On October 1, 2009, China marked 60 years of communist rule.  In true communist fashion, the country celebrated its diamond anniversary with festivities that were off-limits to the actual people of China.  The U.S. ignored an opportunity to point this out, choosing to congratulate the financial backer of American debt instead of calling them out for decades of human rights abuses and religious oppression.

Let us not forget what happened 20 years ago: the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

On June 4, 1989, Chinese citizen Fang Zheng was among the many pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square.  On that fateful day, he and 100,000 fellow Chinese vocalized a movement that rejected government oppression and embraced democratic freedoms.  Fearful for its own survival, the government ordered a military crackdown and oversaw the brutal murder of thousands of unarmed students.  Leaping in front of a tank to push a pregnant woman out of the way, Mr. Zheng was run over and lost both of his legs.

A talented athlete, Fang Zheng was determined not to give up.  He broke two Asian records at the 1992 All-China Disabled Athletic Games.  As his star rose, however, he became a threat to the Chinese government.  The government demanded that he not speak to reporters about how he lost his legs, and he was eventually banned him from competing in international athletic events.

However, in a miraculous turn of events, Mr. Zheng was eventually able to emigrate to the U.S., and, in his own words, experience the “generosity of the American people.”  With the help of human rights activists, doctors, specialists, and the prosthetics company Ossur, he was fitted with high-tech prosthetic legs and is currently undergoing rigorous physical therapy at Adventist Rehabilitation Hospital in Maryland. 

Mr. Zheng continues to speak out about what happened to him at Tiananmen Square, and on October 7, 2009, he achieved something truly remarkable.

Before Congressman Joseph Cao (R-Louisiana), Congressman Joe Pitts (R-Pennsylvania), Congressman Chris Smith (R-New Jersey), reporters, and observers in a meeting room in the Capitol, Mr. Zheng asked his wife to share their very first dance.  To the tune of a slow Chinese melody, he proudly took his wife’s hand and began to dance with her.

Mr. Zheng’s inspiring transition from the wheelchair to the dance floor, comprised of tragedy, brutal oppression by his government, a long journey to the U.S., months of intense medical rehabilitation, and sheer determination, will do much more than touch the lives of those who witnessed the dance.  The video of Mr. Zheng and his wife dancing will be broadcast on YouTube and will be funneled into China for millions to see. 

Little did Fang Zheng know on June 4, 1989, that 20 years later he would serve as a symbol of hope for those still suffering in China and as a symbol of the democratic freedoms that Americans should never take for granted or let slip away.