Washington, DC: During the 36th anniversary of the 4 June Tiananmen Square Massacre incident, overseas Chinese democracy organisations and intellectual groups held multiple important commemoration activities in the East Coast region. Tsultrim Gyatso, Chinese Liaison Officer at the Office of Tibet in Washington, DC, was invited to participate in the series of commemorative activities held in Washington, DC, and New York, calling for mutual understanding and collaboration between Tibetans and Chinese.
On 31 May, the Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars, Wei Jingsheng Foundation, China Democracy Party’s National Committee, Greater Washington Chinese Support for Democracy Liaison Committee, and China Democracy Movement Overseas Joint Conference jointly organised a demonstration commemorating the victims of the 4 June massacre in front of the Chinese Consulate in Washington. Prominent democracy activists Wei Jingsheng, Wang Juntao, Li Hengqing, Zheng Yi, and others, along with the Chinese Liaison Officer, delivered speeches at the event and paid tribute to the heroes who sacrificed their lives for democracy and freedom 36 years ago.
During the event, the Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars awarded the 2025 “Freedom Spirit Award” to Gyari Dolma, Security Kalon (Minister) of the Central Tibetan Administration, recognising her outstanding contributions to human rights and freedom causes. Tibetan representatives from the capital area and New York attended the award ceremony and delivered an acceptance speech.
On the morning of 2 June , Sound of Europe, Democratic China Front, and China Democracy Party UK Headquarters jointly hosted “Creating Constitutional Democracy through the 1989 Democracy Movement—2025 Global Online Video Memorial Conference for the 36th Anniversary of 4 June .” Taiwan representative Kalsang Gyaltsen and three Chinese liaison officers from the Central Tibetan Administration participated online, discussing the collective pain created by the Chinese Communist Party with Chinese democracy advocates from around the world.
That afternoon, Tsultrim Gyatso was invited to attend a demonstration and march organised by the China Democracy Party National Committee in Flushing, New York. In his speech, he called upon Chinese friends: “While commemorating the 4 June victims, we must also pay attention to the suffering that Tibetans have endured continuously for over seventy years and not forget the ongoing human rights violations.”
On 4 June, Beijing Spring magazine, the China Democratic Alliance, and the China Democracy Party National Committee jointly hosted a forum in New York. Hu Ping, Honorary Editor-in-Chief of Beijing Spring, and numerous overseas intellectuals participated. Tsultrim Gyatso focused on introducing His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s important guidance on Tibetan-Chinese relations, emphasizing, It is precisely because of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teaching and leadership that Tibetans and Chinese have avoided the dangerous situation of becoming generational enemies.” He further elaborated on the important significance of the “Middle Way” policy in promoting resolution to the Sino-Tibetan conflict.
On the evening of 4 June, the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation hosted a 4 June candlelight memorial ceremony. The event brought together representatives from different oppressed groups, including Uyghur human rights defender Rushan Abbas, former Human Rights Watch researcher Sophie Richardson, Congressional-Executive Commission on China staffer Piero Tozzi, 4 June research scholar Rowena He, Uyghur Human Rights Project’s Louisa Greve, Hong Kong human rights defender Frances Hui, International Campaign for Tibet’s Bhuchung K. Tsering, 4 June survivor Yu Dahai, and Chinese Liaison Officer Tsultrim Gyatso from the Office of Tibet.
Through participating in various forms of Chinese gathered activities, including demonstrations, forums, and candlelight memorials, Tsultrim Gyatso explained to Chinese friends His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teachings on resolving conflicts through nonviolent action and dialogue, calling upon everyone to resolve hatred with compassion and love, dispel lies with truth, and maintain resistance for hope.
-Report filed by OoT Washington DC
