Speech: The Bell Tolls for You

Good evening. Welcome to tonight's Candlelight vigil memorial. Thank you all for coming.

We are gathered here tonight, to mourn the loss of 192 innocent lives during and after the July 5th riot in Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.

We don't know their names. All we know is that among these 192 victims, at least 137 were Han Chinese, 46 were Uyghur Chinese, and 1 was Hui Chinese. We know little about how they lived, but we need to remember how they died. The majority of these victims were murdered or fatally wounded on the evening of July 5th between 8 PM and midnight. Some of them were in their little stores, maybe worrying about the economic crisis, we'll never know. Others were on the road, walking, riding a bike, taking a bus, or driving a car. We don't know where they were heading, and who were waiting for them on the other end of the road, but we know for sure that none of them had dreamed that while the security forces were overwhelmed by the chaos caused by the protest-turned-riot, the terrorists hiding among the rioters were patiently waiting for the right moment to start the bloodbath, by ambushing innocent men, women and children, and killing as many Han Chinese as possible, in the most barbaric manner imaginable. Killing started off major streets all over the city, in fact more than 50 bodies were found in dark alleys. Blood rushed out of stab wounds, heads smashed, throats slit, some beheaded, some amputated, others burnt alive in a store or on a bus. Please pardon my violent language, all I want to say is: don't tell me this was a peaceful protest, how could it be? The brutality and efficiency of the attacks are far beyond the extent of protesting or even rioting, and the prevailing causes of death and patterns of injuries from stab or head wounds rather than gun shots prove the accusation of a government crackdown absurd. The truth speaks louder than words. Although the security forces were able to regain control of most areas of the city and stop the violence by sunrise, the flames of these victims' lives had been extinguished forever.

The rest victims died several days later in the hands of angry Han crowds seeking revenge, or assassinated by the same Uyghur terrorists now carrying out guerrilla strikes. We don't know the exact number of this group of victims, only that it's much less than that of the evening of July 5th.

These 192 victims, we don't know their life stories. We only know that they must be someone's child, sibling, spouse, and/or parent. Some of them just learned how to walk, some just got a college admission letter, some are expecting a new baby. We know they didn't do anything heinous, and the only reason they are targeted is for their ethnicity.

We are not here tonight to talk about the root causes or immediate causes of this riot. Because nothing will ever be able to justify this massacre of so many unarmed innocent civilians. No excuses can change the fact that the murderers are a bunch of fanatic psychopaths and this event is an indisputable terrorist attack and a cold-blooded crime against humanity. All the politicians and the journalists who try to make people believe this is another government crackdown like Tiananmen Square, or those who make excuses for the murderers should be ashamed of themselves, because instead of advocating for the victims, they are in effect acting as accomplices to the murderers.

Tonight we gather here, to light up a candle for each victim, because although most of them are ordinary non-achievers in their lives, they are somebody's loved ones. Their death is a loss not only to their families, but to us all. Hence we organized this memorial, to show that we care deeply about the 192 dead and the 1721 (One thousand Seven hundred and Twenty One) wounded, to show that we did not and will never forget, and to show our support for all efforts to seek justice for these innocent victims in the rule of law. Because only justice will heal the wounds in our heart, will wipe the fear in people's heart and bring smiles and laughter back to the streets of Urumqi, and only justice will prevent this kind of nightmares from ever happening again. Tonight we gather here, to pay our sincere respect to human life, and to extend our deepest sympathy and blessing to the deceased, wounded and their families, because no man is an island. Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for you.