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(Clearwisdom.net) The dedication ceremony for the Victims of Communism Memorial was held in Washington, DC, on the morning of June 12, 2007. In his speech, President Bush noted that Communism has taken the lives of an estimated 100 million innocent people in the 20th century. The memorial will serve to record the crimes of Communism in the 20th century for future generations and to ensure that such crimes are never repeated. Bush reminded the attendees that Communism still exists in the world.
President Bush said, "According to the best scholarly estimate, Communism took the lives of tens of millions of people in China and the Soviet Union, and millions more in North Korea, Cambodia, Africa, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Eastern Europe, and other parts of the globe." "It's important that we recall these lessons because the evil and hatred that inspired the deaths of tens of millions of people in the 20th century is still at work in the world."
US Representative Dana Rohrabacher said that we must remember that Communism is an evil force. The memorial will remind people that there are still hundreds of thousands of people who are suffering under the rule of Communist tyranny in China, Vietnam, Cuba, and other countries.
The memorial to Victims of Communism is located at the intersection of Massachusetts and New Jersey Avenues, about two blocks from Union Station and within view of the Capitol in Washington.
U.S. congressional leaders, members of the diplomatic corps, congressional leaders from former Communist countries, survivors of the persecution of Communist tyranny from China and other countries, as well as many other dignitaries, ethnic leaders, and memorial supporters attended the ceremony.
US Representative Tom Lantos said that we no longer want to see any more victims of Communism appear on this planet. Communism has no chance to prevail.
Swedish Parliament Member Mr. Goran Lindblad pointed out that the memorial is very important to ensure that people will not stand idly by nor forget that there are still many Communist countries, such as China, Cuba, North Korea, and so on.
Mr. Lindblad said that he had a conversation with a former diplomat who has renounced the CCP, Chen Yonglin, in Canada, and has noticed that more than 20 million people in China have announced their withdrawals from the CCP. He said that such a movement is a good sign.
Along the route to the site of the dedication ceremony for the Victims of Communism Memorial, volunteers for the Service Center for Quitting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) in Washington held up banners, supporting more than 22 million people in China who have quit the Party and its affiliated organizations. They called on people from all walks of life to pay attention to the trend to quit the Communist Party in China.