1989 Participant's Profile: Xie Jingsuo (谢京锁)

Xie Jingsuo (谢京锁), male, born on February 19, 1968, was killed at age 21, on Chang'an Boulevard, near Liubukou, in Beijing, on the morning of June 4, 1989. At the time, he was a student at the Light Industry Engineering College in Beijing. His ashes rest in Futian Public Cemetery in Beijing.

Testimony of Xie Jingrong, older sister of Xie Jingsuo:

In the afternoon of June 3, Jingsuo went to fetch his fourth sister home. When it got late and he had not come back, anxiety grew among his family and friends, since at the time the atmosphere in Beijing was so tense. The following morning, on June 4, Jingsuo had still not returned. We started to look for him on the streets and in the hospitals. We went to People's Hospital, Water Conservancy Hospital, Railway Hospital and Fuxing Hospital; we searched along Muxudi, Gongzhufen and other streets and places. We didn't find him.

On the morning of June 7, his school informed us that we should come to claim his body at the Emergency Center. There, we were told that Jingsuo had died on June 4. The death certificate indicated that death had resulted from serious heart failure. According to a driver in the Emergency Center, however, Jingsuo was killed by gunfire in the evening of June 3 and some people brought him to the Center. We still do not know exactly when and where the tragedy happened. Six wounds were visible on Jingsuo's body, in the chest and on the back. They are clearly visible on the photos. We couldn't tell whether they were wounds caused by bullets or marks left by batons. He had clearly been shot in the genitals. We never told our parents about the circumstances of his terrible death. We don't have the heart to add to their pain.

On the morning of June 11, some faculty members of the college, his schoolmates and relatives assembled at Babaoshan to say farewell to Jingsuo. His ashes were kept there for three years, and then transferred to Futian Public Cemetery in Beijing. Since Jingsuo's death, the whole family has suffered immensely. Our hearts are grieving deeply. My parents lost their only son; as a sister I lost my dear younger brother; the family lost its only college student. The shock was too heavy to bear for my mother, who for half a year didn't go out of our home, afraid that familiar scenes from the past would cause her even more grief. Because of my mother's breakdown, we had to put a lot of energy into getting her medical treatment, comforting her and staying around her. Because he was under so much pressure, my father rapidly lost about 40 pounds and contracted several illnesses. In short, June Fourth has brought sufferings to us-our family, our relatives and close friends-and these sufferings are beyond words. Our hearts are forever filled with memories and suffering.

Xie Jingrong

February 4, 1999