China has accused the United States of distorting facts and smearing its political system, after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said censorship could not “erase” the memory of Beijing’s 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.
Rubio told a news conference on Wednesday that “no amount of censorship can erase the past”.
“Those who sacrificed to uphold their unalienable rights of free expression and peaceful assembly will be vindicated someday,” he said.
China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that it firmly opposed Rubio’s comments.
“The Chinese government has long since reached a clear conclusion regarding that political turmoil that occurred in the late 1980s,” ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular news briefing.
“The relevant erroneous remarks by the US side distort historical facts, smear China’s political system and development path, and interfere in China’s internal affairs,” she said.
On June 4 that year, the Chinese government sent troops and tanks to suppress protests in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
