Activism
Since her son’s death in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, Ding Zilin has been fighting for justice for the victims. Her activism has drawn international attention and association with recognizable human rights groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and HRIC (Human Rights in China). New York based human rights watchdog HRIC has been labelled by the Chinese government as a hostile organization. Because of Ding Zilins efforts Amnesty International has a political campaign to put pressure on the Chinese government to acknowledge and apologize for the deaths of so many citizens. Amnesty applauded the Chinese government in June 2007 for allowing Ding Zilin, her husband and two other dead citizens’ kin to light candles west of Tiananmen Square. Despite the minimal recognition from the government Amnesty urges Chinese authorities to allow open debate and more public memorials in order to help improve Chinas human rights record and the image of Beijing on the international stage. Ding Zilin and human rights groups demand the Chinese government to stop labelling the student protest with political jargon such as “counter-revolutionary rebellion”.
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