By Ryan Patrick Jones
(Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday praised the bravery of the Chinese people who were killed in a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters at Tiananmen Square in Beijing 36 years ago.
“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,” Rubio said in a statement.
“The CCP actively tries to censor the facts, but the world will never forget,” he said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Chinese tanks rolled into the square before dawn on June 4, 1989, and troops opened fire to end weeks of pro-democracy demonstrations by students and workers.
The ruling Communist Party has never released a death toll, though rights groups and witnesses say the figure could run into the thousands.
The events are a taboo topic in China and the anniversary is not marked or publicly discussed, although public commemorations take place annually in overseas cities.
“Their courage in the face of certain danger reminds us that the principles of freedom, democracy, and self-rule are not just American principles. They are human principles the CCP cannot erase,” Rubio said.
The statement from the U.S.’s top diplomat comes at a rocky time in the U.S.-China relationship. Since beginning his second White House term on January 20, U.S. President Donald Trump has unleashed 145% tariffs on most Chinese goods over what his administration sees as decades of trade abuses by China. Beijing responded with its own 125% tariffs on U.S. products.
Officials from the two sides agreed in Geneva to dial back the triple-digit tariffs for 90 days, but have yet to address the underlying reasons for Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods, mainly longstanding U.S. complaints about China’s state-dominated, export-driven economic model.
Senior U.S. officials have said this week that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would speak soon to iron out trade issues, including a dispute over critical minerals and China’s restrictions on exports of certain minerals.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a regular news briefing on Tuesday the Trump administration “is actively monitoring China’s compliance with the Geneva trade agreement,” and added that “there will be a leader-to-leader talk very soon.”
(Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones; Editing by Sonali Paul)
