Echoes of the Cross and Tiananmen: Nearly 40 Chinese Christians Gather in Amsterdam to Condemn CCP Persecution with Faith and Conscience
(Christian Li Yang)
(Amsterdam, June 11, 2026) —— The scars of history have not healed with the passage of time, yet the glimmer of truth continues to shine through the darkness of totalitarianism. On the 37th anniversary of the 1989 June 4th Tiananmen Square Massacre, a solemn memorial rally was held at Dam Square in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Among the over one hundred human rights defenders, dissidents, and ethnic representatives in attendance, a distinct group of nearly 40 Chinese Christians stood out. They gathered not only to mourn the young lives cut down on Chang'an Avenue 37 years ago but also to bear witness—as survivors—and issue a tearful condemnation to the international community regarding the brutal religious persecution currently sweeping across China.
Beneath the gloomy sky and amidst the persistent drizzle during the latter half of the rally, this group of Christians held up bilingual signs reading, "Chinese Communist Party, Stop Persecuting Christians." Standing alongside other attendees, they bowed their heads in a minute of silence and laid pure white flowers before the 4.5-meter-tall "Pillar of Shame" banner and black-and-white photographs of the June 4th bloodshed. For them, commemorating the Tiananmen Massacre is more than looking back at history; it is an active practice of their faith in defending justice, truth, and human conscience.
(Wu Jing, a Christian)
Refusing to Forget: Guarding Historical Truth and Human Conscience
During the rally, multiple Chinese Christians from various backgrounds took to the stage, directly linking the 1989 pro-democracy movement with the rapidly deteriorating environment for religious freedom in China today.
Wu Jing , a Christian from China, spoke with a heavy heart. She recalled that 37 years ago, countless unarmed students and ordinary citizens took to the streets to peacefully call for democracy, freedom, and justice, only to be met with a brutal military crackdown by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities.
"This history does not only belong to China; it belongs to everyone in the world who cherishes freedom and human rights. Regrettably, to this day, this history remains strictly censored. But no matter how much time passes, we must never forget those who paid the ultimate price for freedom and dignity. Forgetting is enabling; remembering is the most fundamental respect we can offer the fallen."
Wu Jing shared that as a Christian, she feels a profound, personal connection to the trauma inflicted by state violence. She herself faced threats and arrests by the CCP for her faith, forcing her to flee her homeland and live in exile. She pointed out that the freedom of religion and thought guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been completely trampled upon in today's China. Countless house churches have been shut down, and believers have been detained, imprisoned, or even lost their lives. Citing Psalm 27:1—"The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?"—she offered encouragement to her persecuted brothers and sisters back in China and urged the international community to pay close attention to the plight of Chinese believers.
Enduring Persecution: Fear Cannot Extinguish the Thirst for Freedom
Li Yang, a Christian who previously faced arrest and imprisonment by CCP authorities for holding fast to her faith, shared her agonizing journey. She stated that after experiencing displacement and the pain of being exiled from her home, she possesses a much deeper understanding of the greatness and tragedy of the students in Tiananmen Square.
"More than thirty years ago, those students and citizens who took to the streets committed no crime. Driven by love for their country, they peacefully advocated for basic human rights. Yet, waiting for them was not dialogue or answers, but tanks, gunfire, and a ruthless suppression. Countless young lives fell on the path to freedom, and countless families were shattered. This is a wound in the hearts of the Chinese people that can never be erased."
Li Yang emphasized that as a Christian who has personally endured persecution, she intimately knows "what fear is, and what silence brings." She implored the world not to ignore the human rights defenders and prisoners of conscience who continue to face brutal crackdowns in China today. "The truth will not remain buried forever, conscience will not remain imprisoned forever, and the thirst for freedom will never be completely obliterated by tanks and high walls."
(Zhang Yongmei, a Christian)
Eleven Years of Exile: The Shared Fate of Tiananmen and House Churches
Fifty-eight-year-old Zhang Yongmei is a Christian from a Chinese house church. Although she was not physically present in Beijing in 1989, she astutely pointed out that the core logic behind the June 4th massacre and today's religious persecution is identical.
"June 4th taught us a heavy reality: When a regime fears the voices of its own people, its weapons will inevitably turn against them."
Zhang Yongmei recalled that because of her steadfast commitment to her house church, her congregation endured long-term surveillance, raids, and beatings by CCP police. To protect her faith, she went into hiding and eventually fled to the Netherlands 11 years ago to seek asylum. However, over a decade later, she is still unable to return to her homeland and reunite with her loved ones.
She spoke with deep emotion: "These experiences have made me truly understand the preciousness of freedom. Because whether it is the freedom pursued by the June 4th students or the freedom of belief defended by Chinese Christians today, they are essentially about safeguarding human dignity, truth, and conscience. Perhaps the truth can be hidden for a time, but not for eternity; perhaps justice will be delayed, but it will never be permanently absent."
(Christian couple Wang Quntao and Sun Xin'ai)
Exposing "Mental Kidnapping": The CCP as the Ultimate Cult of the Era
During the gathering, other Chinese Christians bravely stepped forward to fiercely condemn the CCP regime’s systematic destruction of religious groups, explicitly labeling the CCP itself as a true "cult."
Christian Wang Quntao expressed his outrage, stating that the CCP used tanks and machine guns to massacre peaceful citizens in 1989, and today it maniacally persecutes religious communities, demolishes places of worship, and burns Bibles. He accused the CCP of forcing the people to worship its dictator as a god, ruling China through lies and violence. "It is the greatest anti-God, anti-truth cult!" he declared.
Another Christian, Sun Xin'ai, detailed the despicable and cruel "mental kidnapping" tactics employed by local CCP police to force believers to renounce their faith.
"CCP police routinely use the most despicable methods of coercion and bribery: they target a person's weakest vulnerability—their children and their children's future. They threaten, 'If you do not abandon your faith, your child will not be allowed to attend school, they will be expelled, and their entire future will be ruined, implicating the whole family.' This psychological brainwashing, leveraging a child's right to education, is extremely sinister and cruel."
Sun Xin'ai stressed that the real cult is the CCP itself. It worships power and violence, rules by deceit, and deliberately destroys the moral baseline of society. She appealed to people of conscience worldwide not to be deceived by the CCP's propaganda, but to witness the families torn apart for their faith and the innocent believers whose children are used as bargaining chips by the state.
Solidarity with Arrested Brethren: Calling for the Release of Prisoners of Conscience
Action alongside prayer was a defining characteristic of the Christian presence at the rally. As the event reached its climax, Wang Jun—a Christian from the Songzhuang branch of Beijing Zion Church and a contemporary artist—took the microphone. Facing the crowd of over a hundred people in Dam Square, he loudly read out a long list of individuals who have lost their freedom because of their faith.
These names are more than just a list; they are irrefutable evidence of the severe religious persecution occurring in China today. Wang Jun led the crowd in chanting:
"Faith is Not a Crime! Freedom of Belief! Free China!"
He then called out, word by word, with powerful resonance:
Free Jin Mingri!
Free Gao Yingjia!
Free Yin Huibin!
Free Wang Lin!
Free Wang Cong!
Free Wei Yunfei!
Free Hu Yanzi!
Free Liu Zhenbin!
Free Lin Shucheng!
Free Wu Qiuyu!
Free An Mei!
Free Li Shengjuan!
Free Sun Cong!
Free Liu Jiang!
Free Zhan Ge!
Free Zhu Mingli!
Free Wang Zhong!
"Release them immediately! Release them immediately!" The chants echoed into the Amsterdam sky, harmonizing with the "Never Forget June 4th" and "Inherit the Democratic Spirit" banners. The collective voices transformed the mourning for the historical victims into concrete solidarity with those actively oppressed today.
Conclusion: Being Salt and Light in the Darkest of Times
Throughout the two-hour rally, this group of Chinese Christians stood their ground. Despite the chilling rain that fell during the second half of the event, no one retreated. Their very presence was the most silent, yet most powerful, resistance against CCP totalitarianism.
The voices of these nearly 40 Christians in Amsterdam sent a crystal-clear message to the world: The 1989 Tiananmen Massacre never truly ended; it merely changed its form, hiding within the house churches, detention centers, and the omnipresent surveillance state of modern China. Yet, while tyranny may destroy the flesh and tear down the crosses from church rooftops, it can never extinguish the faith and the yearning for freedom within the human heart.
As they hoped in their final united prayer: The historical truth will eventually be brought to light, and righteous judgment will arrive. They call upon governments worldwide, international human rights organizations, and all people of conscience to stand with them and address the rapidly deteriorating state of human rights and religious freedom in China—until the people of that land can finally live free from fear, and breathe and worship in freedom.