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."
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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."
The commission leaders paid tribute to the students, workers, journalists and ordinary citizens who participated in the demonstrations.
"We remember the students, workers, journalists, and ordinary citizens who demanded free speech and an end to corruption -- and paid for that courage with their lives and liberty," they said.
The statement also highlighted the continuing efforts of families seeking information about relatives who disappeared during or after the crackdown.
"We remember the families still denied the truth about their missing loved ones," the lawmakers said.
The CECC statement further linked the anniversary to restrictions in Hong Kong, noting that public commemorations of the Tiananmen victims had been banned and that organisers had faced imprisonment.
The commission called for the release of individuals jailed for what it described as peaceful remembrance activities in Hong Kong, including Jimmy Lai, Chow Hang-tung, Gwyneth Ho, Joshua Wong and Lee Cheuk-yan.
"On this anniversary, we call for an end to the CCP's censorship and denial about the events of June 4, 1989 and the release of those imprisoned for peaceful remembrance in Hong Kong," the statement said.
The lawmakers also pledged to continue observing the anniversary annually until people in China and Hong Kong could commemorate it freely.
"We pledge to continue commemoration of this important event every year until the people of China and Hong Kong can do so freely, without fear, punishment, or restriction," they said.
The Tiananmen Square protests began in the spring of 1989 as a student-led movement calling for political reform, greater freedoms and action against corruption. The demonstrations expanded to attract workers and residents in Beijing and other Chinese cities before the military moved to clear the square and surrounding areas on June 4.
The Chinese government has never provided a full public accounting of the death toll. Discussion of the crackdown remains one of the most tightly controlled subjects in China, while governments, rights organisations and activists around the world continue to mark the anniversary each year and call for greater transparency about the events of 1989.