——萨克拉门托“中共百年暴行图片展”引发民众关注
摄影记者：关永杰
2026年6月28日下午，由中国民主党旧金山党部、中国民主党萨克拉门托支部、中国民主教育基金会联合举办的“铭记历史 拒绝遗忘——揭露中共百年暴行图片展”在美国加州首府萨克拉门托州议会大厦前（California State Capitol）举行。
（加州首府萨克拉门托州议会大厦前的中共百年暴行图片展。 拍摄：关永杰）
图片展通过大量历史图片和中英双语文字资料，向美国社会介绍中国共产党百余年来发动的一系列政治运动，以及近年来持续发生的人权问题，包括土地改革、反右运动、大跃进、文化大革命、1989年六四事件，以及对宗教信仰、言论自由、新闻自由、公民社会、新疆、香港等问题的持续打压，希望让更多美国民众了解中国真实的人权状况。
当天，不少经过州议会广场的美国民众和来自中国大陆的新移民驻足观看展板，并与现场义工进行了深入交流。
在美留学生：很多美国人并不了解中共曾经做过什么
活动期间，记者遇到一位毕业于清华大学、后来来到美国继续深造的留学生。他表示，自己过去已经了解过六四事件以及中共历次政治运动，对当天的图片展十分支持。
他说：“很多美国人其实不了解中国共产党曾经做过什么，这样的图片展非常有意义，它能够告诉美国社会，在中共统治下，中国土地上曾经发生过多么可怕的事情。”他认为，历史如果长期被掩盖，就容易被遗忘，因此让更多美国民众了解这些历史，是十分重要的公共教育。
一对大陆年轻夫妻：独立思考，是我们最大的收获
记者随后采访了一对来自中国大陆、目前定居加州的年轻夫妻（文中化名Thomas）。两人表示，他们整个学生时代都在中国大陆接受教育，但随着成长，他们逐渐开始主动寻找不同的信息来源，并学习独立思考。
Thomas告诉记者：“别人告诉我的事情，我不会马上相信，也不会马上否定。我会根据别人提供的线索，自己去查证、核实，再决定是否接受。”他说，在中国大陆，官方媒体虽然数量很多，但信息来源却高度单一。
“即使有一百家电视台都说同样的话，那也还是同一个声音。如果没有不同维度的信息，就很难真正判断真假。”
他认为，一个社会如果没有多元信息来源，人们便很难形成真正独立的判断能力。
六四事件之后，中国社会发生了巨大变化
谈到1989年民主运动时，Thomas表示，自己后来查阅了不少当年的历史资料，包括外国记者在北京街头采访学生的纪录片。
他说，六四之前，中国大学校园曾经拥有相当活跃的思想讨论空间，而1989年之后，这种公开讨论几乎消失。
记者也分享了自己的经历，由于成长于广东沿海，1989年时能够直接收看香港电视，因此亲眼看到北京天安门广场的大量现场直播画面。
记者表示：“六四事件的发生使中共政权感到无比恐惧，一场学生运动曾令中共高层感受到严重的执政危机。于是在接下来的日子里，他们不断加强新闻封锁和思想控制，从媒体到学校教育，都发生了巨大变化。如今再想出现1989年那样全国性的学生民主运动，几乎没有可能了。”
Thomas对此表示认同，他认为，1989年或许是中国距离民主政治最近的一次历史机会。
他还提到，若追溯更早，中国近代另一位最有机会推动民主宪政的人物，是辛亥革命后的政治家宋教仁。
“如果宋教仁没有那么早遇刺，中国历史也许会完全不同。”
从洗脑中重新认识历史
谈到成长经历，这对夫妻坦言，他们和许多中国年轻人一样，也曾接受长期官方宣传。
Thomas说：“我们并不是一开始就知道这些历史，我们也是一步一步，从被灌输，到不断修正自己的认识。”
他说，真正促使他们改变的，并不是某一本书，而是不断接触不同的信息，再结合自己的观察，慢慢建立起自己的判断。
他认为，一个人真正应该学习的，并不是简单接受另一套观点，而是培养独立思考和批判精神。“无论面对哪一种观点，都应该保留思考，而不是直接接受。”
记者表示，这一点与许多香港民主人士分享过的经验十分相似。一个人离开灌输式的标准答案教育之后，首先需要摆脱过去形成的思维惯性，而不是简单从一种意识形态走向另一种意识形态；真正重要的是建立独立思考能力和具有批判性思维。
精神上的自我封锁比防火墙更加可怕
交流过程中，Thomas特别谈到中国近年来不断加强的信息管控。
他说，现在不仅翻墙越来越困难，许多跨境通讯和资讯获取渠道也不断受到限制。
他认为，比物理层面的“防火墙”更可怕的是思想上的封闭。
记者对此深有同感。记者表示，许多长期生活海外的华人，虽然身处民主国家，网络是互联互通的，却依然长期依赖中国大陆的信息平台获取资讯，在无形之中仍然受到单一信息环境影响。
Thomas也指出，社交媒体平台的内容过滤往往不会明确通知用户，而是通过降低传播范围，让很多人误以为信息已经成功发布。
“很多时候，并不是你不能发，而是别人根本看不到。”
香港人的坚持令人敬佩
记者表示，经过多年接触香港民主活动，最大的感受就是香港社会长期形成的法治、公民教育和自由价值观，使很多香港人在面对压力时依然坚持自己的信念。从2014年雨伞运动到2019年反送中运动，香港社会展现出来的公民意识令他十分敬佩。
Thomas认为，这种精神值得所有关心中国未来的人学习。
希望更多年轻人加入
采访最后，现场工作人员向Thomas介绍了中国民主党以及海外民主团体长期举办的各项活动，希望未来有更多年轻人参与公共事务。
Thomas表示，如果未来有机会，他会持续关注相关活动，并在确保自身安全的情况下，把自己了解到的真实历史介绍给更多人。他说：“我们当然希望自己的国家能够越来越好。真正的爱国，不是回避问题，而是希望国家能够面对问题、不断进步。”
当天的图片展持续近四个小时，不少路过的美国民众、中国大陆新移民以及来自不同族裔的游客驻足观看，并与现场工作人员交流讨论。活动取得的效果也回应了主办方的初衷：历史不应被遗忘，真相不能被掩盖。希望更多的人了解历史，防止悲剧的再次发生。
编辑：钟然 校对：程筱筱 翻译：戈冰
From Shock to Reflection
— Sacramento “Exposing the Chinese Communist Party’s Century of Atrocities Photo Exhibition” Attracts Public Attention
Photojournalist: Guan Yongjie
Abstract: Sacramento hosted the “Exposing the Chinese Communist Party’s Century of Atrocities Photo Exhibition,” drawing American citizens and new immigrants from mainland China to stop and view the display. Multiple interviewees expressed that people should understand true history and cultivate independent thinking to prevent historical tragedies from repeating.
On the afternoon of June 28, 2026, the photo exhibition themed “Remember History, Refuse to Forget—Exposing the Chinese Communist Party’s Century of Atrocities,” jointly organized by the San Francisco Headquarters of the China Democracy Party, the Sacramento Branch of the China Democracy Party, and the Chinese Democratic Education Foundation, was held in front of the California State Capitol in Sacramento, the capital of California.
(The Exposing the Chinese Communist Party’s Century of Atrocities Photo Exhibition in front of the California State Capitol in Sacramento. Photo by Guan Yongjie)
Through a large number of historical photographs and bilingual texts in Chinese and English, the photo exhibition introduced American society to the series of political movements launched by the Chinese Communist Party over the past century, as well as the ongoing human rights issues in recent years. These included the Land Reform, the Anti-Rightist Movement, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, the 1989 June Fourth Incident, as well as the continuous suppression of religious beliefs, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, civil society, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong, aiming to allow more American citizens to understand the true human rights situation in China.
On that day, many American citizens and new immigrants from mainland China passing through the State Capitol plaza stopped to view the display boards and engaged in in-depth exchanges with the volunteers on site.
Chinese Student in the U.S.: Many Americans Do Not Understand What the CCP Has Done
During the event, this reporter met an international student who graduated from Tsinghua University and later came to the United States to pursue further studies. He stated that he had already learned about the June Fourth Incident and the CCP’s successive political movements in the past, and expressed strong support for the photo exhibition that day.
He said, “Many Americans actually do not understand what the Chinese Communist Party has done in the past. Such a photo exhibition is highly meaningful because it can inform American society about the terrible things that have occurred on Chinese soil under the rule of the CCP.” He believed that if history is covered up for a long time, it is easily forgotten; therefore, letting more American citizens understand this history is a very important form of public education.
A Young Couple from Mainland China: Independent Thinking Is Our Greatest Gain
The reporter subsequently interviewed a young couple from mainland China who are currently settled in California (using the pseudonym Thomas in this article). Both stated that they received their education in mainland China throughout their entire student years, but as they grew up, they gradually began to actively seek out different sources of information and learn to think independently.
Thomas told the reporter, “When people tell me things, I won’t believe them immediately, nor will I reject them immediately. I will investigate and verify things for myself based on the clues provided by others before deciding whether to accept them.” He said that in mainland China, although official media outlets are numerous, the sources of information are highly singular.
“Even if one hundred television stations say the exact same thing, it is still just one single voice. Without information from different dimensions, it is very difficult to truly judge what is true and what is false.”
He believes that if a society lacks diverse sources of information, it is very difficult for people to form a truly independent capacity for judgment.
After the June Fourth Incident, Chinese Society Underwent Tremendous Changes
When discussing the 1989 Democracy Movement, Thomas expressed that he later consulted a significant amount of historical material from that era, including documentaries of foreign journalists interviewing students on the streets of Beijing.
He said that before June Fourth, Chinese university campuses once possessed a considerably active space for ideological discussion, whereas after 1989, this kind of open discussion almost completely disappeared.
The reporter also shared their own experience, noting that because they grew up along the coast of Guangdong, they were able to directly watch Hong Kong television in 1989, and therefore witnessed with their own eyes a large volume of live broadcast footage from Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
The reporter stated, “The occurrence of the June Fourth Incident made the CCP regime feel incomparable terror; a student movement once caused the top leadership of the CCP to feel a severe crisis of governance. Consequently, in the days that followed, they continuously tightened news blockades and ideological control, and tremendous changes took place everywhere from the media to school education. Nowadays, for a nationwide student democracy movement like the one in 1989 to emerge again is almost impossible.”
Thomas agreed with this, believing that 1989 was perhaps the historical opportunity when China was closest to democratic politics.
He also mentioned that tracing further back, another figure in modern China who had the greatest opportunity to promote constitutional democracy was Song Jiaoren, the politician after the Revolution of 1911 (Xinhai Revolution).
“If Song Jiaoren had not been assassinated so early, Chinese history might have been completely different.”
Re-understanding History from Brainwashing
Speaking of their upbringing, the couple candidly admitted that, like many young Chinese people, they too had received long-term official propaganda.
Thomas said, “We didn’t know about these histories right from the start; we also went step by step, from being indoctrinated to continuously correcting our own understanding.”
He said that what truly prompted them to change was not one specific book, but rather the continuous exposure to different information combined with their own observations, which slowly built up their own judgment.
He believes that what a person truly needs to learn is not to simply accept another set of views, but to cultivate independent thinking and a critical spirit. “No matter what kind of viewpoint you face, you should retain your own thinking rather than accepting it directly.”
The reporter stated that this point is highly similar to the experiences shared by many Hong Kong pro-democracy activists. After a person leaves behind an education of indoctrinated standard answers, they first need to rid themselves of the inertia of thinking formed in the past, rather than simply moving from one ideology to another; what is truly important is establishing the capacity for independent thinking and possessing critical thinking.
Mental Self-Blockades Are More Terrifying Than the Great Firewall
During the exchange, Thomas spoke particularly about the continuously intensifying information control in China in recent years.
He said that nowadays, not only is scaling the firewall becoming increasingly difficult, but many cross-border communication and information acquisition channels are also facing constant restrictions.
He believes that what is more terrifying than the physical “Great Firewall” is the enclosure of thought.
The reporter deeply resonated with this. The reporter stated that many ethnic Chinese who have lived overseas for a long time, despite residing in democratic countries where the internet is interconnected, still rely on information platforms from mainland China for a long period to obtain information, thereby remaining invisibly influenced by a singular information environment.
Thomas also pointed out that content filtering on social media platforms often does not explicitly notify users; instead, it reduces the scope of dissemination, leading many people to mistakenly believe that their information has been successfully published.
“A lot of times, it’s not that you cannot post, but rather that other people simply cannot see it.”
The Persistence of Hong Kong People Is Admirable
The reporter stated that after years of exposure to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activities, their greatest impression is that the rule of law, civic education, and values of freedom long formed in Hong Kong society have enabled many Hong Kong people to still adhere to their beliefs when facing pressure. From the 2014 Umbrella Movement to the 2019 Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement, the civic consciousness demonstrated by Hong Kong society commands great admiration.
Thomas believes that this kind of spirit is worth learning for everyone who cares about the future of China.
Hoping More Young People Will Join
At the end of the interview, the on-site staff introduced Thomas to the various activities long organized by the China Democracy Party and overseas pro-democracy groups, hoping that more young people will participate in public affairs in the future.
Thomas expressed that if there are opportunities in the future, he will continue to follow related activities and, while ensuring his own safety, introduce the true history he has learned to more people. He said, “Of course we hope our country can become better and better. True patriotism is not avoiding problems, but hoping that the country can face problems and continuously progress.”
The photo exhibition that day lasted for nearly four hours, with many passing American citizens, new immigrants from mainland China, and tourists from different ethnic backgrounds stopping to view the display and engaging in exchanges and discussions with the on-site staff. The impact achieved by the event also responded to the original intention of the organizers: history should not be forgotten, and the truth cannot be covered up. It is hoped that more people will understand history to prevent tragedies from happening again.
Editor: Zhong Ran Proofreader: Cheng Xiaoxiao Translator: Ge Bing
