US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has commemorated the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, saying the victims’ legacy endures despite efforts to suppress discussion of the events. ..reports Asian Lite News Desk
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday marked the 37th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, criticising China’s censorship of the events and asserting that attempts to erase the memory of those killed in 1989 would ultimately fail.
In a statement issued ahead of the June 4 anniversary, Rubio paid tribute to the students, workers and civilians who participated in pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing and other cities before the military moved to suppress the movement.
Rubio said the victims had gathered to exercise their rights and call for democratic reforms and accountability, adding that their sacrifice continued to resonate decades later.
“We remember their lives and honour their legacy,” he said. “No amount of censorship can erase the past.”
The US Secretary of State also expressed support for those who advocated freedom of expression and peaceful assembly during the protests, saying their efforts would eventually be recognised.
“Those who sacrificed to uphold their unalienable rights of free expression and peaceful assembly will be vindicated someday,” Rubio said.
The anniversary also prompted renewed criticism of Beijing from the bipartisan leadership of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), a US body that monitors human rights and the rule of law in China.
In a joint statement, Senator Dan Sullivan and Representative Chris Smith questioned why peaceful calls for political reform in 1989 were met with a military response.
“Thirty-seven years after tanks rolled into Beijing, the Chinese Communist Party still refuses to answer the most basic question: Why were peaceful calls for freedom and reform met with bullets and bloodshed?” the lawmakers said.
The commission paid tribute to students, workers, journalists and other participants in the demonstrations, as well as families who continue to seek information about relatives who disappeared during or after the crackdown.
The statement also drew attention to restrictions in Hong Kong, where annual commemorations of the Tiananmen victims have been curtailed in recent years.
The CECC called for the release of several prominent figures imprisoned over activities linked to commemorating the anniversary, including Jimmy Lai, Chow Hang-tung, Gwyneth Ho, Joshua Wong and Lee Cheuk-yan.
The commission said it would continue to observe the anniversary annually until people in China and Hong Kong could commemorate the events freely and without fear of punishment.
The Tiananmen Square protests began in the spring of 1989 as a student-led movement demanding political reform, greater freedoms and action against corruption. The demonstrations later expanded to include workers and residents in Beijing and other Chinese cities.
Chinese authorities deployed troops to clear Tiananmen Square and surrounding areas on June 4, bringing an end to weeks of protests. The Chinese government has never released a full public accounting of the number of people killed during the crackdown.
More than three decades later, discussion of the events remains heavily restricted within China, while governments, human rights groups and activists around the world continue to mark the anniversary and call for greater transparency regarding what happened in 1989.
