US, China tussle over Tiananmen:

Asia

Pompeo

China lashed out at the United States on Monday after Washington marked the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen protests by urging Beijing to disclose how many people were killed in the crackdown.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement to “remember the tragic loss of innocent lives” on June 4, 1989, when the Communist Party sent tanks to quash the peaceful demonstrations around Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

Open discussion of the crackdown is forbidden in China, where hundreds — perhaps more — died. A British diplomatic cable released last year said at least 10,000 people were killed.

Pompeo quoted the dissident Liu Xiaobo, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who died of cancer while in custody last year, as saying: “The ghosts of June 4th have not yet been laid to rest.”

The chief US diplomat added: “We join others in the international community in urging the Chinese government to make a full public accounting of those killed, detained or missing.”

He also urged China to release those jailed for trying to keep the memory of the protests alive, and stop harassing Tiananmen participants and their relatives.

The protests are branded a “counter-revolutionary rebellion” by Chinese authorities and many on the mainland remain unaware of the crackdown due to censorship. (AFP)