——纪念“六·四”，致那些被沉默的人
Memories of the Black-and-White Era and the Absurdity of Reality
— In Commemoration of June 4th, to Those Silenced
作者：熊辩 2025年8月11日
编辑：冯仍 责任编辑：鲁慧文 翻译：鲁慧文
我1978年出生于江城武汉，彼时那场十年浩劫刚刚结束不久，家中那台12寸的飞跃牌黑白电视机是我们联接外部世界的唯一“纽带”，它顶着一根金属天线，在雪花点点中播放着中央电视台的节目，播音员声音刻板，画面严肃死板。那个黑白屏幕，仿佛也是那个年代的底色——只有对错，没有思考；只有命令，没有人性。
1989年5月19日凌晨，中共中央总书记赵紫阳出现在天安门广场呼吁学生停止绝食，这是他最后一次公开露面，当时他已失去了权力。时任中央办公厅主任温家宝（右二）后来成为国家总理。
1989年，我十一岁。记忆中那个五月，电视台突然中断了所有正常节目，“同学们，你们还是回去吧……”， 时任中共中央总书记的赵紫阳哽咽着劝说学生的话语被反复播放。之后的一段时间，中央电视台“新闻联播”将此次学生运动定性为“反革命暴乱”，此新闻也成为那段时期邻居街坊经常谈论的焦点话题。彼时年少的我不明白究竟发生了什么，时常好奇地想从父亲那了解事件原委。父亲一脸严肃地说：“小孩子要好好读书，别问这些！”，随即嘟哝着说了一句：“这个国家完了！没有前途了！”。 当时年少的我尚不懂父亲这句话的真正含义，但他“通过读书去看更大世界”的思想潜移默化影响着我。多年以后我才明白，那是中共用子弹和坦克碾碎本国青年的一天，是新中国民主的萌芽被扼杀的时刻。
海外的天空
毕业以后，我通过应聘先后在日本环球游轮——和平之舟（Peace Boat）、美国皇家加勒比游轮（Royal Caribbean Cruises）工作，在丈量世界的足迹里拓宽眼界，真实接触到了世界的广阔与多元：来自不同国家、肤色各异、说着不同语言的人们可以自由谈论时政、人权，针砭时弊，以及政府工作满意度，这些在中国只能背诵却无法触摸的词汇，在他们口中有血有肉。我明白，自由不是特权，而是天赋权利；民主不是恩赐，而是人民争取来的制度。
维权：现实重创下的质问
我回国一段时间后，2015年，便遭受了一场场现实的重创。我家原本居住于武汉江汉区建设大道航空路妙墩小区，被纳入所谓的“老旧小区改造”区域范围。未见正式文件、未得合理补偿，开发商和政府联合。黑社会封堵我家大门，断水断电，砸毁窗户。反抗无门，报警无用，政府推诿，当我被数名剃着光头、带纹身的彪形大汉堵在门口，无理的骚扰和威胁，那一刻，我感到极度无助、绝望和悲愤：所谓的“城市改造”就是通过低价强制征收老百姓赖以生存的房屋做抵押获得银行贷款，做成更高、更密的商品房并高价转卖以谋取暴利，这其中，政府官员和商家从中获得巨大非法暴利，倒霉的只有可怜的老百姓。这一现象在武汉极其普遍，更有甚的，还有市民响应政府所谓“老旧小区改造”号召，却多年仍未拿到补偿款，等来的只有无限期的敷衍和拖延。真是官商勾结、蛇鼠一窝！
之后，我在一“管家帮”家政服务公司，隶属北京易盟天地信息技术股份有限公司，法人是傅彦生，据说有官方背景。我在该公司工作半年却有4个月没拿到工资，虽然法庭上我胜诉了，但至今仍未拿到应得的工资；公司的月嫂、家政工作及行政人员几百人，少则2万，多则10万甚至20多万的应得报酬或集资至今还未拿到手，直至今天还在艰难的维权，老板却丝毫没有对员工的愧疚和怜悯之心，依旧高枕无忧，豪车、别墅、金钱、美女一样不少。
更离谱的是，我在武汉一家连锁母婴健康管理公司——湖北悦熙健康管理有限责任公司工作期间，不缴纳社保与公积金成为“潜规则”。我正当维权却被上级一句“你想干就干，不干就走”一句草草敷衍了事，让我看清了《劳动法》中有关企业必须为员工缴纳社保及公积金的规定不过是一纸空文。后来，老板卷款跑路，之前拖欠的工资也打了水漂，虽有人问责、有人追偿，但均无任何结果，劳动者的合法权益被无情践踏！试问：这就是“人民的共和国”？这就是“社会主义优越性”？
疫情：一场人道灾难
2020年，疫情爆发，武汉被毫无预警地“封城”，信息封锁让人们陷入恐慌。封控之下，没有食物、没有药品、没有自由。小区封死、居民自生自灭。身边人因为高烧被拖走、从此音讯全无；有的老人饿死在屋里无人知晓；做核酸如同牲畜赶场，一日三检，晴雨无阻。
我亲眼目睹一位老人因为未做核酸被小区志愿者拦在门外，他颤抖地说只是想去买点菜。志愿者冷漠地说：“政策规定，谁也没办法。”。还有人家门口贴上“阳性隔离”的大白封条，全家几天后才被发现晕倒家中。人命，在中共眼中只是维稳数字。
疫苗与出行挂钩，名为“自愿原则”实则强制接种，不打疫苗寸步难行。健康码如同电子镣铐，随时变红，剥夺你的一切自由。之后才得知，核酸结果造假是常态；身边有不少人因注射疫苗均留下了不同程度的后遗症，所谓的“疫苗”并无任何效果，成为不法官商发国难财的噱头。武汉一位市民在网上道出了大家的心声：“中共政府所谓的免费的东西实则是天下最昂贵的，往往带着‘利息’，是要加倍偿还的！”，免费核酸、免费检测就是如此。
抗争：追寻自由民主步履不停
国内的种种遭遇令我身心俱疲，那种压抑与无力感长时间笼罩着我。为了让自己远离痛苦的“泥淖”，今年2月，我们夫妻来美旅游散心；4月，我的孩子——一个在美国出生的美宝来到这个世界。她的第一口呼吸就是在自由的空气中，我不想让她将来生活在谎言和恐惧中。之后，我有机会接触更多当年的亲历者和目击证人，他们讲述的故事，与国内被审查和篡改过的“官方历史”完全不同，这让我更坚定了自己的立场：一个不允许历史真相被讨论的国家，不可能真正保障公民的自由和尊严。今年，作为中国民主党的一份子，我参加了在中国驻洛杉矶领事馆门口举行的“六·四”36周年纪念活动。
铭记：因为遗忘就是共谋
“六·四”不是过去，而是现在。今天的中国依然没有新闻自由，没有独立司法，没有公平选举。那些在天安门倒下的青年，与今天因言获罪、被封号、被拘捕的人是同一场反抗链上的不同节点。它更像一面镜子——映照出中共的残暴，也映射出人民对自由、民主、人权的渴望。
作为一个普通人，我并非天生就勇敢，而是因为经历了亲眼看到真相被掩埋的痛苦才无法保持沉默。我深切意识到：如果不敢说出真相，我们就只是待宰的羔羊；若不敢反抗，我们将永远跪着活着。所以今天，我愿意用真实姓名为之发声，无论代价如何，因为沉默才是真正的危险。
我们必须铭记，因为遗忘就是共谋。
纪念“六·四”不是伤口撒盐，而为传承一种精神，它不应只是凝固在广场上的鲜血，而应深深融进每一个不屈的人的骨血，愿我们能成为追寻民主、自由征途中微小却坚定的接力者！
独裁王朝终将崩塌，而人民的觉醒是无法阻挡的洪流。今天我写下这些，不是为了安全，而是为了自由！
Memories of the Black-and-White Era and the Absurdity of Reality
— In Commemoration of June 4th, to Those Silenced
Author: Xiong Bian August 11, 2025
Editor: Feng Reng Executive Editor: Lu Huiwen Translation: Lu Huiwen
Summary: The author recalls the journey from the news blackout on June 4th to experiences overseas, then to the hardships of rights defense and the pain of the pandemic at home, and finally to speaking out publicly in the United States—calling for remembering the truth, rejecting silence, and believing that the awakening of the people is unstoppable.
The Black-and-White Screen of Childhood
I was born in 1978 in Wuhan. The decade-long catastrophe had just ended, and the 12-inch Feiyue black-and-white TV in our home was the only “link” to the outside world. It had a metal antenna and, through a flurry of snow-like static, played the programs of China Central Television. The announcers’ voices were stiff; the images were grim and rigid. That black-and-white screen seemed to be the color tone of that era—only right or wrong, no thinking; only orders, no humanity.
In the early morning of May 19, 1989, CCP General Secretary Zhao Ziyang appeared at Tiananmen Square to urge students to end their hunger strike. It was his last public appearance—by then he had already lost power. Wen Jiabao, then Director of the General Office of the CCP Central Committee (second from the right), would later become Premier of China.
I was eleven years old in 1989. That May, I remember, the TV station suddenly interrupted all regular programming. “Students, you should go back…” Zhao Ziyang’s choked words urging the students to stop their hunger strike were broadcast repeatedly. Soon after, Xinwen Lianbo on CCTV labeled the student movement a “counterrevolutionary riot.” This became the hot topic of conversation among neighbors and acquaintances.
At that time, I could not understand what had happened. I often asked my father about it. He looked stern and said, “Children should focus on studying, don’t ask about these things!” Then he muttered, “This country is finished! There’s no future!” I didn’t understand the full meaning of his words back then, but his idea that “reading can open a bigger world” subtly influenced me. Many years later, I came to understand: that was the day the CCP used bullets and tanks to crush its own youth—the moment the sprouting seeds of democracy in the new China were destroyed.
Under Foreign Skies
After graduating, I applied for and worked successively on Japan’s Peace Boat and the U.S. Royal Caribbean Cruises. In my journeys measuring the world with my footsteps, I broadened my horizons. I came into real contact with a vast and diverse world: people of different nations, skin colors, and languages could freely discuss politics, human rights, criticize their governments, and talk about their satisfaction with government performance. In China, these words could only be memorized, never truly touched. I realized that freedom is not a privilege but an inalienable right; democracy is not a gift but a system won by the people.
Rights Defense: Questions from Harsh Reality
When I returned to China for a period, in 2015, I suffered blow after blow. My family home in Miaodun Community, Hangkong Road, Jianghan District, Wuhan, was included in an “old neighborhood renovation” zone. Without any formal documents or reasonable compensation, the developer and government colluded. Gangsters blocked my front door, cut off water and electricity, smashed windows. There was no avenue for resistance—police calls were useless, the government shirked responsibility. When several burly, tattooed, bald-headed thugs blocked my doorway with harassment and threats, I felt extreme helplessness, despair, and anger.
In reality, so-called “urban renovation” was just using the low-price forced acquisition of ordinary people’s homes as collateral for bank loans, then building taller, denser commercial housing to sell at high prices for massive profits. Government officials and businessmen reaped huge illicit gains, while the only losers were the ordinary people. In Wuhan, this was extremely common. In even worse cases, some residents who responded to the government’s “renovation” call waited for years without seeing any compensation—only endless perfunctory excuses and delays. It was blatant collusion between officials and businessmen!
Later, I worked for Guanjiabang, a domestic services company under Beijing Yimeng Tiandi Information Technology Co., Ltd., whose legal representative, Fu Yansheng, was said to have official connections. I worked there for six months but went four months without pay. Even though I won in court, I have never received the wages owed. Hundreds of nannies, domestic workers, and administrative staff were owed anywhere from 20,000 to over 200,000 yuan each in pay or pooled funds, still unpaid to this day. The boss showed no remorse or sympathy for employees, still living comfortably with luxury cars, villas, money, and women.
Even more outrageous, when I worked for Hubei Yuexi Health Management Co., Ltd., a chain maternal and child health management company in Wuhan, non-payment of social insurance and housing fund was “standard practice.” When I sought to defend my rights, my superior brushed it off with, “Work if you want to, leave if you don’t.” This made me see that the provisions in the Labor Law requiring employers to contribute to employees’ social insurance and housing funds were nothing but empty words. Later, the boss absconded with funds, and the wages previously in arrears were gone for good. Though some tried to hold them accountable and recover the money, nothing came of it. Workers’ lawful rights were trampled without mercy. I have to ask: Is this the “People’s Republic”? Is this the “superiority of socialism”?
The Pandemic: A Humanitarian Disaster
In 2020, when the pandemic broke out, Wuhan was locked down without warning. Information was blocked, and people were thrown into panic. Under lockdown, there was no food, no medicine, no freedom. Residential compounds were sealed off, residents left to fend for themselves. People with high fevers were dragged away, never to be heard from again; some elderly starved to death at home without anyone knowing; nucleic acid testing became a livestock-like herding process, done three times a day, rain or shine.
I saw with my own eyes an elderly man blocked from leaving his compound by community volunteers because he hadn’t done his nucleic acid test. Trembling, he said he just wanted to buy some vegetables. The volunteer coldly replied, “It’s policy—no one can help.” In some homes, “positive quarantine” white seals were pasted on the doors, and days later the entire family was found collapsed inside. In the eyes of the CCP, human lives were merely stability-maintenance statistics.
Vaccination was tied to travel—called “voluntary,” but in reality mandatory. Without a vaccine, you could not move freely. The health code was like an electronic shackle, turning red at will to strip you of all freedoms. Later it emerged that falsifying nucleic acid results was commonplace; many people I knew suffered aftereffects from the vaccines, which had no real effect and were just a means for unscrupulous officials and businessmen to profit from the crisis. A Wuhan resident said online what everyone felt: “The so-called free things from the CCP are the most expensive in the world—they come with ‘interest,’ and you pay back double!” Free nucleic acid and free testing were exactly that.
Resistance: Continuing the Pursuit of Freedom and Democracy
The experiences I had in China left me physically and mentally exhausted. The suffocating sense of oppression and helplessness hung over me for a long time. To escape this “quagmire” of pain, my spouse and I came to the U.S. for a trip in February this year. In April, my child—a U.S.-born citizen—came into the world. Her first breath was in the air of freedom. I don’t want her to grow up in lies and fear. Later, I had the chance to meet more witnesses and survivors from 1989. Their stories were completely different from the “official history” censored and altered in China. This strengthened my conviction: a country that does not allow discussion of historical truth can never truly protect the freedom and dignity of its citizens. This year, as a member of the Chinese Democracy Party, I participated in the 36th anniversary commemoration of June 4th in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles.
Remembering: Because Forgetting is Complicity
June 4th is not the past—it is the present. Today’s China still has no press freedom, no independent judiciary, no fair elections. The young people who fell at Tiananmen and those today who are silenced, banned, or imprisoned for speaking out are links in the same chain of resistance. It is a mirror—reflecting both the CCP’s brutality and the people’s longing for freedom, democracy, and human rights.
As an ordinary person, I was not born brave; I became unwilling to stay silent because I had experienced the pain of seeing the truth buried. I have come to realize deeply: if we dare not speak the truth, we are merely sheep to be slaughtered; if we dare not resist, we will forever live on our knees. That is why today, I am willing to speak out under my real name, no matter the cost—because silence is the real danger.
We must remember—because forgetting is complicity. Commemorating June 4th is not about reopening wounds, but about passing on a spirit. It should not be frozen as the blood on the square but should flow deep into the bones of every unyielding person. May we become small yet steadfast runners in the relay toward democracy and freedom.
The autocratic dynasty will eventually collapse, and the awakening of the people is an unstoppable torrent. Today I write these words not for safety, but for freedom.
