30 years later, US, China still clash over Tiananmen Square
Thirty years after the “June 4th incident,” as the crackdown on Tiananmen Square protests is known in China, that nation and the United States remain at odds over what it meant then and what it means now.
In the West, the clash is better known at the “Tiananmen Square Massacre.”
Weeks of protests across the nation, centered in Beijing’s historic public square, were crushed that day in 1989 when Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping declared martial law and security forces fired on the protesters.
China announced an estimated death toll of about 300 people.
Outside estimates put the number in the thousands.
On June 5, the protesters were gone except for “Tank Man” – one man whose brief refusal to allow a line of tanks to pass became an iconic depiction of political resistance.
The photo was shot by American photographer Jeff Widener from a sixth-floor balcony of the Beijing Hotel and reverberated around the world. The man’s identity remains a mystery, and the crackdown drew international outrage.
The 30th anniversary comes against a backdrop of tension over trade talks and tariffs.
On Tuesday, Beijing issued a travel advisory for Chinese citizens planning to visit the United States after Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang accused U.S. law enforcement agencies of targeting Chinese travelers.
Also Tuesday, the Chinese Embassy in Washington lashed out at a statement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo marking the Tiananmen anniversary.
Pompeo had lauded the “heroic protest movement” that was crushed by the government.
China responded by accusing Pompeo of “prejudice and arrogance” and said he was interfering in its internal affairs in violation of international law.
“China’s human rights are in the best period ever,” the statement said.