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Goddess of Democracy
Freedom Week
As Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with President Barack Obama this week, the Newseum draws attention to China's intolerance of free expression and religious liberty with a series of programs and exhibits called Freedom Week.
This statue is a bronze reproduction of the original 33-foot-tall plaster Goddess of Democracy, created in May 1989 by Chinese students who led a pro-democracy movement in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. On June 4, 1989, Chinese armed forces moved in with tanks, killing hundreds of unarmed protesters and destroying the statue.
Today, Tinanmen Square is a forbidden topic in China, where censors block access to any information that challenges the ruling Communist Party. China's online censorship system -- dubbed the "Great Firewall of China" -- restricts what can be published and shared online.
Show your support for free expression by taking your picture with the Goddess of Democracy and sharing it on social media using #FreedomWeek. |