although there was no blood, it strangled a vibrant and living Hong Kong." Hong Kong was once an important force in promoting China's economic development. He lamented: "The Chinese world was once the freest place, but now many people live in nameless fear."

Cheng Cheung hopes that every Chinese and Hong Konger will have the courage to fight against the CCP.

Image : On 2 June 2025, the June 4th Memorial Exhibit, which moved from New York to Los Angeles, held an opening ceremony. Former Hong Kong media person Ching Cheung spoke. (Marshallen/The Epoch Times)

Su Xiaokang, a former famous Chinese writer, mentioned in his speech that the CCP's economic rise after the June 4th Massacre was actually dependent on China's cheap labour, and was the result of Western society being deceived by the CCP's "hide one's strength and bide one's time" strategy and doing business with the CCP. He hopes that political leaders in Western countries can stay sober.

Image : On 2 June 2025, the June 4th Memorial Exhibit, which moved from New York to Los Angeles, held an opening ceremony. Su Xiaokang, a former famous Chinese writer, spoke. (Marshallen/The Epoch Times)

Some people use the June 4th Massacre in 1989 as a boundary to divide the CCP regime into two stages: the 40 years before June 4th were very evil, and the 36 years after that focused on economic development and had become better. In response to this misunderstanding, Chen Chuangchuang, executive director of the China Democratic Party, pointed out in an on-site interview that the essence of the CCP has never changed.

"The June 4th Massacre made people see clearly that the nature of the CCP's totalitarianism cannot be changed." He said, "It is true. It has not changed in 36 years. It is still the same as the previous 40 years."

Chen Chuangchuang pointed out that the CCP launched a "memory war" after June 4th and obliterated the truth of the "Tiananmen Massacre"; and the greatest value of the June 4th Memorial Museum is to help people recognize the nature of the CCP.

Image : On 2 June 2025, the June 4th Memorial Exhibit, which moved from New York to Los Angeles, held an opening ceremony. Chen Chuangchuang, executive director of the China Democratic Party, attended. (Ma Shangen/The Epoch Times)

The 2025 "Youth Chinese Human Rights Award" was awarded at the opening ceremony, and Cao Tian, ​​a former Henan billionaire entrepreneur, writer and lawyer who fled to the United States, won the award.

Image : On 2 June 2025, the June 4th Memorial Exhibit, which moved from New York to Los Angeles, held an opening ceremony. Zheng Cunzhu, chairman of the China Democratic Party United Headquarters, attended. (Marshal/The Epoch Times)

Image : On 2 June 2025, the June 4th Memorial Exhibit, which moved from New York to Los Angeles, held an opening ceremony. Jin Xiuhong, founder of the China Democratic League for Human Rights and vice chairman of the International Headquarters of the Democratic China Front, spoke. (Marshal/The Epoch Times)

Image : On 2 June 2025, the June 4th Memorial Exhibit, which moved from New York to Los Angeles, held an opening ceremony. Jie Lijian, chairman of the International Alliance of China Democracy, and party members took a group photo with the director Wang Dan. (Provided by Jie Lijian)

Guests attending the ceremony also included Zheng Cunzhu, chairman of the United Headquarters of the China Democratic Party, Chen Weiming, founder and sculptor of the Liberty Sculpture Park, Jin Xiuhong, founder of the Democratic China Front, Zhang Boli, a Chinese pastor in Los Angeles, Wang Chaohua, assistant professor at UCLA, and Jie Lijian, chairman of the International Alliance of China Democracy.