BEIJING - A group of well-known Chinese dissidents said on Feb. 1 that they have formed a committee to commemorate Zhao Ziyang, the forsaken former Chinese leader. This action could enrage the current Chinese leaders.

This group announced that the Zhao Ziyang Memorial Committee will open an office in every province in China and in various countries all over the world. The Zhao Ziyang Memorial Committee hopes to build a memorial hall for Zhao as a symbol of democracy.

This announcement was signed by more than 200 people. Some of them currently reside in China and are lawyers and well-educated people. This group also protested the Beijing government’s arrests of many dissidents.

These “dissidents” were trying to show their respect for Zhao and then later disappeared mysteriously.

The announcement states, “The Chinese official media never reported Zhao’s death and the government has refused to let Zhao have a public funeral service. This has completely ignored the feelings of the majority of Chinese people all over the world.”

Chinese dissident Wang Dan (Matt Campbell/AFP/Getty Images)

The current Chinese leaders did not seem to fully understand the situation. The CCP leaders have said they hope to continue to move forward and not to linger on commemorating Zhao.

Zhao Ziyang died on Jan 17 at the age of 85. His body was cremated on Jan 29 under the authority of the Beijing government.

Zhao Ziyang used to be the Chinese President and the Chinese Communist Party General Secretary. In 1989, Zhao objected to the plan to use weapons in Tiananmen Square to suppress the demonstrators who sought democracy and an end to the corruption. Zhao was later removed from his position.

Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo (L) and his wife Liu Xia pose for a photograph in Beijing, 22 October 2002. (AFP)

In the announcement, it says, “In 1989, Zhao Ziyang refused to obey Deng Xiaoping’s decision to use lethal weapons to suppress the students protesting in Tiananmen Square. Through this act, Zhao demonstrated his uprightness and courage.”

The Zhao Ziayng Memorial Committee also said that the committee members include Wang Dan, who participated in the Tiananmen movement and currently lives outside of China, and Liu Xiaobo, a free lance journalist who currently lives in Beijing.