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Why We Remember June Fourth
我们为什么铭记六四
Perry Link
林培瑞教授紀念六四詩作
June 2, 2019
Some people recently asked, “Why must you remember June Fourth?” Thirty years have gone by. It is history. Get over it. Move on.
常常有人问我，“为什么得记得六四？”
A simple question, but there are many answers. No single answer is adequate, and all of the answers together still leave the question hanging in mid-air, asking for more.
答案是有很多的，没有一个答案能够说得足够清楚。所有的答案加起来，也恐怕不够。因此我写下了十几个原因。
We remember June Fourth because Jiang Jielian was 17 at the time. He is still 17. He will always be 17. People who die do not age.
我们记住六四，是因为那时候蒋捷连17岁。今天，他仍旧17岁。他永远是17岁。死去的人不长岁数儿。
We remember June Fourth because it taught us the essential nature of the Communist Party of China when all of the clothes, every shred, falls away. No book, film, or museum could be clearer.
我们记住六四，是因为（它）让我们看清了中国共产党的本质。在那会儿，所有的外衣脱落在地，毫无隐藏。没有任何书籍、电影或者博物馆，能够让我们看得如此清晰。
We remember June Fourth because of the ordinary workers who died then. We cannot remember most of their names because…
