Washington, June 4 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday condemned China for the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing on the 36th anniversary of the incident, commemorating the courage of the innocent people killed in the "Chinese Communist Party's brutal crackdown".
"We remember the Chinese Communist Party's brutal crackdown 36 years ago in Tiananmen Square and commemorate the courage of the innocent people killed and imprisoned that day. Freedom, democracy, and self-rule are human principles the CCP cannot erase," Rubio posted on X.
According to a statement from the US Department of State, the demonstrations began on April 15, 1989, when tens of thousands of students gathered in Beijing's largest public square to mourn the passing of a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader who tried to steer China toward a more open and democratic system.
It later became a forum to protest corruption and call for broader political and economic reforms inspiring a national movement. On the night of June 3 and 4, 1989, the Chinese Army stormed the Square with tanks, crushing the protests with terrible human costs.
"Hundreds of thousands of ordinary people in the capital and throughout China took to the streets for weeks to exercise their freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly by advocating for democracy, human rights, and an end to rampant corruption. The CCP responded with a brutal crackdown, sending the Chinese Army to open fire in an attempt to extinguish the pro-democracy sentiments of unarmed civilians gathered on Beijing's streets and in Tiananmen Square," read the statement.
"The CCP actively tries to censor the facts, but the world will never forget. Today, we commemorate the bravery of the Chinese people who were killed as they tried to exercise their fundamental freedoms, as well as those who continue to suffer persecution as they seek accountability and justice for the events of June 4, 1989. Their courage in the face of certain danger reminds us that the principles of freedom, democracy, and self-rule are not just American principles. They are human principles the CCP cannot erase," it added.
Meanwhile, the US-based rights group Human Rights Watch criticised China, highlighting that thirty-six years after the killing of countless peaceful pro-democracy protesters in Beijing, the Chinese government still seeks to erase the memory of the June 1989 Tiananmen Massacre.
"The Chinese government has never owned up to the Tiananmen Massacre, much less provided redress for victims and their families. Beijing's enforced amnesia has deepened authoritarian rule in China, yet it has not extinguished demands for the truth, democracy, and respect for human rights," said Yalkun Uluyol, Chinese researcher at Human Rights Watch.
"Despite the Chinese government's efforts to repress the memory of the Tiananmen Massacre, the incident continues to reverberate around the world. Foreign governments should support and echo acts of remembrance by commemorating the Tiananmen Massacre and pressuring Beijing to finally accept its responsibilities," he added.
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