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.
Armenia is looking to turn shared environmental challenges into opportunities for regional cooperation, with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan highlig...
The U.S. has banned government employees working in Saudi Arabia from using airports in the country without special authorisation. It com...
In an interview with AnewZ’s Sabir Safarov, Houthi-aligned journalist Hussain al-Bukhaiti warns of possible attacks on Saudi Arabia’...
The Saudi-led coalition said early Thursday that it intercepted and destroyed a drone over Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.
Yemen’s Houthis have claimed responsibility for the recent drone and missile strikes on Saudi Aramco facilities in Dhahran and Riyadh and at King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia, vowing to carry out more attacks in the coming days.
The U.S. has banned government employees working in Saudi Arabia from using airports in the country without special authorisation. It comes after a deadly Houthi strike on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport killed at least 13 people last week.
Ukraine's soldiers have had their access to Starlink satellite internet restricted. Kyiv's troops use the terminals, made by Elon Musk's SpaceX, to pilot drones. A source in Ukraine's Defence Ministry said the restrictions would make it harder for Kyiv's army to down Russian drones.
Ukraine is set to restart attacks on Russian oil refineries following a two-day pause, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, amid growing tensions with Washington over energy strikes and U.S. military support.
A Norwegian teenager recruited by a Swedish criminal network to carry out a contract killing in Britain has been sentenced to 20 years’ detention after police uncovered the murder plot.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called it “a disgrace” that Ukraine has resumed attacks on Russian oil refineries. Attacks are continuing from Russia and Ukraine as media reports say Ukraine has almost run out of Patriot interceptor missiles.
Romanian rescuers resumed their search for seven missing sailors on Friday (16 October) after a drone strike set a chemical tanker ablaze near the country’s Black Sea coast. The attacks have raised fresh security concerns along a vital regional trade route.
Students, lecturers and university staff marched on Argentina’s Congress in Buenos Aires on Thursday to demand President Javier Milei’s government implement a university funding law which would boost staff salaries and increase financial support to institutions to cover operating costs
A 16-year-old shooter opened fire on Thursday at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon in the United States, killing four people, including three children, before being killed by an armed member of the community who had pursued the assailant into the school, police said.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment