Washington: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday commemorated the 37th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, saying the world continues to remember those killed while demanding democratic reforms and warning that “no amount of censorship can erase the past.”
In a statement issued on the eve of the June 4 anniversary, Rubio said the Chinese Communist Party had ordered troops to attack “thousands of peaceful demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square” in 1989.
“Chinese students, workers, and other civilians who lost their lives had gathered to exercise their natural rights and demand democratic reforms and accountability for corruption,” Rubio said.
“We remember their lives and honour their legacy,” he added. “No amount of censorship can erase the past.”
Rubio said those who sacrificed themselves while defending freedom of expression and peaceful assembly would ultimately be vindicated.
“Those who sacrificed to uphold their unalienable rights of free expression and peaceful assembly will be vindicated someday,” he said.
Separately, the bipartisan leadership of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) issued a statement marking the anniversary and renewing criticism of Beijing’s handling of the events of June 4, 1989.
The statement was released jointly by Senator Dan Sullivan and Representative Chris Smith, the commission’s chairs.
“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.
“Today, we remember what the CCP still tries to erase.”