Tiananmen massacre survivor slams Vancouver's move to raise China's flag

by MARTIN MACMAHON

Posted Oct 3, 2016

(Photo credit: Dustin Godfrey for NEWS 1130)

A special ceremony was held on Friday but no members of the English-speaking media were invited

Rose Tang, a leader of the student protests at Tiananmen Square, is dismayed by the move

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Vancouver’s decision to raise China’s flag and celebrate the 67th anniversary of the communist party’s rise to power in that country has led to a lot of debate. And one person particularly dismayed by the city’s move is Rose Tang, a leader of the student protests at Tiananmen Square.

For Tang, China’s flag represents her friends killed during the Tiananmen Square massacre. It represents the 15 members of her family who have died during the regime, two through execution, 13 through starvation.

She objects to Vancouver politicians, like City Councillor Kerry Jang and Liberal MP Joe Peschisolido wearing the red scarf. “That’s the very symbol of communism,” says Tang. “I don’t know how on earth these Canadians are wearing this ugly symbol of communism around and celebrating this murderous regime. The 67th anniversary of the People’s — the so-called People’s Republic of China.”

The flag-raising ceremony took place on Friday and English-language media outlets were not invited. “For me, it’s like a Jew looking at swastikas being spread all over Canada, and Canadian celebrating the victory of Nazi Germany and Hitler,” says Tang. “How would that feel?”

Since her role in the Tiananmen Square protests, Tang has gone on to oppose the communist regime through activism and artwork. She’s also worked as a journalist and taught media studies at Princeton University.

The decision by Vancouver City Hall has prompted the creation of a petition calling for Jang to apologize and resign.

NEWS 1130 reached out to Jang, who told us he won’t “feed the trolls” by commenting on this story.

Former COPE mayoral candidate Meena Wong has also weighed in on Facebook, stating that her family suffered greatly under China’s flag and the Communist Party.