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China hits back at U.S. criticism over Tiananmen

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China issued an angry response on Thursday to U.S. comments on the 20th anniversary of the violent crackdown on Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests.

BEIJING, June 4 (RIA Novosti) - China issued an angry response on Thursday to U.S. comments on the 20th anniversary of the violent crackdown on Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton demanded on Wednesday, the eve of the anniversary, that China account for those killed during the 1989 student-led protests and release activists who are still imprisoned.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said at a regular news briefing that Clinton's demands amount to "crudely meddling in Chinese domestic affairs."

"The statement from the United States ignores the facts and makes groundless accusations against the Chinese government," he said.

"We express our strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition. We urge the United States to forsake its prejudices, correct its erroneous ways and avoid obstructing and damaging China-U.S. relations."

In her statement, Clinton said: "A China that has made enormous progress economically and is emerging to take its rightful place in global leadership should examine openly the darker events of its past and provide a public accounting of those killed, detained or missing, both to learn and to heal."

The Tiananmen massacre remains a taboo subject in China, and is almost never mentioned by the media. International estimates as to the number of protesters gunned down on and around the square vary from hundreds to thousands.

At the briefing, Qin refused to answer a foreign journalist's question on the number of those killed in the crackdown, officially known in China as the June 4 Incident.

Hundreds of police and guards were on the vast square on Thursday's anniversary of the event, preventing cameramen and photographers from entering the square. Chinese authorities have blocked access to networking, media-sharing and messaging sites, and cut off foreign newscasts mentioning the anniversary.

Dissidents involved in the 1989 protests who are still living in Beijing told Western media they have been put under effective house arrest, and are being closely watched by police. Others have been forced to leave the city.

The 1989 protests were triggered by the death of former leader Hu Yaobang, who had pushed for anti-corruption and pro-democracy reforms, but was dismissed two years before dying of a heart attack. The protests lasted seven weeks.

The violent crackdown, covered in detail by TV channels throughout the Western world, sparked international condemnation and dealt a huge blow to China's relations with many countries. While the Soviet Union, along with other communist countries, avoided direct condemnation of the Tiananmen massacre, the Kremlin expressed regret over the incident, and Mikhail Gorbachev called on China to carry out reforms.

 

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