Remember

While we're kind of on a news feed for the blog (I promise, non-news subjects to come), it is worthwhile to note that today is the 19th anniversary of Tienanmen Square.

On June 4, 1989, during a pro-democracy rally in Tiananmen Square, PRC, the government rolled in PLA tanks and troops, killing hundreds, if not thousands of peaceful protesters, in a bloodbath which has been largely removed from history books, even disavowed as having occurred for many years.

The Guardian newspaper reported today that "Human Rights Watch said 130 people are still in prison as a result of their roles in the pro-democracy demonstrations..." and notes that "Civil rights activists called on the Chinese government today to release more than 100 prisoners from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests as a sign of its commitment to improve human rights ahead of this summer's Olympic Games."

Many have suggested the government is now at a place wherein the wrong-doings of the past can be owned and amended... yet thus far, no action has been taken.

Tiananmen Square is no longer a hot topic. We have moved on to other atrocities and injustices. But the fact of the matter is, the injustices, while no longer keenly felt by the majority of the world, still have not been rectified. The fact that it has been 19 years, to me, sounds the call that the battle for justice is not something in which we engage only when it's "hip" to do so.

The question is, will we still fight for justice even when it's not the topic of the hour? Even 19 years after a travesty begins or occurs, will we be people who fight for justice? Or, when the headlines fade, will our interest and passions fade as well?