The father of a protester who died during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has killed himself in protest, according to the Associated Press (AP).
The body of Ya Weilin was found in an underground garage below his residence on Monday. The 73-year-old is believed to have hanged himself on Friday. According to his family, he left a note explaining that he had killed himself in protest at the 20 years of inaction by the Chinese government over his son’s death.
Ya's son, Ya Aiguo, was 22-years-old when he was shot in the head during the period of martial law imposed by the regime after the start of the protests.
An official silence has been maintained by the Chinese regime over the killing of students and activists by the military on 3 June 1989, so much so that online search engines in China have blocked the term “Tiananmen Square”.
Zhang Xianling whose late son, Wang Nan was killed in the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown
Still, the parents of those killed (estimates of the death toll runs into the thousands) have waged a writing campaign against the regime, demanding access to information about the circumstances of the massacre. The government has so far refused to countenance all calls for an investigation or compensation.
Zhang Xianling, who is part of a support group for victims of Tiananmen Square, told AP: "The government's cold-blooded behaviour has caused this tragic ending."
"I hope this incident will make the government circumspect and that such a thing will not happen again… in this, the government has a responsibility. It owes a life now."