作者：邢文娟

编辑：韩立华  责任编辑：罗志飞   校对：熊辩

       2025年6月2日，洛杉矶“六·四”纪念馆正式开馆。我怀着复杂的心情走了进去，既有对那段被沉封历史的好奇，也有无法言说的沉重与悲痛。

       馆内灯光被调得很暗，外面刺眼的阳光和里面昏暗的灯光形成强烈反差，让我一时竟然难以适应。在几秒钟的黑暗里，我感到自己似乎被卷入到了那个被遮蔽三十多年的时空。片刻后，眼睛适应了室内亮度，我缓缓沿着左边的通道走过去，墙上的一张张照片映入眼帘。那些定格的瞬间——广场上的学生、举着标语的市民、临时搭起的广播台——都像是在无声地诉说。读着旁边的文字说明，我的脚步不由得放慢，心情压抑而沉重。

       当我看到那些年轻的学生，为了民主和自由、为了反对腐败、为了争取国家更美好的未来，不惧在天安门广场上静坐时，我的心被深深震撼。那是怎样的一种勇气？在那个年代，他们本可以选择安稳的生活度过一生，但他们为了国家的未来，人民的美好生活，毅然决然地选择了站出来，冲在危险最前面……

       我在展厅里伫立良久，胸口像被压着一块石头。那些影像和文字不仅让我看到三十多年前的热血与牺牲，更让我开始在内心里思考：这段历史与今天的我们有什么关系？

       走出展厅时，我不禁又在问自己：我们为什么要纪念“六·四”？而答案似乎又那么清晰。

铭记真相，不让历史消失

       1989 年的那场学潮，是一场学生和市民自发的运动。他们呼吁的是反腐败、要民主、求公平，这些诉求放在今天任何一个国家依然不会过时。然而，这场运动最后以被武力镇压而告终，造成无数死伤，给全社会带来无法愈合的创伤。因为事件的相关信息一直被严格封锁，直到今天，许许多多的年轻人仍不知道当年发生了什么。

       然而，历史不会因为封锁而消失。纪念“六·四”，就是为了对抗遗忘，把真相留在人们心中。一个民族如果失去民族记忆，就会迷失未来前行的方向。

缅怀牺牲者，守护人性底线

       在那场风波中，很多年轻的生命定格在了二十岁，那正是花一样美好的年纪，他们没能看到未来，却用自己的牺牲唤醒了人们对自由与尊严的思考。纪念“六·四”，就是对这些人最基本的尊重。一个社会如果不能对为正义付出代价的人表达敬意，那么人性的底线就会慢慢被侵蚀。       这种纪念，不仅是哀悼，更是告诉我们后来的人：自由不是理所当然的，曾经有人为之流血，甚至付出宝贵的生命。

反思制度缺陷，避免悲剧重演

       “六·四”的发生并非偶然，是社会矛盾长期累积，加之当时缺乏制度化的沟通机制，最终导致矛盾激化，集中爆发。如果一个社会不允许公开对话，不允许合理表达诉求，那么冲突就可能在某个时点以一种异常激烈的方式爆发。       纪念“六·四”，就是不断在提醒当局和我们自己：社会改革需要制度保障，国家治理需要公平透明，唯有如此，才能避免悲剧再一次发生。

启发后人思考，推动社会进步

       纪念“六·四”，并不是要求人们停留在痛苦里，而是要让后人懂得思考：我们究竟需要怎样的社会？我们该如何对待我们国家和人民？      “六·四”是一代青年学生为了国家前途而做出的努力尝试，也是普通民众对国家公平公正的呼喊。今天的我们，或许无法立即改变现实，但我们可以通过反思和行动，让社会往更自由、更公平的方向逐步前进。纪念“六·四”，是我们每一位后来人义不容辞的责任。

结语

        三十六年过去了，“六·四”依然值得被铭记。纪念它，是为了守护历史真相，缅怀那些牺牲的人，反思制度缺陷，启迪未来一代接续追求自由与尊严的勇气，是真正的担当！

Why We Must Commemorate June Fourth

By Xing Wenjuan

Edited by Han Lihua · Managing Editor: Luo Zhifei · Proofreader: Xiong Bian

On June 2, 2025, the June Fourth Memorial Museum in Los Angeles officially opened. With mixed emotions, I walked inside—curiosity about that long-suppressed history mingled with an indescribable heaviness and sorrow.

The lighting inside the museum was deliberately dim. The dazzling sunlight outside contrasted sharply with the faint light within, making it hard for me to adjust. In those few seconds of darkness, I felt as if I had been drawn into that time and space hidden for over thirty years. When my eyes gradually adapted, I walked slowly along the left-hand corridor. Photos lined the walls—students in the square, citizens holding banners, makeshift broadcasting stands—all silently speaking through frozen moments. Reading the captions beside them, my steps unconsciously slowed, my mood heavy and constrained.

When I saw those young students sitting in Tiananmen Square—fighting for democracy and freedom, opposing corruption, and striving for a better future for their country—I was deeply moved. What kind of courage was that? In that era, they could have chosen quiet and stable lives, yet for the sake of their nation’s future and the well-being of its people, they resolutely chose to stand up and face danger head-on.

I stood in the exhibition hall for a long time, feeling a stone pressing upon my chest. Those images and words not only revealed the passion and sacrifice of more than three decades ago, but also stirred me to ask within: What does this history have to do with us today?

As I stepped out of the exhibition hall, the question echoed again: Why must we commemorate June Fourth? The answer, somehow, was already clear.

Remember the Truth — So History Will Not Disappear

The 1989 student movement was a spontaneous uprising of students and citizens. Their calls for anti-corruption, democracy, and fairness remain timeless demands in any nation today. Yet the movement ended in a brutal military crackdown, leaving countless dead and wounded and a wound that has never healed. Because information about the event has long been tightly censored, even now many young people know nothing of what happened.

But history does not vanish through suppression. To commemorate June Fourth is to resist forgetting—to preserve truth in our hearts. When a nation loses its collective memory, it loses its direction for the future.

Mourn the Fallen — Uphold the Bottom Line of Humanity

Many young lives were frozen at the age of twenty, a time as bright as spring flowers. They never saw the future, but through their sacrifice, they awakened people’s consciousness of freedom and dignity. To commemorate June Fourth is the most basic gesture of respect toward them.

A society that fails to honor those who suffer for justice will see its moral foundation gradually corroded. Such remembrance is not only mourning—it is a reminder that freedom is never taken for granted; it was bought with blood and priceless lives.

Reflect on Institutional Failures — Prevent History from Repeating

The tragedy of June Fourth did not occur by accident. It was the result of long-accumulated social contradictions and the absence of institutional channels for dialogue and expression. When open discussion is forbidden and legitimate appeals are silenced, conflicts inevitably explode violently at some point.

To commemorate June Fourth is to remind both the authorities and ourselves that social reform requires institutional safeguards, and governance demands fairness and transparency. Only thus can future tragedies be prevented.

Inspire the Next Generation — Advance Social Progress

Commemoration does not mean dwelling forever in pain; it urges us to think about what kind of society we desire and how we should treat our country and our people.

June Fourth was an attempt by a generation of students to seek a better future for China, and a cry from ordinary citizens for justice and fairness. Today, we may not be able to change reality overnight, but through reflection and action, we can help society move step by step toward greater freedom and equity. Remembering June Fourth is therefore the inescapable responsibility of every successor.

Conclusion

Thirty-six years have passed, yet June Fourth remains worthy of remembrance. To commemorate it is to defend historical truth, to honor the fallen, to examine systemic flaws, and to inspire the next generation to continue the pursuit of freedom and dignity. That is the truest form of courage—and responsibility.