Ottawa, ON – The Hon. Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the Official Opposition, released the following statement on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre:

“On this day 34 years ago, the Communist Government in Beijing opened fire on its own citizens in Tiananmen Square, murdering so many protestors and other civilians who only wanted to enjoy peace, freedom, and democracy that the true number is still unknown today.

“Before the massacre, hundreds of thousands of students and ordinary civilians had gathered in the Chinese capital. They demanded free speech and democratization from their government, who, instead of letting people have the freedom they had a right to, used soldiers and tanks to crush the protest.

“To this day, the Communist Party continues to deny the extent of the massacre and cracks down on any discussion or remembrance of this catastrophic event.

“We must all remember the courage of these protestors, and we must reflect on the nature of a government that massacres its own civilians and then cracks down on any remembrance and discussion even 34 years after it occurred.

“The Communist Party in Beijing has failed to atone for their cruelty. Time and time again, whether it’s through the ongoing genocide of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, their aggression in the South China Sea, or their persecution of Canadians of Chinese heritage in Canada, it has become clear that we must stand up to the Communist government in Beijing. 

“The Conservative Party of Canada will always fight for freedom, and we will always stand with Chinese Canadians as they attempt to live in peace.”