A delegation from the World Student Christian Federation consisting of nine members from seven National Student Christian Movements visited China beginning May 29, 1989. The objectives of the delegation were to understand present day China, to study the life and witness of the Church, to build links with students and churches, and to interpret the work of the Federation.
We visited the country at a time when the people of China were engaged in a struggle for democracy and freedom, and against corruption and nepotism. Martial Law had already been enforced by the government in Beijing.
As members of the Student Christian Movement we were encouraged to see that students were the driving force and the frontline fighters in this struggle. The United Front of Students is not trying to overthrow the government, rather, they are asserting democracy and freedom and legitimately claiming their right to have their say in the restructuring of the society. The students demand that they be treated as equals and not as objects of authoritarian rule.
The Government showed an attitude of apathy to their constant call for dialogue. At the Tiananmen Square in the capital city of Beijing, where the movement gathered momentum, the demonstrators decided to sit in until their voice was heard by the Government. Workers, university teachers, students, peasants and the general public expressed their solidarity other by joining the sit-in or by participating in the demonstrations.
There has been enormous restraint both on the part of the students and the government that the nation-wide struggle which began in the middle of April and drew millions of people into the streets across China, did not result in violence or chaos until the recent past.
We cherish the hopes and aspirations of the students and other demonstrators in the Tiananmen Square. We heard their views and hopes. We hoped for peaceful dialogue between the demonstrators and the Government.
But it looks as if their hopes and our hopes are shattered. During the last few days units of the Chinese Army have been engaged in the violent suppression of peaceful demonstrations in the streets of Beijing and the sit-in at the Tiananmen Square. The indiscriminate and unprovoked use of military force has caused death and injury of thousands of students and other innocent civilians.
As we share our experiences and feelings with you, we vividly recall the faces of a number of students with whom we had the privilege of discussing the issues at stake, and we wonder what happened to their lives and the lives of their colleagues. We are concerned about the situation in the country which is deteriorating day by day and spreading far and wide and we are anxious about the people in the struggle.
We mourn the students and the civilians who lost their lives in Beijing and other parts of the country. We thank God for their witness to God's purpose for humanity that human beings should live in freedom and dignity. We express our sympathy to the bereaved families. We deplore the use of force to suppress the democratic aspirations of the Chinese people. We share the sense of horror created by the brutal actions of the Chinese Army and condemn the misuse of power and the slaughter of innocent people.
After visiting Beijing and Nanjing for a week, in the wake of violence and under the prevailing unfavourable circumstances, the delegations was compelled to cut short the programme which was originally scheduled to visit most of the major cities in China over a three week period.
We call upon the members and friends of the WSCF family to join in the international condemnation of the slaughter of the innocent people and express their solidarity with and prayerful support for the people of China with the following courses of action:
June 13, 1989, Hong Kong