"US urges China to account for the 'ghosts' of Tiananmen
BEIJING/HONG KONG: The United States urged China to make a full public account of a crackdown on student-led pro-democracy protests in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989 as tens of thousands in Hong Kong held a candlelight vigil for the victims.
The Chinese government sent tanks to quell the June 4, 1989 protests, and has never released a death toll. Estimates from human rights groups and witnesses range from several hundred to several thousand.
The Tiananmen crackdown is a taboo subject in China and 29 years later it remains a point of contention between China and many Western countries.
In a statement on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he remembered "the tragic loss of innocent lives".
Pompeo said: "We join others in the international community in urging the Chinese government to make a full public accounting of those killed, detained or missing,"
In response to Pompeo's comments, China had lodged "stern representations" with the United States, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Monday.
China long ago reached a clear conclusion about the events of that era, but the United States every year issues statements of "gratuitous criticism" and interferes in its internal affairs, Hua said.
"The U.S. Secretary of State has absolutely no qualifications to demand the Chinese government do anything," she added.
The Chinese Communist Party no longer mentions the Tiananmen incident in order to help Chinese society move on, which it has successfully done, Hu added, writing in English on Twitter, which is blocked in China.
Tens of thousands of people gathered in a downtown park in Hong Kong for an annual public commemoration of the crackdown on a rainy evening. Filling six football pitches n amongst those in the crowds were those from mainland China who would otherwise be barred from publicly marking June 4
Hong Kong is the only place in China where such large-scale public commemorations happen, though neighbouring Macau also holds smaller annual gatherings.
On Tiananmen Square, security was tight as is usual for the anniversary, with no signs of any protests or other memorial events.
Foreigners' passports were checked by Chinese police at a checkpoint nearly a kilometre from the square. A Reuters reporter was turned away and told that unapproved "interview activities" were forbidden in the square on Monday.
In their annual open letter, the Tiananmen Mothers, who represent the families of those who died, said the government was guilty of serious disrespect by ignoring their requests for redress.
"Such a powerful proletarian dictatorship apparatus is afraid of us: the old, the sick, and the weakest and most vulnerable of our society," they wrote in a letter addressed to Chinese President Xi Jinping."
Interestingly only Hkg SAR seems to b still steadfast on commemorating this pivotal historical moment in China. What would hv become of China had the students had their way?
Would China b what it is today or would it b "controlled" or heavily influenced by foreign powers?
Would it hv gone the way of the dissolution of the great USSR?
If only one can turn back the clock n experiment!?
Whatever it is, someone needs to tell the truth n moved on. The crackdown did happen. People died. Were killed. Just account for it n moved on.
Wouldn't that b great!!??
No comments:
Post a Comment