China on Wednesday sharply criticized U.S. Republican presidential candidate and Secretary of State Marco Rubio over his remarks commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, accusing the United States of “distorting historical facts” and attacking China’s political system.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Beijing had lodged a formal complaint with Washington following Rubio’s comments. “The United States has once again used the so-called Tiananmen incident to smear China and interfere in our internal affairs,” Lin told reporters during a regular press briefing in Beijing.
The diplomatic exchange came on the 36th anniversary of the military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing. On June 4, 1989, Chinese tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square to suppress weeks-long student-led protests, with soldiers opening fire on unarmed civilians. The Chinese Communist Party has never officially disclosed the number of casualties, but rights groups and eyewitnesses estimate the death toll could be in the thousands.
Rubio, in his role as Secretary of State and while campaigning for the presidency, marked the anniversary with a strongly worded statement: “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.”
He added, “The CCP actively tries to censor the facts, but the world will never forget.”
A Sensitive Anniversary
Discussion of the Tiananmen Square massacre remains heavily censored in China, with any public commemoration strictly banned. In contrast, Western governments and human rights organizations use the anniversary to renew calls for transparency, justice, and respect for civil liberties in China.
This year’s remarks come amid heightened U.S.–China tensions, spanning issues from trade and technology to Taiwan and human rights. Rubio’s statement reflects a broader bipartisan stance in Washington calling for accountability over China's rights record, but also signals the continuation of a hardline posture as the U.S. enters an election year.
While Beijing has routinely rejected such criticisms as foreign interference, the public response to Rubio’s statement underscores how politically sensitive the Tiananmen legacy remains for China’s leadership more than three decades on.
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The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on more than 30 individuals and entities tied to a massive Iranian shadow banking network accused of laundering billions of dollars to benefit the regime in Tehran.
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